Bacon Grabbers (1929) User Reviews

A little-known gem from the late silent era

[wmorrow59 · 8/10 · 23 November 2005]

While it isn't among the best-known Laurel & Hardy films, and isn't as readily available as some, Bacon Grabbers is well worth seeking out for anyone who enjoys slapstick comedy crafted by experts. This movie marked the boys' penultimate appearance in silent films before the switch to talkies, and, like many late silents, it presents the medium in its purest form: the story is told with a minimum of title cards, the wording of the cards is witty, and the cinematography (allowing for brief tattered portions in surviving prints) is a joy to behold. Most of this film takes place outdoors in the Culver City sunshine, giving us interesting glimpses of a bygone suburban lifestyle: the cars, clothes, homes, and household appliances of 1929. But best of all we have a great comedy team in peak form, surrounded by familiar faces from the Hal Roach stock company.

Stan and Ollie work best when they aren't overly hampered with plot, so it's nice to report that the premise here is simple. Seeing as how Edgar "Collis P." Kennedy has stopped making payments on his radio, the sheriff decides to send two men over to serve a summons and repossess it. Guess who he decides to send! The boys have a number of difficulties delivering the document to the uncooperative Kennedy, but, once they succeed in this, they find that seizing the radio itself is no easy matter. And by the way, this is no dinky table-top radio we're talking about here, it's a massive wooden console, about the size of a 3-drawer file cabinet.

This is the ideal structure for a Laurel & Hardy comedy: they are given an assignment, conflict arises almost instantly, and then a variety of complications -- many of which are self-generated -- set in. And then the complications develop complications. When we view a Keystone comedy of the 1910s we often sense that the actors were improvising their knockabout while the cameras rolled, come what may. The Roach comedians of the '20s and '30s were more methodical, and yet they kept the structure loose enough to allow room for spontaneity. The first big laugh sequence in Bacon Grabbers comes at the sheriff's office, when Stan and Ollie encounter great difficulty simply leaving the room with their hats and the summons they're supposed to deliver. The scene rolls along quite smoothly, and may well have been improvised on the spot, but without the mugging and unmotivated violence we get from the Keystone comics. Has anyone noticed what good actors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were? They do their stuff so naturally, we don't even think of them as actors.

One additional treat is offered in the final scene: when the young actress playing Edgar Kennedy's wife arrives with important information, we are given a peek at Jean Harlow, still a teenager and strikingly pretty. Her brief appearance serves as icing on the cake, for even without her presence, this amusing short is a fast-paced and funny example of silent comedy at its apex.

Laurel & Hardy's mishaps with Edgar Kennedy.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 30 October 2006]

This is a very amusing silent slapstick short from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, this time opposing Edgar Kennedy.

This time Edgar Kennedy does not play a police officer but he is on the other side of the law; a person who hasn't paid his debt for a radio. Laurel & Hardy are sent out to collect the debt and Kennedy does everything he can to keep the boys out of his house, so he can keep his radio.

The movie is fast paced with slapstick moments that rapidly come after each other. Even the moments before the real 'action' and main plot line kicks in, are fast paced and highly amusing and involves Laurel & Hardy regular Charlie Hall, among others. So yes, you can really say that "Bacon Grabbers" is a movie that constantly amuses in a good fast comedy pace.

The real fun really begins from the moment the boys arrive at the Kennedy residence. The boys at first try to serve a summons and once they finally achieved that they try to repossess the radio. The events that happen during these moments is slapstick comedy at its best. Not too much story, just some good old fashioned visual and exaggerated comedy going on the screen, meaning lots of running around and wrecking things, especially towards the ending.

Beside Laurel & Hardy regulars Charlie Hall and Edgar Kennedy, the 18-year old Jean Harlow also shows up once more toward the ending of the movie, in a very small role as the Mrs. Kennedy.

Not the best known Laurel & Hardy movie but definitely worth checking out.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

While far from their best, this silent Laurel and Hardy short is well worth a look

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 January 2008]

Laurel and Hardy are collection agents sent to both serve Edgar Kennedy with a court order as well as repossess Kennedy's radio--since he apparently hadn't made any payments since 1921! However, when they try to give Kennedy the court papers, he's very slippery and doesn't give in very easily.

BACON GRABBERS is a decent Laurel and Hardy short, though far from the team's best. The reason it isn't top-notch isn't because it's a silent short, as some of their very best films (in particular, BIG BUSINESS) were silents. I think the problem, and it's a minor one, is that the film is a bit slow and doesn't pack in quite the same number of laughs as most of their other films. But, even a lesser Laurel and Hardy short is STILL a thing of beauty, so I do recommend you give it a watch--even if the ending is awfully contrived (after all, a steam roller doesn't just come along and do what this one does!).

