The Age of Commercialism

Simply A Masterpiece

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (themselves), Edgar Kennedy (the cop), Dorothy Coburn (the nurse), Sam Lufkin (the home owner).Director: CLYDE BRUCKMAN. Supervising director: Leo McCarey. Titles: H.M. Walker. Photography: George Stevens. Film editor: Richard Currier. Producer: Hal Roach.Copyright 25 February 1928 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. A Hal Roach Studios Production. U.S. release: 25 February 1928. 2 reels. COMMENT: Yes, a delightfully entertaining if not exactly over-original Laurel and Hardy entry, which finds the boys playing incompetent house-builders who contrive to swallow (as well as tread on) nails and other sundries, as well as to naturally fall off planks and ladders at every opportunity. However, all the gags and "unintentional" horseplay are, as usual, very cleverly built up, and the delightful slapstick mayhem is cleverly accentuated by the casting of the diminutively attractive Dorothy Coburn as the feisty nurse.

Silent. Stan and Ollie show up to finish the job of building a house. They don't do it.The roughly slapped together structure has innumerable props that the two use in comic incidents, often repeated. Ollie, for instance, must carry a mouthful of nails and is bumped on the head or something so that he swallows them (three times).They're visited by a cop, an almost unrecognizably young Edgar Kennedy, who warns them to keep it quiet because of the nearby hospital. Kennedy leans against a pile of boards stacked against the wall. The boards fall down with a clatter, accompanied by Kennedy.Actually, it's not as slow as some of their "working man" efforts. The pace is brisk. And perhaps the neatest scene has the two bumblers playing toss and catch with a bundle of money while the owner of the house tries to intercept it.It's probably one of their better shorts.

"The Finishing Touch" (1928), a Laurel and Hardy short made in their last full year of silents, is a damn well near perfect comedy two-reeler, one of their best silents, only bettered by their "The Battle of the Century" (1927) and "Big Business" (1929).The plot is simple enough: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are hired to put "the finishing touch" to a newly constructed house. But around this simple story, the duo perform a series of brilliant slapstick gags that show why they were the best comedy double act ever. The end, with the destruction of the house after a fight with a policeman played by Edgar Kennedy, one of the most memorable of the Laurel and Hardy supporting cast who also had a small (if important) role in the Marx Brother's "Duck Soup" (1933), no doubt inspired the obliteration of the boat at the end of Laurel and Hardy's "Towed in a Hole" (1932)."The Finishing Touch" (1928) is a brilliant silent short that will be enjoyed as much by Laurel and Hardy enthusiasts as by connoisseurs of great comedy.

"The Finishing Touch" is a mostly at one location set movie. Because of this the movie hasn't got to concentrate on the story but can concentrate on the slapstick moments and humor instead.This time the boys are building an house. But of course everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. And instead of constructors they are are more slowly turning into demolition men.This is a silent movie, so the movie entirely focuses and relies on its slapstick moments, rather than the dialog or storyline. So fans of simple slapstick humor will find plenty to enjoy in this Laurel & Hardy short.I for one, however do not regard this movie as a totally successful one. Not all of the comical moments work out hilarious, at least not in the way they could have had and because of that the movie is entirely set on one location, the humor is just too much of the same at times.Does have its moments but definitely not the best- and one of the more forgettable Laurel & Hardy silent shorts.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/