The pair never broke character, even when breaking the fourth wall, which often consisted of Ollie impatiently glaring at the camera as absurdity unfolded around him. HeвЂ™d wipe a drop off the glass, pick it up with his pinkie way out, sip it, put it down, tap it, very much like the character that he playedвЂќ. Performer Jackie Gleason noted that Oliver Hardy вЂњ was a delight to watch drinking, because he was just like his character. Their performances were true to life, capitalising on many facets of their real-life personalities. Whatever occupation that writer Stan Laurel conjured up for the pair вЂ“ whether down-and-outs, foreign legion soldiers, wealthy socialites, or students at Oxford вЂ“ they rarely felt the need to alter their looks, mannerisms, or even their names. After all, Laurel & Hardy always played themselves. Laurel & HardyвЂ™s exaggerated capers donвЂ™t lie, but rather blur the lines between cinema and real-life, indicating a genuine humanity behind the clowning. The two men allowed themselves to be known by all, inside and out, and their movies serve as an extension to this transparency, rather than a buffer between artist and audience. This all-encompassing fandom highlights the pairвЂ™s magic ingredient, one so rare in the performing arts: transparency. Not only do audiences love their movies, they adore the men themselves. Nevertheless, a century removed from their first Hollywood appearance, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy continue to be celebrated both on-screen and off.

Even in their prime, the comedy duo had little of Charlie ChaplinвЂ™s political drive or sentimentality they werenвЂ™t great stuntmen like Buster Keaton, nor did they share his intellectual prowess they didnвЂ™t satirise blockbusters like Abbott & Costello, who often secured the likes of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr. It is hard to sum up why Laurel & Hardy have remained so beloved when compared to their Hollywood contemporaries.

Laurel and hardy movies 2018