It is very easy to understand Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's appeal, with them having such great comic timing and memorable contrasting and distinct personalities, and why they are so fondly remembered. The same goes with their chemistry, considered legendary and one of the best, and in their prime (mid/late-1920s to 1940) one can see there's a reason for that. Their best material, both verbal and particularly physically, was amusing to hilarious and their best films, short and feature, are classic comedy.
Which is why it is sad that there was such a drastic decline in the post-Hal Roach period post-1940 (know that a few of the late 30s films were less than great but not to this extent). A period when Laurel and Hardy became underused, they and their material on the most part were tired, they were put in settings that they didn't gel in, the films seemed to forget what made Laurel and Hardy's prime period as great as it was, a lot of the verbal humour was dumb and trite, the supporting casts were variable and a few were too plot-heavy and the plots were far from great. For me though, while not a great film and far from prime Laurel and Hardy, 'Jitterbugs' is one of the best from this period. Some of the problems that plagued this period are still here but there is less of them compared to the previous 1940s films and most of what came after.
'Jitterbugs' is too heavy in the story, which is an issue when the story was not particularly good. At least it wasn't paper thin or felt like an over-stretched short film like those of some of the duo's other feature films, but it suffers from the opposite, being over-plotted, sometimes over-complicated and from being wildly improbable. Do feel that Laurel and Hardy could have been treated more like leads, there is too much of Bob Bailey and Vivian Blaine and the romantic subplot is not the film at its most interesting. The film starts to run out of gas and become muddled towards the end.
Part of me wanted more physical comedy, because most of Laurel and Hardy's funniest and most famous material was physical/slapstick.
However, both Laurel and Hardy have more energy than in other films from this period and they are good fun and look like they're enjoying themselves more than most of their post-Hal Roach films. Their chemistry shines much more than it did in the previous 1940s films and they're in a setting and situation that they gel much better in and more like something you get in their late1930s outings. The material they have here is also much better, none of it classic but as far as this period goes the humour and writing are far less dumb and are actually funny and well timed. The scamming discussion, the parts with Lee Patrick, the boys as a two-man band (particularly clever) and Laurel in drag are the standouts, it felt like 'Jitterbugs' did much better than most of their post-Hal Roach period in remembering what made them great even though for me it's too dialogue heavy.
Supporting cast is one of the best and most consistent of their 1940s films. A very funny Lee Patrick comes off best in the humour department, while Vivian Blaine is very charming and likeable, even getting the chance to sing a few pleasant if not entirely memorable musical numbers that actually don't distract too much. 'Jitterbugs' is nicely made and looks professional in how it's shot, the editing not crude, while the direction is competent if not always the most inspired.
In summary, decent post-Hal Roach outing and, although far from classic Laurel and Hardy, one of the best from this declining period. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Which is why it is sad that there was such a drastic decline in the post-Hal Roach period post-1940 (know that a few of the late 30s films were less than great but not to this extent). A period when Laurel and Hardy became underused, they and their material on the most part were tired, they were put in settings that they didn't gel in, the films seemed to forget what made Laurel and Hardy's prime period as great as it was, a lot of the verbal humour was dumb and trite, the supporting casts were variable and a few were too plot-heavy and the plots were far from great. For me though, while not a great film and far from prime Laurel and Hardy, 'Jitterbugs' is one of the best from this period. Some of the problems that plagued this period are still here but there is less of them compared to the previous 1940s films and most of what came after.
'Jitterbugs' is too heavy in the story, which is an issue when the story was not particularly good. At least it wasn't paper thin or felt like an over-stretched short film like those of some of the duo's other feature films, but it suffers from the opposite, being over-plotted, sometimes over-complicated and from being wildly improbable. Do feel that Laurel and Hardy could have been treated more like leads, there is too much of Bob Bailey and Vivian Blaine and the romantic subplot is not the film at its most interesting. The film starts to run out of gas and become muddled towards the end.
Part of me wanted more physical comedy, because most of Laurel and Hardy's funniest and most famous material was physical/slapstick.
However, both Laurel and Hardy have more energy than in other films from this period and they are good fun and look like they're enjoying themselves more than most of their post-Hal Roach films. Their chemistry shines much more than it did in the previous 1940s films and they're in a setting and situation that they gel much better in and more like something you get in their late1930s outings. The material they have here is also much better, none of it classic but as far as this period goes the humour and writing are far less dumb and are actually funny and well timed. The scamming discussion, the parts with Lee Patrick, the boys as a two-man band (particularly clever) and Laurel in drag are the standouts, it felt like 'Jitterbugs' did much better than most of their post-Hal Roach period in remembering what made them great even though for me it's too dialogue heavy.
Supporting cast is one of the best and most consistent of their 1940s films. A very funny Lee Patrick comes off best in the humour department, while Vivian Blaine is very charming and likeable, even getting the chance to sing a few pleasant if not entirely memorable musical numbers that actually don't distract too much. 'Jitterbugs' is nicely made and looks professional in how it's shot, the editing not crude, while the direction is competent if not always the most inspired.
In summary, decent post-Hal Roach outing and, although far from classic Laurel and Hardy, one of the best from this declining period. 6/10 Bethany Cox