Wonderful character development!

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Them Thar Hills is a great little short, with Stan and Ollie's characters at their most lovable. This time, for a change, the ensuing calamities are not down to their ineptitude, but to the innocent imbibing of moonshine whiskey while on a camping trip to cure Ollie's gout. While there, Oliver prepares a lunch which seems to consist solely of baked beans. Stan's response? "Boy you sure know how to plan a meal!"The humour is brilliantly sustained. The boys have been inadvertently drunk before, of course - their short SCRAM, for instance. But this is the funniest, leading to a wonderful tit-for-tat bit with Charlie Hall which had me in stitches. And the brilliant well gag is fantastic. You would expect them to rework the old hittin' the gouty foot routine - but it's hardly brought up. And such was the audience response to this film Stan and Ollie made a sequel - Tit For Tat.Them Thar Hills is twenty minutes of The Boys at their best. Not to be missed.

The comic geniuses, Laurel and Hardy, made so many hilarious shorts that it is hard to choose a best one. Certainly "The Music Box," which garnished the duo an Oscar, is as good as the best humor ever put on celluloid. Though Laurel and Hardy made at least two masterful feature films, "Way Out West" and "Sons of the Desert," their shorts are among their greatest moments on the big screen. "Them Thar Hills" is non-stop laughter both physical and verbal from beginning to end.Mr. Hardy is in need of rest, says wise doctor Billy Gilbert. He has had too much high living. Mr. Laurel suggests that they move down to the basement, but Dr. Gilbert counters with recommending a trip to the mountains and to be sure and drink lots and lots of water. Laurel convinces Hardy to rent a hook-on trailer and the boys are off on another misadventure. Just before they decide on a camping spot near a well, a bunch of moonshiners dump their payload into the well to destroy the evidence as the revenuers close in on them. Though the idea of putting whiskey or moonshine into the drinking supply for comedic effect was not new--Charlie Chaplin used the ploy for one of his classic shorts, "The Cure," as early as 19l7--the situation is different and Laurel and Hardy adapt it to their unique brand of humor.The two are doing just fine in an outrageously funny scene where the two prepare a meal with making a pot of coffee becoming as funny as falling off a chair backwards. Naturally they use the spiked well water for the coffee. Both proceed to get looped. Enter a couple who have run out of gas and seek the assistance of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy. Bad mistake. what takes place is one of the funniest slapstick routines ever filmed. Aiding in the sequence is a Laurel and Hardy regular, Charley Hall, second only to the magnificent James Finlayson as a perfect foil for the boys. His companion in hilarity is another Laurel and Hardy regular, Mae Busch, one of the screens great comediennes.Anyone who doesn't roll with laughter watching "Them Thar Hills" needs to have his/her funny bone checked out immediately. Those who enjoy "Them Thar Hills" should check out its sequel, "Tit for Tat," and let the fun continue.

[possible spoiler] One of my favorite of The Boy's comic shorts. The comic premise - bootleg liquor dumped into a well of "sparkling mountain water" - is a tad weak, granted, but the upshot - the classic "get even" back-and-forth between Ollie and Charlie Hall (who always seemed to use his real name for his on-screen characters) is well worth it. What makes this scene so funny is the completely artificial - and totally hilarious - premise that one silently and uncomplainingly endures your opponent's next attack on you. (The same premise used in the film's 'sequel', 'Tit for Tat.') By the way, the song Ollie sings while preparing dinner - unwelcomingly joined in on by Stan - is an actual song called , I believe, 'There's an Old Rocking Chair,' which may be found on the wonderful collection of music written by Leroy Shield for the L&H movies and played by the Dutch group 'The Beau Hunks' on a 2 CD set (I think it's the Koch label); these CD's are essential for true L&H fans. The Boys - long may they live on in beloved memory.

This is one of Laurel and Hardy's funniest two-reelers, thanks in particular to two memorable scenes. First is the delightful drunken party scene with Mae Busch, as the three are unaware that their well water has been spiked with moonshine. Finally, there is the outrageous "tit-for-tat" slapstick finale with Charlie Hall, as each character stands there allowing another character to commit some indignity upon them, calmly awaiting their chance to retaliate. The sequel, titled Tit For Tat, featured the same cast and formula, and is nearly as good.