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Perfect Day (1929) - Laurel and Hardy

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Offline metaldams

http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_148_Perfect-Day
http://www.laurelandhardycentral.com/perfectd.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020264/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j1mvh

Watch PERFECT DAY in the link above




      Again, best talkie to date.  PERFECT DAY is a real simple film, so I'm not sure if I'll be very wordy on this one, (we shall see), but it's basically 20 minutes of the boys, their wives, and a gout ridden uncle played by Edgar Kennedy trying to leave in their car for a picnic, and every mishap possible goes wrong with the car and poor Edgar's foot.  Laurel and Hardy fail in BERTH MARKS to make five minutes of discomfort in a bunk fun, yet roughly fifteen minutes leaving in a car never gets old.  I liken this to the less claustrophobic outdoor setting, more character interaction, more gag variety, and just a more interesting scenario.

      What I love about this film is this.  Most of us have family.  Most of us love our families.  Most, if not all of us, in spite of our love, sometimes need a break from our families and the slightest little thing can set us off.  Yeah, you have that family day where you all get together, but let's be honest, you'd rather be alone or with someone else.  Edgar Kennedy's character admits as much in the beginning, but Mrs. Laurel and Mrs. Hardy feel it's best for him, in spite of his sad physical condition and lack of sleep, that he goes out.  They mean well, I suppose.  This takes us to Stan and Ollie.  When they make their entrance in this short, they appear happy, too happy.  Oliver is almost breaking out into song with his tone.  Then, one mishap that involves Stan knocking down his sandwich tray and a ton of anger boils out of him.  Stan and Ollie do a complete 180 in a matter of seconds as far as their tone goes.  They fight each other angrily until their wives, the glue who holds the family together, reminds them it's the Sabbath and a day of peace.

      The rest of the short they are outside trying to get away in their car.  Their patience gets less and less with each passing mishap, yet the wives remain stoic in their quest to glue the family together.  Edgar Kennedy is hysterical throughout being the poor guy to get his already injured foot mangled in every which way, and yes, just before the priest comes along, Edgar indeed does utter the words, "Oh shit."  This is well documented, even being mentioned in the DVD case, but you do have to listen for it.

      The theme of putting on an act extends to how friendly the neighbors are to each other with their endless good-byes.  Of course, one neighbor gets a clutch thrown through his window, and the formerly overt niceties boil into anger again in an instant.  A mini slapstick retaliation scene takes place, only to end again for the sake of keeping up social conventions.  The slapstick must end, because a man of the cloth walks by, and they must not show him how violent they have the capacity to be.  Edgar's "Oh shit" comment sums things up nicely.

      Tons of fun slapstick in this one, lots of tempers boiling over, and the ending is.........wait for it..........a mud puddle!  At least a Hal Roach film going stock makes a nice visual.  Yeah, I like this one a lot, I guess I had a decent amount to say after all.  I'm taking a half point off because I wish this was shot six months to a year later with even better sound.  Tons of little ad libbed background reactions that deserve a better recording.  Other than this minor complaint, a great short.

9.5/10
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

Another fave.  This one didn't have a music track until its re-release in 1937.  The original had no music. At 2.00, when Stan slips on the sandwiches and falls into a sitting position, it's generally agreed that that's a fairly big fart that you hear.  And Kennedy does say "oh shit".

 Good bye !


Offline metaldams

Another fave.  This one didn't have a music track until its re-release in 1937.  The original had no music. At 2.00, when Stan slips on the sandwiches and falls into a sitting position, it's generally agreed that that's a fairly big fart that you hear.  And Kennedy does say "oh shit".

 Good bye !

The DVD has both versions, the original 1929 version, which I watched, and the 1937 theatrical re-release with the added soundtrack.

As far as the fart, OK, I must put my DVD back in and check this out.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

That DOES sound like a fart.  Perhaps it was a prop that got moved a around making that noise, but hey, if it's a fart, I can believe it.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Paul Pain

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If I complained, I would be a liar.  Unfortunately, I had to keep the volume pretty low, but I was able to hear that oath right before the door closed.  L&H avoid the modern censors once again!  A very nice summation, although just to be picky Ollie throws the jack through the neighbors window.  The clutch gets smashed over Stan's head.  My favorite line is when Ollie chokes Stan and Stan gasps for breath and says "My apple!" and then chokes Ollie back.  And, of course, the mud puddle.

10/10
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Offline Umbrella Sam

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Laurel, Hardy, and Edgar Kennedy living in the same house? This seems like a much better version of Kennedy’s own solo series. Laurel and Hardy are well-meaning, but clumsy, and unintentionally harm Kennedy. Yet they still at least try to help out in the home and are still very likable. In the Kennedy series, his in-laws are lazy and irritating and sometimes seem to be outright malicious towards Kennedy, with no charm at all.

