Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders.
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy.
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor, director and writer who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles.
Pardon Us is a 1931 American pre-Code Laurel and Hardy film. It was the team's first starring feature-length comedy film, produced by Hal Roach, directed by James Parrott, and originally distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1931.
A Chump at Oxford is a Hal Roach comedy film produced in 1939 and released in 1940 by United Artists. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding and is the penultimate Laurel and Hardy film made at the Roach studio. The title echoes the film A Yank at Oxford (1938), of which it is a partial parody.
Pieing or a pie attack is the act of throwing a pie at a person. In pieing, the goal is usually to humiliate the victim while avoiding actual injury. For this reason the pie is traditionally of the cream variety without a top crust, and is rarely if ever a hot pie. In Britain, a pie in the context of throwing is traditionally referred to as a custard pie. An aluminium pie pan or paper plate filled with whipped cream or more typically, shaving cream can substitute for a real pie.
Convict 13 is a 1920 two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline.
The Second Hundred Years is a 1927 American silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.
The Finishing Touch is a 1928 short comedy silent film produced by Hal Roach, directed by Clyde Bruckman, and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was released on February 25, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
From Soup to Nuts is a silent short subject directed by E. Livingston Kennedy starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released on March 24, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Air Raid Wardens is a 1943 comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was the first of two feature films starring the duo for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Rogue is a 1918 American short silent comedy film featuring Billy West and Oliver Hardy produced by King Bee Comedies.
Just Rambling Along is a 1918 American short silent comedy film featuring Stan Laurel. The film is Laurel's earliest surviving work and the first project he did with film producer Hal Roach, who later put out a large portion of the Laurel and Hardy films.
Hustling for Health is a 1919 American silent film featuring Stan Laurel.
Pie-Eyed is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Stan Laurel. The film is made at the peak of the Prohibition era so is dealing with "illegal activity" even if it is in a humorous manner. The club owner appears a mix of Gene Tunney and Jack Johnson the latter being a well-known owner of speakeasies.
On the Front Page is a 1926 American comedy film directed by James Parrott and starring Lillian Rich and Stan Laurel.
Not About Nightingales is a three-act play by Tennessee Williams. He wrote the play late in 1938, after reading in a newspaper about striking inmates of a Holmesburg, Pennsylvania prison in August 1938, who had been placed in "an isolation unit lined with radiators, where four died from temperatures approaching 150 degrees.".
South Atlantic Raiders is a two-part 1990 comedy film made for British television as part of The Comic Strip Presents... series and was originally broadcast on BBC 2. It is a satire of the Falklands War.
"The Trouble with Mr. Bean" is the fifth episode of the British television series Mr. Bean, produced by Tiger Television for Thames Television. It was first broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1992 and watched by 18.7 million viewers on its original broadcast, making it the highest-rated episode in the series.
