This was Laurel and Hardy's first full-length movie, though it is admittedly a short full-length film. And, apart from a few somewhat slow moments (particularly in the very politically incorrect and portion where the team pose as Black sharecroppers) as well as a running gag that isn't funny (the tooth),it is great fun overall. Part of the reason it is so much fun is that their foil is Walter Long--one of the absolutely scariest looking bad guys in movie history! I loved him in this movie and he is just terrifying. Well, the boys being very stupid, find a way to get on Long's bad side and they know their days are numbered unless some miracle happens--and that's exactly what happens at the film's conclusion. I won't give away the details because I don't want to spoil the fun, but this is a wonderful little film--minus all the songs that seemed to be added as padding.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess),'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. After all their efforts between that and this being decent to brilliant, their first full length feature 'Pardon Us' came up somewhat short, for me it was their weakest effort for quite some time up to this point and almost all their feature films that came after fared much better.

'Pardon Us' weakest points were the story and the pacing. The story is barely existent and feels cobbled together, like a series of sketches or a couple of shorts in one feature film which gave a disjointed feel. Although 'Pardon Us' was short, the content was not enough to sustain the length and it did feel more like a very padded short film rather than a feature film. There is a fair bit of padding and some of it comes over as over-stretched.

Most of the comedy material is fine, apart from some repetition here and there. Some of the editing is a touch on the sloppy side.

It is a nicely shot feature though and it is competently directed. There are a lot of amusing moments and the best parts are hilarious if not quite classic. The supporting cast do solidly enough.

Laurel and Hardy, as they rightly should be, are the stars. They show impeccable comic timing, especially Laurel though it was always great when their style had fully settled and their output evolved Hardy had more to do and able to show off his equal amount of talent more. Together, one can totally understand why they were such a legendary partnership. It was fully formed by this point and felt like a proper partnership, when before 'Two Tars' you mostly had them not having enough screen time together and Hardy having little to do. Not so on either count here.

On the whole, disappointing but worthwhile enough. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This was the first full-length movie from Laurel & Hardy, that last over 1 hour long. Their first effort is definitely one of their better ones.

Difference with most other Laurel & Hardy movies is that this one actually has a story and continuity in it. It's more than just one slapstick and comical moment after another and it's obvious that they definitely put lots of effort in the story. The movie is constantly funny although the movie could had done without those musical numbers in my opinion. It's extremely old fashioned and takes the pace right out of the movie.

Besides the two boys the movie also has some other memorable characters in it such as Wilfred Lucas as the jail warden, James Finlayson as the jail schoolteacher and Walter Long as fellow prisoner The Tiger. Especially Walter Long stands out in his role and he plays an extremely fun character who of course gives the two an hard time.

The movie is very fine constructed and build up to the memorable ending in which one big jail break is attempted. It's pretty violent stuff for Laurel & Hardy standards and I had never thought that I would ever see the two of them holding a gun. The ending is almost action movie like but it of course is also extremely hilarious at the same time.

There are quite some returning running gags in the movie that all help to make this movie a very memorable one. Also enough slapstick humor is present so fans of that will also be delighted with this movie.

9/10

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