Ok, so now that my tangent against Kennedy’s own solo series is over, what are my thoughts on PERFECT DAY? Overall, I think it is a very good short. They are able to do lots of funny business when they’re having problems with the car, such as Laurel having trouble getting the tire off (a similar situation would show up in The Three Stooges’ PARDON MY CLUTCH), Laurel playing around with the wheel, and them accidentally throwing the jack through the window, though previous shorts had led me to expect that more would happen with this besides the neighbor only wrecking one window. There’s also a weird running gag where they constantly saying goodbye to their neighbors. Still, the short for the most part is pretty solid and Laurel and Hardy’s first mud puddle in the sound era makes for a great conclusion.  It’s not a perfect short, but this definitely is the best talkie up to this point.

9 out of 10
“I’ll take a milkshake...with sour milk!” -Shemp (Punchy Cowpunchers, 1950)

My blog: https://talk-about-cinema.blogspot.com


Offline HomokHarcos

Edgar Kennedy gets injured a lot in this film, but I find that the funniest part. I find fake violence really funny. For some reason seeing people get hurt makes me laugh as long as I know it's not real. It's the same reason I really like watching The Three Stooges. The title says Perfect Day and they want to go out to a picnic. This film and nots really Ollie that gets the worst of it, but rather Edgar Kennedy. I wish I could find the original release of the film, because the one I watched was the reissue with the added background music. I like that Ollie starts off in a good mood here. I often hear him called a bully, but he is actually usually upbeat at the beginning of a film before things start going wrong for him. I understand why he would be frustrated. In the end the group never actually makes it to the picnic, I would have been curious to see how the park looked.


Offline metaldams

Edgar Kennedy gets injured a lot in this film, but I find that the funniest part. I find fake violence really funny. For some reason seeing people get hurt makes me laugh as long as I know it's not real. It's the same reason I really like watching The Three Stooges. The title says Perfect Day and they want to go out to a picnic. This film and nots really Ollie that gets the worst of it, but rather Edgar Kennedy. I wish I could find the original release of the film, because the one I watched was the reissue with the added background music. I like that Ollie starts off in a good mood here. I often hear him called a bully, but he is actually usually upbeat at the beginning of a film before things start going wrong for him. I understand why he would be frustrated. In the end the group never actually makes it to the picnic, I would have been curious to see how the park looked.

I know on the DVD set released in 2011 or so, the original Perfect Day soundtrack is available.  Hopefully they’ll continue releasing these films on blu ray and it shows up in a future volume.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline HomokHarcos

I know on the DVD set released in 2011 or so, the original Perfect Day soundtrack is available.  Hopefully they’ll continue releasing these films on blu ray and it shows up in a future volume.
That DVD set sounds like a good buy.


Offline ChrisBungoStudios

These days, the Laurel & Hardy house in PERFECT DAY is worth over $1 MILLION! Here's a then and now photo I put together (click to view larger image). Lots more like this (279 photos in fact) on my website, https://ChrisBungoStudios.com



Offline NoahYoung

That DVD set sounds like a good buy.

"A what?"

"A good buy."

"Good-bye!!!!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

If I didn't know better, I'd think that this was made after NIGHT OWLS and not so early in their talkie career, since it lacks the awkwardness of the talkie shorts before it and immediately after it.

I hesitate to rate it, and I think I said awhile ago that I prefer rating by the traditional "stars", where 4 stars is maximum. Add in halfs, and you wind up with 9 distinct ratings anyway.  Plus, I like to compare apples to apples, and I like to compare talkie shorts to the other 39 the boys made.

PARDON MY CLUTCH is mentioned above, and I kinda consider that a semi-remake of sorts. Or let's at least say "inspired by."

This wasn't the first time the boys and Edgar Kennedy drove a car into a deep puddle! FF to the end.


The L&H talkie shorts were so consistent that there's a relatively small number of clunkers. While this one is great, I'm not sure it even makes my top 10 out of the 40.

I will say that it was the best talkie they made until BLOTTO, a mere 4 shorts later.

I'll bite the bullet and rate it ***, by my rating system just described.





Burt Lancaster was too short!
- The Birdman of Alcatraz


Offline NoahYoung

These days, the Laurel & Hardy house in PERFECT DAY is worth over $1 MILLION!

Is that as much as a thousand?
 :)
Burt Lancaster was too short!
- The Birdman of Alcatraz



Offline NoahYoung


Offline ChrisBungoStudios

I thought you'd know the next line.
 [pie]

I know there's a follow-up line from Mr. Hardy, but it escapes my 60 year old brain at the moment, LOL!


Offline Tony Bensley

I know there's a follow-up line from Mr. Hardy, but it escapes my 60 year old brain at the moment, LOL!
Lots of things escape my 60 year old brain, so I totally relate Chris, LOL!!  [pie] CHEERS!  :)




Offline NoahYoung

"Why man alive it's twice as much!"
- Ollie: THE LAUREL-HARDY MURDER CASE

 [band]
Burt Lancaster was too short!
- The Birdman of Alcatraz


Offline ChrisBungoStudios

1929 vs today. Here's a brief excerpt from my new Then and Now Filming Location video documentary covering the Laurel and Hardy film Perfect Day.