''The Battle of the Century'' is a 1927 silent

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

starring comedy

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

, who appeared in 107 films between 1921 and 1951. The film is famous for its use of more than 3,000 cream pies (although the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing worl ...

claims that as many as 10,000 may have been used) in the film's climactic pie fight. For many years, only three minutes from the film's second reel containing the pie fight was known to survive, as the footage had been included in Robert Youngson's 1950s film documentaries. However, the complete reel was rediscovered in 2015. It was released to the public on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 16, 2020 as part of the ''Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations'' compilation of remastered films. Also in 2020, ''The Battle of the Century'' was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot

A broke Hardy arranges for Laurel to fight Thunderclap Callahan in a boxing match for which the victor will receive $100. Fighting as Canvasback Clump, Laurel accidentally knocks out Callahan in the first round, but because Laurel will not return to his corner, the referee is unable to reach ten in his count. Callahan regains his senses and pummels Laurel. When Callahan delivers his final knockout blow, the audience leaves immediately before the referee can even begin his count. In a nearby park, an insurance salesman persuades a despondent Hardy to invest the $5 that he received from the fight in an insurance policy on Laurel, but for Hardy to pocket the insurance money, Laurel must be injured. Hardy places a banana peel on a sidewalk and takes the unsuspecting Laurel there, but a pastry chef slips on it instead, becomes angry with Hardy and throws a pie in his face. Hardy responds, and soon the entire block is involved in an epic pie battle.

Production notes

Although ''The Battle of the Century'' is officially a Laurel and Hardy picture as they are jointly billed in the opening titles, the men had yet to fully display their recognizable characters. Their screen characters are not yet called Stan and Ollie; Laurel plays Canvasback Clump and Hardy's manager character is not named. Laurel later said that because throwing a single pie would be a dreadful

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

, "Let’s give them so many pies that there never will be room for any more pie pictures in the whole history of the movies." Early in the film, a young

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First? ...

can be seen as a member of the prizefight crowd.

Lost film status

For many years, footage from the climactic pie fight was the only known surviving material from ''The Battle of the Century'' until the opening reel with the boxing match was discovered in 1979 by Richard Feiner. However, the sequence in the park involving Eugene Pallette as the insurance salesman was missing, as was the final gag in which a policeman receives a pie in his face and chases Laurel and Hardy down the street in the fadeout. What is believed to be the entire film was once broadcast on Spanish television (station TVE1) during the 1970s, including scenes of a customer in a barber's chair receiving a pie in the face while being shaved and a man buying two pies to participate in the pie fight. In June 2015, it was announced at the Mostly Lost film workshop in

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper C ...

that the second reel of ''The Battle of the Century'' had been rediscovered by film collector Jon Mirsalis as a 16mm print from the original 35mm negative. The reel was found in the film collection of the late Gordon Berkow, who had acquired the collection of the late Robert Youngson, the writer and director of several Laurel and Hardy film compilations. Youngson had received the reel as a preview print while working on his 1957 film compilation ''

The Golden Age of Comedy ''The Golden Age of Comedy'' (1957) is a compilation of silent comedy films from the Mack Sennett and Hal Roach studios, written and produced by Robert Youngson. Youngson had previously produced several award-winning short documentaries beforehan ...

''. The film was initially restored by Lobster Films, with subsequent restoration by Jeff Joseph in partnership with the UCLA Film Archive. The first official screening occurred at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

in September 2015, followed by a screening at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

in October 2015.Rediscovered Laurel and Hardy – The Battle of the Century
BFI Website, Retrieved September 8, 2015. On April 8, 2017, the film was shown at the Toronto Silent Film Festival, with live accompaniment by Ben Model. On May 29, 2017, it was shown at the

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

Film Festival with live accompaniment by Adam Ramet. It was screened at the Mostly Lost film workshop in June 2016 on the one-year anniversary of the original announcement, with Mirsalis accompanying the film on piano.

Cast

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 10 ...

- Canvasback Clump *

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

- Manager * Noah Young - Thunderclap Callahan * Eugene Pallette - Insurance agent * Charlie Hall - Pie delivery man *

Sam Lufkin Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin (May 8, 1891 – February 19, 1952) was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films. Career Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made ...

- Boxing referee * Gene Morgan - Ring announcer * Steve Murphy - Callahan's second * George B. French - Dentist * Dick Sutherland - Dental patient *

Anita Garvin Anita Garvin (born Anna Frances Garvin; February 11, 1906 – July 7, 1994) was a tall American stage performer and film actress who worked in both the silent and sound eras."California Death Index, 1940-1997", Anita Garvin Stanley, February 1 ...

- Woman who slips on pie *

Dick Gilbert Dick Gilbert (July 12, 1889 – May 6, 1960), was an American actor mainly associated with the Hal Roach Studios, where he appeared in numerous Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in 52 films between 1922 and 1952 A former b ...

- Sewer worker * Wilson Benge - Pie victim with top hat * Jack O'Brien - Shoeshine patron *

Ellinor Vanderveer Ellinor Vanderveer (August 5, 1886 – May 27, 1976), was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests. She appeared in 111 films between 1924 and 1953, including several Laurel and Hardy come ...

- Lady in car *

Lyle Tayo Lyle Tayo (born Lyle Minnie Shipman; January 19, 1889 – May 2, 1971), aka Lyle Barton, was an American film actress who appeared in more than 50 films between 1921 and 1948, appearing in many short comedies at the Hal Roach Studios, sever ...

- Woman at window * Dorothy Coburn - Pie victim * Al Hallett - Pie victim *

- Ringside spectator (extra) * Jack Hill - Ringside spectator (extra) * Ham Kinsey - Ringside spectator (extra) *

Ed Brandenburg Marion Edgar "Ed" Brandenburg (May 5, 1896 – November 17, 1968) was an American actor and stuntman. He appeared in 37 films between 1922 and 1938 and was the brother of actor Chet Brandenburg. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky and died in ...

- Warring pedestrian * Bob O'Connor - Warring pedestrian * Bert Roach * Dorothea Wolbert * Charley Young

References

External links