Review of Liberty

Liberty (1929)
8/10
Each other's pants
24 November 2016
Laurel and Hardy were at their creative best during the filming of this short Liberty one of their last silent features. Of course they had a lot of help with both Hal Roach producing and the direction done by Hollywood immortal Leo McCarey.

What I was a marveling at was that it was done with a bare minimum of subtitles. In this 18 minute running time I'm not sure that more than seven were used. It was all done with the situations and the body language of the team.

Also this was one simple gag situation taken to ridiculous lengths. Stan and Ollie area a pair of escaped convicts who actually make a good escape, but in their change from prison clothes to civilian attire they get each other's pants. The whole film is their search for a place to just change to each other's pants.

Laurel and Hardy regular James Finlayson is a music store proprietor, Tom Kennedy is his usual dumb as a post character in this case a prison guard. And Hollywood immortal Jean Harlow is seen getting out of a taxi cab. Her beauty is unmistakable.

The last half of this has them out on a construction site doing some high aerial work and poaching in Harold Lloyd's territory. Liberty is one of their best silent short subjects.
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