The Laurel and Hardy comedy short Big Business is predicated off of the reliable comedic screen writing device of persistency, where characters tirelessly chase after a certain goal or continue engaging in a dead-end action hellbent for success (and laughs). The result can often be tiring, but the theme finds its home efficiently in this eighteen minute short by two of comedy's greatest leading men. Big Business concerns Laurel and Hardy as a pair of door-to-door Christmas tree salesman, looking to score big from ill-prepared clientele this holiday season. The two stumble upon a grumpy customer (James Finlayson), becoming persistent in their efforts to make a sale with him and effectively alienating him more and more with every word.
The man finally gets enough of it and proceeds to chop one of their Christmas trees with his hedgeclippers, which escalates a feud like no other. The men take turns by destroying whatever item they can get their hands on that belongs to the other person, meaning the home owner destroys Laurel and Hardy's inventory and their vehicle, while Laurel and Hardy take turns destroying the home of the home owner. This back-and-forth camaraderie catches the attention of a police officer (Tiny Sandford), who watches it all go down in awe.
One of the funniest scenes of the entire short is seeing Laurel throw the home owner's vases out of a window onto Hardy, who is standing on the front lawn using a shovel to hit and break them. The scene makes for hilarious, rapid-fire comedy that is only all the more impressive being that it's clearly and impromptu skit. Furthermore, the zealous attributes of Laurel and Hardy keep the comedy flowing, with complete and total awareness in terms of pacing and structure, on part of writer H.M. Walker and directors James W. Horne and Leo McCarey. Big Business is one of the funniest Laurel and Hardy shorts I have yet to see.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, and Tiny Sandford. Directed by: James W. Horne and Leo McCarey.
The man finally gets enough of it and proceeds to chop one of their Christmas trees with his hedgeclippers, which escalates a feud like no other. The men take turns by destroying whatever item they can get their hands on that belongs to the other person, meaning the home owner destroys Laurel and Hardy's inventory and their vehicle, while Laurel and Hardy take turns destroying the home of the home owner. This back-and-forth camaraderie catches the attention of a police officer (Tiny Sandford), who watches it all go down in awe.
One of the funniest scenes of the entire short is seeing Laurel throw the home owner's vases out of a window onto Hardy, who is standing on the front lawn using a shovel to hit and break them. The scene makes for hilarious, rapid-fire comedy that is only all the more impressive being that it's clearly and impromptu skit. Furthermore, the zealous attributes of Laurel and Hardy keep the comedy flowing, with complete and total awareness in terms of pacing and structure, on part of writer H.M. Walker and directors James W. Horne and Leo McCarey. Big Business is one of the funniest Laurel and Hardy shorts I have yet to see.
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, and Tiny Sandford. Directed by: James W. Horne and Leo McCarey.