When Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy left the Hal Roach Studios and began making movies at 20th Century Fox, they thought they'd enjoy the lavish production values of a major motion picture producer. As Stan said in one of their earlier, better films, "For the first time, I'm wrong again." Their post-Roach efforts were all disappointments — some better than others but none of them up to previous standards. L&H buffs are given to violent argument as to why this was. Some said it was all the fault of know-nothing studio execs who picked inept writers and then refused to let Stan and Ollie deviate from the scripts or improvise on the set. Others say that the boys were getting old; that because their style of comedy seemed shopworn to audiences of the day, they were trying to do different things and, in so doing, were abandoning that which they did better than anyone. Still others fault the ways of Fox — where few seemed to know how to make comedies, with or without Laurel and Hardy — and/or the absence of the fine Roach supporting players, gag men and technicians. There is probably some truth to each of these factors.
In the wee small hours of Friday morn, May 25, (shortly after Midnight on my satellite dish), American Movie Classics is running Jitterbugs, which was probably the best of their later features. Admittedly, this is a little like picking highlights from XFL games but even poor Laurel and Hardy is still head 'n' shoulders above other things you could be watching. This particular film ain't readily available on home video and doesn't come around all that often so you might want to set the TiVo or VCR.