Kay Deslys

Film historian Robert Youngson presents a feature-length anthology of rarely seen silent films by comedy legends Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Along with clips from many of the shorts that made the duo stars, it includes clips from a 1918 comedy starring Laurel on his own as well as scenes from three shorts Hardy made in 1917 and '18 with his original comedy partner, Billy West. To put the duo's work in context, the film briefly features other comedians who worked with producer Hal Roach.

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Doris Rogers, half owner of a dude ranch, as Jimmy Wakely, "Lasses" White and Dusty Smith to help run it. U.S. Marshal Tom Logan, posing as a stage driver, is killed during a mock holdup of new arrivals to the ranch. Brenda Amers and Horatio Pennypacker, eastern jewel thieves, bring their loot to Roy Williams, who owns the other half of the ranch as a blind for his gang which resells stolen jewels. Vaughn, the desk clerk, re-cuts the jewels in a secret room in the ice house. Fearing he will be caught, Brenda refuses Williams her stolen diamonds and hides them in a bar of soap.

A beautiful but unscrupulous female performer manipulates all the men in her life in order to achieve her aims.

American Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a society ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, she never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry. At the outbreak of World War I, John is sent to the trenches and never returns. When her son goes off to fight in World War II, Susan fears the same tragic fate may befall him too.

Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Breezy, however, falling in love with and getting engaged to Maisie's conniving roommate Iris, doesn't realize she's using him and it's up to Maisie to convince him.

Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country.

A demoted reporter (George Brent) and his girlfriend (Brenda Marshall) seek to expose a crime kingpin.

Struggling performers, Sothern and Skelton's lives are thrown off gear when they are caught with a bagful of hard cash robbed by a goon. With Skelton in prison, how will Sothern prove their innocence?

The relatives of a rich old woman unsuccessfully try to have her declared insane, so they can divide up her money. To show them that there are no hard feelings, she invites them to her estate for the weekend so she can decide to whom she actually will leave her money when she dies. Soon, however, family members begin turning up dead.

An American goes to Germany to find his mother and discovers her in a concentration camp. With the help of an American-born widowed countess he seeks to engineer her escape.

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.

Drummond's girlfriend is kidnapped by his enemies and he along with his friend Nielsen, an inspector from Scotland Yard, follow the trail and try to rescue her from the kidnappers.

After the woman who raised him claims he's not her son, Richard searches for clues about his identity. Urged on by his mentor, Capt. Randolph Courtney, Richard focuses on Julia Trent Anders, a middle-aged actress who just might be his real mother. But soon, Richard begins to fall for Julia's stepdaughter. Amidst the upheaval, Richard schemes to return Julia to the stage -- but he's in for another big surprise.

A loose biopic based on the life of Gilded Age tycoon "Diamond" Jim Brady.

Instead of delivering some fancy dresses to a customer, the girls wear them to a party.

British Army captain Geoff Roberts carries on an affair with Alva, the wife of the cruel Victor Sangrito. Sangrito, however, is well aware of the affair, as he uses his beautiful wife to lure men into romance with her, then blackmailing them to save their careers.

Charley agrees to go on a blind date to help out his roommate. But because his last such date turned out badly, he goes all out trying to make himself look bad. He refuses to shave, wears his friend's old suit and even eats garlic. Unfortunately for him, however, his date turns out to be the lovely Thelma Todd.

A boarding house maid is treated mean, until inheriting oil gives her a new gleam.

Street musicians Stan and Ollie have no success earning money in the dead of winter in a bad neighborhood. Their instruments are destroyed in an argument with a woman, but their luck seems to turn when Stan finds a wallet.

Charlie hires three "party girls" to help him land a business deal.

A butler impersonates his tippler boss and falls for a beautiful young maid. However, a notorious gold-digger, who thinks the butler is the wealthy young man he's impersonating, sets her sights on him.

A young songwriter struggles to make good in New York.

Two families embark on a pleasant Sunday picnic but manage to run into a variety of issues with their temperamental automobile. Each incident requires repeated exits and reboardings by Laurel, Hardy, their wives and grouchy, gout-ridden Uncle Edgar.

Charley falls for both a mother and her daughter.

Anita and Marion realize that an abandoned baby they sneaked into an orphanage was kidnapped from a millionaire. For the reward, they proceed to break into the institution at night, dressed as men to beat curfew, to get the kid out again. This film survives only in very fragmentary form.

Stan & Ollie attempt to fool their wives by sneaking out to a poker game, but instead get involved with two flirty ladies, one of whom is the girlfriend of a jealous boxer.

Mrs. Hardy throws Ollie and Stan out of the house. They try to impress two young ladies at a golf course and end up fighting with other golfers.

The boys sneak out for a night on the town, unaware that Stan's wife has switched her grocery coupons for Stan's secret stash of mad money. The boys run up a huge tab treating a couple of girls to dinner at a snazzy nightclub and much trouble ensues.

For his birthday, Charley gets a cigarette lighter, but it won't light. He works on it with ill-suited tools amidst his family all giving advice. Finally, he unwisely fuels it with gasoline, which gets it lit, but soon, so is his house.

Defying her father's wishes, a young woman runs off to a sale at store. She's pursued by a policeman, but wins him over with the help of a friendly millionaire. In the mean time, her father tries to retrieve a compromising letter.

A servant girl plays matchmaker for the local burgomaster's daughter while setting her own sights on a visiting Irishman.

Charley has several dilemmas facing him at Christmas, all posed by his greedy, heartless landlord Noah and his family.

During World War I, an American soldier is captured and taken prisoner by the Germans. However, instead of being placed in a prisoner-of-war camp, he is assigned to the small farm of a young woman and her son to help raise crops to help feed the German army and people.

A dramatic recreation of the Johnstown Flood of 1889.

Despite his faithfulness, Melvin is always under suspicion by wife Mame. Complications erupt when a woman from a party across the hall passes out in Melvin's bedroom just before Mame returns.

A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.