"We Faw Down" is an American live action short film from 1928, so this one had its 90th anniversary last year. Director McCarey (long before his Oscar glory) and writer Walker were among the most known and most prolific during that era and here they got to work with two absolute superstars like on many other occasions. These two are of course Laurel and Hardy aka Stan & Ollie and they are probably still considered the most famous duo in film history or at least the most known comedy duo. It is not one of their earliest works, but one of their earlier still which you obviously recognize by this being a silent movie. Don't be fooled by soundtracks added later on. It runs for pretty much exactly 20 minutes. This is not one of Stan and Ollie's most known works, not among their least known either, but certainly closer to the bottom end, which is why certainly not as many people have seen this one compared to the famous piano short for example. And I can see why. I must say I was not too impressed by this one. The generic story with their wives not being too amused by them is one that has been done so many times back then (also by these two) and it is tough to get in anything new here with regard to that. So even with these legends the quality stands and falls with the screenplay. Of course, the two are still elevating the material with their mannerisms, slapstick and face expressions, but overall it was not enough for me to really enjoy this one. It is maybe more interesting to draw some information about back in the day from the film, for example how, even if people still watch it today, boxing was on a whole different level of popularity at that time. Don't get me wrong. I certainly do not think this film is anywhere close to a failure, but it is not a work you would want to start with when taking a look into Laurel and Hardy's gigantic body of work. Go for something else instead. And only watch this one if you know already you really dig these two. I give it a thumbs-down.
Review of We Faw Down
