Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

As a kid during the Fifties, I tried to catch as many of these Laurel and Hardy films shorts I could; they were shown on TV fairly regularly. One of Stan's quips I picked up on I used for the longest time because it sounded so funny to me, and if you asked me before today what picture it came from I wouldn't have been able to tell you. But in this 'murder' case, he comes out with the 'Septober, Octember, No Wonder' line and it managed to crack me up all over again. So I'll probably be using it again.Like most comedy teams through the decades, this one features a version of a haunted house scenario, as the boys are confined to an old, dark mansion after they become suspects in a murder mystery. One can't help but notice the over the top delivery of the Chief of Detectives (Fred Kelsey) in this one. His portrayal epitomizes what for many actors coming out of the silent era must have been the need to over-enunciate and over dramatize their role for it's intended effect on the viewer. The other character that was a real hoot here was the Laurel Mansion butler (Frank Austin). Man, didn't he just give you the creeps? That scene with the teeth was a horror film delight.The picture utilizes a lot of the standard clichés of the era; besides the creepy butler you've got your black cat, the ghost lamp gimmick and the bat in the bed sheet to keep the would be millionaires on edge. The notion that all of this might have been a dream didn't bother me here as a lot of movies have managed to do, because all those other flicks didn't have Laurel and Hardy in them. It's no wonder I could watch these guys all day.

One of my favourite's of their shorts. I actually found this short pretty creepy not only as a 8 year old but still now at 16, like the scenes with the butler and the chair. The gags are pretty good as well like the bat under the sheets. The plot involves Stan and Ollie paying a visit to the home of Stan's distant relative; the great Ebenezeer Laurel to hear the reading of his will. What they don't realise is that the Ebenezeer was murdered. At the house L&H are forced to stay by a pretty grumpy detective as he suspects one of the relatives to be responsible and the plot carries on from that. Overall a great spoof on the 'old dark house' genre and definitely a must for not only L&H fans but of the classic horror/mystery genre.

The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)*** 1/2 (out of 4)Laurel and Hardy have been out of work for nearly a decade when they read the paper and see that their luck might have changed. The relative of Laurel's has died and is leaving his estate of three million dollars. The two dimwits find themselves at the will reading and learn that the relative was actually murdered and they're going to have to spend the night.THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE is really a spoof of those "old dark house" movies that were so popular during the silent era and would remain popular throughout the 1930's. This really is a terrific spoof as the two comic legends are in fine form and the screenplay perfectly pokes fun at some clichés like the creepy butler and the fainting woman. The first fifteen minutes mainly has dialogue jokes and some pretty good ones but it's the second half of the film that really comes to life as we get some terrific physical gags including a hilarious one dealing with Laurel sneaking back under the covers. Best dialogue:Hardy: Is your uncle alive? Laurel: Nope, he died of a broken neck. Fell through a trap door. Hardy: Was he building a house? Laurel: No, they were hanging him.

A little longer and more slow-paced than most of their short features, "The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case" combines the duo's usual comedy gags with some old-fashioned gloomy-old-house atmosphere. When Stanley reads in the paper about the death of a rich man named Laurel, he and Ollie head to the house for the reading of the will, hoping that Stanley will inherit something. Instead, they are soon caught up in a murder mystery and a series of spooky/comic events. The attention paid to the ominous house and occupants slows things down, and makes this a lot less frantic than their best comedies, but it is still entertaining, and has a couple of hilarious sequences.