In the late 60s and 70s, both the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy had major revivals. College showings of the Marx Brothers DUCK SOUP (1933) and the re-release of the long unseen ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930), along with Groucho's continuing appearances on talk shows, helped bring the Marx Brothers back to the public eye. At the same time, William K. Everson's THE FILMS OF LAUREL AND HARDY, Robert Youngston's popular theatrical compilations of silent movie comedies, and showings of the classic Laurel and Hardy shorts on television, all brought L&H back into focus. However, it seems that in Hollywood, only the Marx Brothers have survived into the next millennium.
Now, I wholeheartedly agree with the AFI on their choice of including 5 Marx Brothers films on the list, including two in the top twenty, though I would probably replace A DAY AT THE RACES (1937) with ANIMAL CRACKERS. The Marx Brothers were one of the most amazing acts in entertainment history, and both Groucho and Harpo must be considered two of our true comic geniuses. But Laurel and Hardy were included only once in the list, with their 1933 classic SONS OF THE DESERT.
It's true that Laurel and Hardy did their best work in two-reel shorts, and many of their features, though entertaining, were disappointing. But they did make at least three near-perfect features: SONS OF THE DESERT, WAY OUT WEST (1937) and BLOCK-HEADS (1939). These three features are as funny as the best of the Marx Brothers, and deserved to be included on the list.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were, without a doubt, the most perfect comedy team of all time, each possessing a subliminal chemistry with each other that can only be compared to one other comedy team that I know of - Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding. The joy of watching Laurel and Hardy is not always in the gags and jokes, but in just watching them interact with each other. Even if you know all the gags, you can still laugh at the blank expressions of Stan and the indignant reactions of Ollie.
Unfortunately, Hollywood is out of touch with the gentle slapstick of Laurel and Hardy and are much more in tune with the wild, anarchic humor of the Marx Brothers. Considering that present-day Tinsel Town seems to revere the Marxes so much, wouldn't you think that at least some of the comedies they are producing today would aim to be as witty as MONKEY BUSINESS (1931), HORSE FEATHERS (1932), DUCK SOUP, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) and A DAY AT THE RACES, the five Marx films they chose?
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