Ironically, just five years later, Edgar Kennedy himself plays a man trying unsuccessfully to serve a court summons in the film WE'RE RICH AGAIN. I guess the tables are turned!

Bacon Grabbers is another of Laurel & Hardy's enjoyable late silent comedy shorts

[tavm · 7/10 · 15 August 2011]

Just watched this, the penultimate silent Laurel & Hardy short, on YouTube. In this one, they are repo men trying to get Edgar Kennedy's radio since he hadn't paid installments in the previous 8 years! I'll stop there and just say how funny most of the shenanigans are especially with the sound effects used like when the motor on Stan & Ollie's car is starting or when Kennedy uses his sound prop dog to scare the boys. Charlie Hall also appears as someone who for once tries to help them. And a young lady named Jean Harlow, who also appeared in their last short-Double Whoopee, makes one here as well as...well, watch this if you want to know. So on that note, Bacon Grabbers comes recommended.

Debt collector fun

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 1 September 2018]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Bacon Grabbers' as one of their best and a bit disappointing compared to their late 1928 and previous 1929 efforts, which were among their best and funniest early work. It is still very good and has much of what makes Laurel and Hardy's work as appealing as it is.

It may not be "new" material as such and the first part takes a little bit too time to get going and is a little formulaic.

When 'Bacon Grabbers' does get going, which it does do quite quickly, it is great fun, not always hilarious but never less than very amusing, the best moments being classic Laurel and Hardy. It is never too silly, a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit emerges here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Bacon Grabbers' we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

'Bacon Grabbers' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid from particularly Edgar Kennedy.

Overall, very good. Not essential or classic Laurel and Hardy, but a very good representation of them. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Superior L&H silent comedy short(2 reels)

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 20 October 2018]

This late silent L&H comedy short is little known, but a gem, by me. It's full of slapstick and sight gags, beginning in the sheriff's office, where they are repossession men(slang = bacon grabbers). They are charged with a summons to Collis Kennedy(Edgar Kennedy) to finish payments on his big radio, or face repossession, this being 8 years after he bought it! The absentminded boys have a heck of a time getting out of the office, as they keep asking questions, or forgetting their hat or the summons. Also, they mess up the papers on the sheriff's desk, and strew those in his waste paper basket all over the floor, looking for the forgotten summons. Ollie slams the outside door, and the light globe above falls on his head.........Once in their car, Ollie turns on the motor, and the car shakes ferociously. He bumps the truck in front. The driver(Charlie Hall) agrees there's no significant damage to his truck. However, a hole was punched into Ollie's radiator, and he gets sprayed by it. No matter, just push a hanky into the top and it will stop leaking........Once they get to Kennedy's house, he's out moving the lawn. Ollie tries to serve him the summons, but can't find it. He forgot he gave it to Stan, who keeps quite. Kennedy goes into the house. When the boys knock, he greets them with a ferocious-looking fake bull dog, that probably growls. They run for cover. The boys see a good-sized dog on a leash passing by. They ask if it is mean? Yes, is the answer. They borrow it for a little bit, knocking on the door again. Kennedy again greets them with his fake bull dog. Their 'ferocious' dog turns tail, and drags Ollie across the lawn, and the road, to the other side(The funniest scene in the movie for me). Fortunately, the summons wasn't destroyed by this slide, although Ollie had to look around to find it. ......The boys now try to outfox Kennedy, one going around to the back. But, it doesn't work. They now try windows, and find one promising candidate on the second floor, but how to get to it? They spy a ladder next door, where a house is being built. The workman used it to get to the roof of the one-story house. He's up on the roof, putting shingles on. They don't bother to ask if they can borrow it. They just steal it. Later, the workman tries to descend on the latter, and falls into a trough of a thin white liquid. Amazingly, we don't see anymore of him.(Maybe he went home to change). But, they find the ladder is too short to get to the roof. But, they have a chance when Ollie holds the bottom of the ladder against his pants. However, Kennedy is there with a dust mop, pushing Stan away from the house. When Stan pulls the mop from him, Kennedy gets his rifle, and points it at Stan. When the window suddenly falls on his head, he pulls the trigger, and the shot hits the fire hydrant, across the street, blowing it's cap off, making a geyser. A policeman is standing near, and goes over to inquire what's going on. The boys point the finger at Kennedy, and the cop makes him allow the boys in his house to look around. They easily find the large radio, and bring it out, and on toward their car. But, Kennedy comes and kicks Ollie in the butt, then goes back to his house. Ollie sets the radio down where he is, in the middle of the road, and goes to kick Kennedy in the butt. Meanwhile the steamroller comes along and totally destroys the radio. Then Kennedy's wife(18 y.o. Jean Harlow) shows up, telling that she just finished the payment on the radio. The boys laugh hysterically. But, then, the steamroller somehow flattens their car, and they change their expression. See it at YouTube.

