Laurel & Hardy meet Abbott & Costello

[paul.ca...@verizon.net]

Just for kicks, I did a "what if" exercise: what if I owned the
broadcast rights to all the Laurel & Hardy feature films and all the
Abbott & Costello feature films, and I decided to broadcast them as
THEMED double features? Which movies would I pair and why? Here are
my answers:

* Pardon Us/Hit the Ice - because there are convicts galore in both
* Pack Up Your Troubles/Buck Privates Come Home - the A&C film is
virtually a remake of the L&H film, so this one seemed a natural.
* The Devil's Brother/The Time of Their Lives - two extremely
well-written and well-produced (exquisite costumes and sets) romantic
comedy period pieces.
* Sons of the Desert/Who Done It? - the pure essence of both teams,
without any padding or unnecessary sub-plots.
* March of the Wooden Soldiers/Jack & the Beanstalk - obviously, two
children's fantasies.
* Bonnie Scotland/Lost in a Harem - this was a tough one - I paired
them because there are some Middle-Eastern trappings in both (and
because Flying Deuces/In the Foreign Legion were destined to be
paired... see below).
* The Bohemian Girl/Abbott & Costello Meet Captain Kidd - paired due
to being exotic period pieces.
* Our Relations/ It Ain't Hay - both are comedies of errors.
* Way Out West/Ride 'em Cowboy - no explanation needed, I would
hope.
* Swiss Miss/Lost in Alaska - 'Snow 'doubt about why I paired
these frosty flicks!
* Blockheads/The Noose Hangs High - films that really exist so the
teams can pull off amazing gags and routines - the stories are
incidental.
* The Flying Deuces/Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion - for
obvious reasons.
* A Chump at Oxford/Here Come the Co-Eds - also for obvious reasons.
* Saps at Sea/In the Navy - a bit of a stretch, but the titles pull
these together.
* Great Guns/Buck Privates - for obvious reasons
* A-Haunting We Will Go/Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris
Karloff - two teams cavorting with lots of stiffs and black comedy.
* Air Raid Wardens/Keep 'em Flying - another stretch, but tenuously
connected through patriotism.
* Jitterbugs/The Naughty Nineties - both evoke "good old days."
* The Dancing Masters/Dance with Me, Henry - connected by titles
only.
* The Big Noise/Rio Rita - Nazis try to smuggle bombs in both.
* Nothing But Trouble/In Society - both teams are fish out of water
in high society.
* The Bullfighters/Mexican Hayride - for obvious reasons
* Utopia/Pardon My Sarong - because no comedy team is an island, but
both can spend some time on one!

[paul.ca...@verizon.net]

NOTE: I purposely left out the "all-star" features where Laurel & Hardy
only had short bits, as well as the lost film "The Rogue Song."

[gorl...@twcny.rr.com]

GREAT "double feature" pairings! My only suggestion would be to
possibly pair L&H's "Utopia" with A&C's "Dance With Me, Henry", because
both films are each team's film swan song, and both are atypical
entries.....

However, on second thought, I don't know of ANYBODY who could actually
sit through a double feature of "Utopia" and "Dance With Me, Henry"!