Selected Short Subject: The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case (1930)
Directed by James Parrott. Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Fred Kelsey, Dorothy Granger, Dell Henderson, Frank Austin. Released September 6, 1930. 30 minutes.
Oliver: Didn't you say you have an uncle?
Stan: Sure I have an uncle!
Oliver: Is he living?
Stan: No, he fell through a trap door and broke his neck.
Oliver: Was he building a house?
Stan: No, they were hanging him.
Dialog is usually not Laurel and Hardy's forte, but that bit of delightful nonsense happens after a wordless slapstick opening in "The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case." This three-reel haunted house comedy has Laurel possibly inheriting money from a deceased relative, so the duo goes to the home for the reading of the will. They discover that the deceased was murdered and are forced, among other mourners, to stay in the house overnight while detectives investigate. Frightened by the creepy house and dark stormy night, Laurel and Hardy are beset by a variety of spooky happenings.
For years the books discussing Laurel and Hardy movies dismissed this comedy-horror effort as one of the team's weaker outings. Not so. Not only is it structured perfectly in the horror-comedy manner, it continues to hold up beautifully with an audience. Children are especially attracted to the fact that "The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case" is both genuinely spooky and genuinely funny.
Fred Kelsey, as a blustery detective, responds to the events with authority, while exhibiting comic frustration at Stan's and Ollie's actions. Dell Henderson is especially creepy dressed up as a female maid. And Frank Austin chews the scenery with eerie gusto as the butler. Director James Parrot bathes each scene in darkness, while Laurel's comic vision controls the slow pace. The scene where Stan insists that this is HIS inheritance, and Ollie reacts angrily, insisting on being included, is a great example of how, in each of the comedies, they take time to examine the dynamic of their relationship.
There isn't anything particularly creative about the haunted house gags. Stan starts to make up the bed and goes under a sheet to situate it, frightening Ollie. Stan puts his hand on Ollie's shoulder to comfort him and Ollie screams. The sudden appearance of bodies dot the proceedings. And they dust off the old gag where a bat finds its way into a pillowcase and flies about the room as a makeshift ghost. But in the context of an early talkie, these bits all work, and the duo's reactions are priceless.
Because it comes along fairly early in the sound era, there is none of the snappy background music that enhanced the pacing of their films so wonderfully. Instead we have the sounds of an outside storm that even more effectively supports the darkness of the scenes.
Ollie: Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!
Stan: Whaddya mean, I got you into?
Ollie: Well your name's Laurel isn't it??
Laurel and Hardy were brilliant at taking a single situation and maintaining it for the duration of a short film. They spend an entire movie putting up an aerial, delivering a piano, cleaning house, building a boat; and upon such simple premises they create some of the funniest and cleverest comedy the cinema has to offer. In "The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case," they are given a setup, and a setting, and their response to a series of timeworn horror clichés is enough to keep one comfortably entertained for its entire three reel duration.
In any horror movie marathon, short films and scare-comedies should always be a part of the program. "The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case" would help create the perfect balance.
It is worth noting that The Three Stooges would remake this movie 16 years later as "If a Body Meets a Body" with Fred Kelsey repeating his role as the detective. The material worked well for them too.