Laurel & Hardy: Thicker Than Water

In their final two-reel comedy, Stan is a boarder, renting a room from Ollie and his wife. On their way to making a furniture payment, the fellows are lured into an auction and wind up purchasing a grandfather clock. The fine optical work by Roy Seawright allowing the actors to literally grab and pull succeeding scenes into view (via so-called “wipes”) is a unique cinematic gag and aids the pacing. Escorted to the set every day by Hal Roach’s father, Charles, who actually lived on the lot, was a visitor from England named A. J. Jefferson, watching his “boy, ” Stan Laurel, perform before movie cameras for the first time. Directed by James W. Horne. With Daphne Pollard and James Finlayson.