Bacon Grabbers

[jboothmillard · 5/10 · 26 January 2010]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. The sheriff's office needs someone to serve a summons concerning a man and his radio, and after some trouble with the charge paper Stan and Ollie are the guys for the job. They start up their car engine and crash into a truck in front, getting a hole in the radiator, and to stop the leaking gas they put a handkerchief in the tank. They drive to the house of Collis P. Kennedy (Edgar Kennedy) who hasn't paid an instalment on his radio since 1921, but he manages to get into his house before they can hand the charge paper over. Kennedy scares the boys away with a pit-bull terrier puppet, and the boys borrow a raw beef eating Great Dane from a boy to scare this smaller dog, but it doesn't work and the dog drags Ollie all the way across the road. After trying to block the door, and going round the back, squabbling with Ollie, Kennedy is handed Stans' sandwich instead of the paper. Kennedy tries to sneak out the front, and after going round and round through the house Kennedy finally gets the paper, but he refuses to give them the radio. The boys try to get through the windows, and they spot the open window above the roof, so they take a ladder from a near construction site, making a builder fall in the below white paint pit. The ladder is not tall enough, so after some trouble with balance, and swapping places, Stan reaches the window, but Kennedy is there trying to push him away with a long brush, while Ollie is having his braces pulled by a small dog hanging on the ladder below. When Kennedy drops the brush, Stan is off the ladder and hangs onto the window hinges and inside curtain, and he almost falls with his fingers caught when the window gets shut. Back on the ladder Stan then sees Kennedy has a long barrelled shot gun, but misses and shoots a near water hydrant where a Policeman (Harry Bernard) is standing and gets soaked, and the boys finally fall. The policeman comes over the see what's going on, and he allows the boys to take Kenndy's radio, and after placing it in the road and a little kick fight, the boys and Kennedy watch the radio get crushed by a steam roller. Kennedy stops laughing when Mrs. Kennedy (Jean Harlow) comes over to say that she has paid for and they own the radio, which gets the boys laughing, but they stop when their car is also run over by the steam roller. Filled with good slapstick and all classic comedy you want from a black and white silent film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Worth watching!

Destruction

[tedg · 8 October 2005]

This was the 25th short as a team. I'm only now dipping into Laurel and Hardy in a serious way, but the whole 20 year collaboration seems to be based on two things: the comedy of destruction, and a sort of flummoxed humiliation.

We laugh at both, but it is the destruction (or sometimes a chase) that makes the best stories for these guys.

We see a door and we know they will do everything to that door that they can imagine. All the comic possibilities are exhausted. We see a ladder and know that clever minds will invent dozens of gags to surround it.

If there is a radio involved, and we know that each event increases the value of the thing, that it will be destroyed.

This was made the same year as "Big Business: which was the high point of the destructive model. Nothing so extreme here, but you can see how they think.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Mediocrity grabbers

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 17 December 2018]

"Bacon Grabbers" is an American black-and-white short film from 1929, so this one is already almost 90 years old and if the names of writers and directors Foster and Walker, don't make it obvious already to you, then the names of Laurel and Hardy certainly should that here we have another Stan and Ollie movie. This is from their silent days still and not among their most famous works. I can see why. Ther material of these under 20 minutes just isn't particularly greatg unfortunately. The introduction at the sheriff's office was mediocre. Then the highlight follows, namely their first mission and they are out to collect money from somebody who has not paid for his new radio in years. Problem is these two are not the brightest or most capable and the man's tiny, bu feisty dog is not helping matters either. By the way, the man's name is Kennedy and this is from long before the Kennedy days in American politics to show you how old this one is. Anyway, back to the story: A bigger dog cannot help either and afterward thequality goes south again as we get to witness the duo's very unsuccessful attempts to collect the money they arfe being owed, but yeah you can imagine very well what happens when a ladder comes into play. Right now there is a new film about these old comedy legends in theaters with Reilly and Coogan playing the two and maybe it would be a better choice to watch that one because this short here is nothing really special and it says quite a bit when I say that because I am a fan of Laurel and Hardy and prefere them over pretty much all the lone performers of the silent era. But not even they can turn water into wine. Don't watch. On a side-note, the title is also extremely random to be honest, even if it sounds nice. They should have picked something with "dog" as there are really quite a few canines in this video.