Stan and Ollie are in prison and are constantly trying to escape. The problem is that they are idiots and every plan they try fails. Some of them are pretty funny and some a bit too silly in this film. This is one of the earlier Laurel and Hardy films, so I'm cutting it a bit of slack in scoring it a 6. The problem is that this prison comedy, while funny, also has a couple bits where the timing is just awful and they milk gags way too long--something you'd never see in their later and more polished films.
The first of these over-long bits is when prisoners Stan and Ollie try to escape by pretending to be painters. When a guard becomes suspicious and follows them out of the prison, they start painting EVERYTHING in sight. When I was a kid and saw this, I thought it was hilarious. Now, as an adult, it just seemed stupid--and NOT in a good way! The second was the awful dining scene where Stan chases a cherry all around the table with his spoon. This "funny" bit was often seen in films before this with other comics and it just isn't funny--and it goes on and on far too long.
Overall, even poor Laurel and Hardy is pretty funny and worth seeing. So give this one a look but understand it's not up to their usual high standards.
The first of these over-long bits is when prisoners Stan and Ollie try to escape by pretending to be painters. When a guard becomes suspicious and follows them out of the prison, they start painting EVERYTHING in sight. When I was a kid and saw this, I thought it was hilarious. Now, as an adult, it just seemed stupid--and NOT in a good way! The second was the awful dining scene where Stan chases a cherry all around the table with his spoon. This "funny" bit was often seen in films before this with other comics and it just isn't funny--and it goes on and on far too long.
Overall, even poor Laurel and Hardy is pretty funny and worth seeing. So give this one a look but understand it's not up to their usual high standards.