Laurel and Hardy: Big Business

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Big business
Original title Big business
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1929
length 19 minutes
Age rating FSK 0
Rod
Director James W. Horne ,
Leo McCarey
script HM Walker ( intertitles ),
Leo McCarey
production Hal Roach
camera George Stevens
cut Richard Currier
occupation

The Big Business , in the original Big Business , is an American comedy short film starring Laurel and Hardy . It is one of the last silent films by the comedian duo. In Germany, the film was also shown under the alternative title Big Business , on television also under surrounded by madness or The desecrated Colonel .

action

Stan and Ollie work as Christmas tree sellers in sunny California . However, they are rejected by their potential customers. When a homeowner refuses to buy a Christmas tree from them, a huge orgy of destruction develops, step by step. Stan and Ollie smash the man's garden and later damage his house and its inventory. The man reciprocates by dismantling Stan and Ollie's car and destroying their Christmas trees. The events are followed by a growing crowd. At some point a policeman steps in. So that Stan, Ollie and the house owner are not punished, they cry to the police officer that they regret their actions. You get away with it without penalty. When the policeman realizes that Stan and Ollie were just faking crying, however, he chases them down the street.

background

The film was shot in 1928, but did not have its world premiere until April 20, 1929. During this time, the first sound films appeared , making Big Business one of the comedian duo's last silent films.

According to producer Hal Roach, there was a mix-up during the shooting: instead of an acquired house that could be destroyed for the production of the film, the shooting team and the actors mistakenly used a neighboring house. Stan Laurel, however, called this representation invented.

Awards

In 1992 the film was listed in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" .

Reviews

  • “ A masterpiece of film comedy ” (Dieter Krusche, Jürgen Labenski , Josef Nagel: Reclams Filmführer. 13th, revised edition. Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-010676-1 , pp. 98 f.).
  • “ The most harrowing and at the same time exhilarating portrayal of senseless destruction in the history of cinema. (...) Big business is the contemporary implementation of the biblical principle 'As you me, so I you' ”(Dick: Laurel & Hardy. 1995).
  • “ Big business is the apotheosis of the work of Laurel & Hardy and the funniest two-act act in film history, it has its place of honor among the comedy classics of all comedians, all countries and all times. Even viewers who do not belong to the regular Laurel & Hardy fans are automatically drawn into this maelstrom of madness, which thanks to its precise structure, its sophisticated details, the meticulous editing and the non-stop action is what makes the comedy film what it is The Birth of a Nation for the historical monumental film. “( William K. Everson : Laurel and Hardy and Their Films. 1980).

literature

  • Rainer Dick: Laurel & Hardy. The greatest comedians of all time (= Heyne-Bücher 32, Heyne-Filmbibliothek. No. 221). Original edition. Heyne, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-09006-3 .
  • William K. Everson: Laurel and Hardy and their films (= Goldmann 10204 Goldmann magnum ). German first publication. Edited by Joe Hembus . (German by Marie Margarete Giese). Goldmann, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-442-10204-9 [original edition: 1967].

Web links