One Good Turn (1931)

People are voting emotionally.

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

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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.

Laurel and Hardy strive to help little old lady Mary Carr whom they believe is about to be put out on the street. Little do they realize that the jokes on them. Starting off with them camping in the woods, for them it looks like everything that can go wrong will go wrong. But it was a nice though anyway. James Finlayson plays an important part, but this time he's not their foil, and they don't even share scenes with him. Carr is a sweet delight, obviously being an expert in these type of roles. In one of the few times that Laurel is allowed to show some temper, he actually gets to give Oliver a taste of his own medicine, that is until the final shot.

This is a Laurel and Hardy short film from 1931, so almost 85 years ago already. Wow. It is in black-and-white, not silent anymore and runs for slightly under 20 minutes and looking at how the whole thing is basically only about a single misunderstanding, I have to say they did a good job with keeping that storyline intact and not letting it drag too much. Laurel gets his revenge in the end and boy I had no idea he was such a violent fella. Of course, it also backfires at him again too. The duo mistakes a theater play recital for an actual conversation and they believe an old woman is about to get evicted from her home. They try their best to prevent this from happening for the rest of the film. As always, chaos ensues. Director Horne and writer Walker worked on several L&H film, so they knew exactly what they were doing to make two of the biggest stars at that point appear as interesting as ever. Finally, just a little scene I found funny: The landlord says at some point that he will get his minions to clear the place and I immediately had to wonder if he was the villain the yellow little creatures from 2Despicable Me" were hanging around with back in the 1930s. Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, you will probably have absolutely no idea what I am talking about. Oh yeah, and aging makeup was very popular back then as well. The actress who played the old lady was a lot younger. Then again, Méliès made himself look considerably older in the 1890s already. "One Good Turn" could have been five minutes shorter maybe for a better viewing experience, but it is still a decent watch. Recommended.

Laurel and Hardy got to do one of their best shorts for Hal Roach in 1931 with One Good Turn. They play a couple of down on their luck characters who during the Great Depression would have had an instant identity with the movie-going public.One fine day as it happens Stan and Ollie come to the house of a little old lady who kindly gives them some food in exchange for some work they proceed to do in their inimitable fashion. In the meantime she's part of the little theater players group in her community and later when the boys return they hear the old lady Mary Carr rehearsing a scene with perennial Stan and Ollie nemesis James Finlayson. It's one of those turgid 19th century melodramas where the cruel, heartless, villainous landlords is about to evict the dear old thing and she's lost the money she's stashed away for her rent.Later on when Stan turns up with $100.00 Ollie drags him back and they find out the truth. At that point the worm known as Stan Laurel reacts and starts to give Ollie back what he's dealt with in this short and dozens more. It's what makes One Good Turn so unusual and refreshing.Note the scene which has them chopping wood and later on when they demolish their Model T. If that thing had been preserved today it would be priceless.A must for Stan and Ollie's legions of fans.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.Believing ONE GOOD TURN deserves another, Stan & Ollie try to raise money for a sweet old lady who's been kind to them, in the mistaken belief she's about to be turned out of her home by a nasty creditor.A very funny little film. Highlight: Stan's attempts to put out the campfire. That's Mary Carr as the old lady, James Finlayson as the Community Player & Billy Gilbert as a drunk.