(Contains SPOILERS) I wish Stan & Ollie could've lived to see how much their work is appreciated, even after all these years. I watched "Towed In A Hole" today with a Russian friend who'd (amazingly) never heard of L&H - and she laughed her head off! The plot of this episode is devilishly simple, yet brilliantly executed as only Laurel & Hardy could do it. They have a small (very small) business selling fish, until Stan suggests they could double their profits by catching the fish they sell. All they need to do is buy an old boat and 'do it up'. I guess anyone even vaguely familiar with the genius of Stan and Ollie can guess what happens :) There are 2 specific scenes which are SO outstanding they carry Towed In A Hole into the premier league of Laurel & Hardy's output. The first is Oliver Hardy singing a public commercial for their 'business' in the old "negro spiritual" style. The second (and this is one of the finest things they ever did) involves Stan locked in the boat's cabin and trapping his head between the bottom of the mast and the hull. In panic he grabs a saw and starts sawing through it. meanwhile, Ollie is on a ladder at the top of the mast painting it. Hardy hears the sawing and his 'puzzled' expression, just before the inevitable " Oh-Ooohh-CRASH!" is the essence of what has made them icons of comedy for 3/4 of a century. Wonderful!
Review of Towed in a Hole
