Laurel and Hardy filmography

This list contains only the films that Laurel and Hardy made together. For their solo films see Stan Laurel filmography and Oliver Hardy filmography.
Laurel (left) and Hardy in Bonnie Scotland (1935)

Laurel and Hardy were a motion picture comedy team whose official filmography consists of 106 films released between 1921 and 1951.[1] Together they appeared in 34 silent shorts,A 45 sound shorts, and 27 full-length sound feature films.B In addition to these, Laurel and Hardy appeared in at least 20 foreign-language versions of their films and a promotional film, Galaxy of Stars (1936), produced for European film distributors.[2]

Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) were established as film comedians prior to their teaming, with Laurel appearing in over 50 silent films and Hardy in over 250. (Hardy also appeared in three sound features without Laurel.)[3] Although they first worked together in the film The Lucky Dog (1921), this was a chance pairing and it was not until 1926 when both separately signed contracts with the Hal Roach film studio that they appeared in film shorts together.[4] Wes D. Gehring identifies their first "official" film together as Putting Pants on Philip,[5] William K. Everson identifies The Second Hundred Years as the first "official" Laurel and Hardy film in which they are presented as a team.[6] Should Married Men Go Home? was the first Hal Roach film to bill Laurel and Hardy as a team. Previous appearances together were billed under the Roach "All-Star Comedy" banner. The pair remained with the Roach studio until 1940.[7] Between 1941 and 1945, they appeared in eight features and one short for 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[8] After finishing their film commitments, Laurel and Hardy concentrated on stage shows, embarking on a music hall tour of Great Britain.[9] In 1950, they appeared in their last film, Atoll K, a French/Italian co-production.[10]

In 1932, Laurel and Hardy's short The Music Box won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film (Comedy).[11][12] In 1960, Laurel was presented with an Academy Honorary Award "for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy."[13] In 1992, 1997, 2012 and 2020 respectively, Big Business (1929), The Music Box, Sons of the Desert (1933) and The Battle of the Century (1927) were added to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[12][14][15] For their contributions to cinema, Laurel and Hardy have been awarded separate stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[16][17]

Filmography

[edit]

Official films

[edit]

The following is a list of Laurel and Hardy's official filmography as established in Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt and Laurel and Hardy by John McCabe, Al Kilgore, and Richard W. Bann. Each book lists 105 films and Skredvedt's adds a 106th in its appendix, Now I'll Tell One, a previously lost film that was partly rediscovered.[18]

Except where noted, all of these films were photographed in black and white, produced by Hal Roach, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Except where noted, all short films are two reels in length. All films produced prior to 1928 are silent and all films made after 1929 are sound. Releases from 1928 are silent except as noted. 1929 releases are identified as silent, all-talkie, or sound films with music and sound effects only.

Foreign-language versions

[edit]

During the early days of sound American motion picture companies often made foreign-language versions of their films. The following is a list of known foreign-language versions of Laurel and Hardy films.[80]

Foreign language versions of feature film
Year English French German Spanish Italian
1931 Pardon Us Sous Les Verrous
(Under the Locks)
Currently lost
Hinter Schloss und Riegel
(Under Lock and Key)
Only a handful of clips survive
De Bote En Bote
(From Cell to Cell)
Muraglie
(Walls)
Currently lost

Note: A lost German-language version of The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Wir Schalten um auf Hollywood (We Switch to Hollywood), was made and released in 1931. Apparently Laurel and Hardy do not appear in it.[81]

Promotional film

[edit]
Release date Title Notes
1936 Galaxy of Stars A promotional short film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer only for MGM exhibitors in Europe and Africa, featuring Laurel and Hardy. Rediscovered in 2005.[2]

Compilation films

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

A.^ "A short film is defined as an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits."[82]

B.^ "Under the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format."[83]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Skretvedt 1994, pp. 71–426, 468–469
  2. ^ a b Seguin, Chris. "Forgotten Laurel & Hardy film emerges on French DVD". The Laurel and Hardy Magazine. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  3. ^ Stone 1996, pp. 569–573
  4. ^ Everson 1973, p. 41
  5. ^ Gehring 1990, p. 62
  6. ^ a b Everson 1973, p. 50
  7. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 369
  8. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, pp. 393–397
  9. ^ Skretvedt 1994, pp. 414–417
  10. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 417
  11. ^ "The 5th Academy Awards (1932) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c "NY Times.com: The Music Box". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  13. ^ "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Note: Type "Stan Laurel" into the Nominee box and click on search
  14. ^ a b "25 American films are added to the National Film Registry". The Prescott Courier. Associated Press. December 7, 1992. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  15. ^ a b Cannady, Sheryl (December 19, 2012). "2012 National Film Registry Picks in A League of Their Own". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  16. ^ "Stan Laurel". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  17. ^ "Oliver Hardy". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. 2013. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  18. ^ a b Skretvedt 1994, pp. 468–469
  19. ^ Stone 1996, p. 420
  20. ^ a b c d e McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 23
  21. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 24
  22. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 26
  23. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 31
  24. ^ Skretvedt 1994, pp. 98–99
  25. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 100
  26. ^ Gehring 1990, p. 62
  27. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 48
  28. ^ Barry, Dan (July 8, 2015). "Comedy's Sweet Weapon: The Cream Pie". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  29. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 80
  30. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 83
  31. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 87
  32. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 89
  33. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 92
  34. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 96
  35. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 99
  36. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 102
  37. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 106
  38. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 109
  39. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 112
  40. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 115
  41. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 120
  42. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 121
  43. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 126
  44. ^ Skretvedt 1994, pp. 168–169 "two hours of All Singing, All Talking, All-Dancing"
  45. ^ "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Note: Type "The Hollywood Revue" into the Film Title box and click on search
  46. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 127
  47. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 187
  48. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 198
  49. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 206
  50. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 209
  51. ^ Everson 1973, p. 106
  52. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 213
  53. ^ Everson 1973, p. 119
  54. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 162
  55. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 230
  56. ^ "The Official Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Note: Type "The Music Box" into the Film Title box and click on search
  57. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 233
  58. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 233
  59. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 249
  60. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 275
  61. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 267
  62. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 277
  63. ^ "The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  64. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 319
  65. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 319
  66. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 331
  67. ^ Everson 1973, p. 190
  68. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 379
  69. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 385
  70. ^ Everson 1973, p. 198
  71. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 384
  72. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 394
  73. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 400
  74. ^ Everson 1973, p. 201
  75. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 401
  76. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 396
  77. ^ Everson 1973, p. 207
  78. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 395
  79. ^ McCabe, Kilgore & Bann 1975, p. 398
  80. ^ Skretvedt 1994, pp. 459–467
  81. ^ Skretvedt 1994, p. 467
  82. ^ "Rule Nineteen: Special Rules for the Short Film Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2013. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  83. ^ "281 Feature Films in Competition for 2008 Oscar". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2013.

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]