''Leave 'Em Laughing'' is a 1928 two-reel

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Produced by the Hal Roach Studios, it was shot in October 1927 and released January 28, 1928 by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Opening title

''What's worse than an aching tooth at three in the morning? -- Two of them --''

Plot

The scene opens in the duo's flat at night time. Stan complains that he has a toothache. Ollie goes to the bathroom to get him a hot-water bottle and keeps stepping on a tack which is lying around. When Stan gets the water bottle, the lid opens and the water pours out in the bed. The two of them make much noise and the

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...

( Charlie Hall) comes in, telling them that they will have to leave first thing in the morning. The two get into a physical fight with the landlord, ending in him seemingly falling down the stairs. The next day, Stan is in the dentist office, but is too afraid to get his tooth pulled. The dentist leaves and Ollie demonstrates how Stan should sit and not be afraid. Meanwhile, the dentist tells one of his partners that he should go to the guy who is sitting in the chair and pull his tooth out. He ended up pulling Ollie's tooth. When Stan is back in the chair, Ollie puts the mask over Stan and makes him unconscious. During the struggle enough gas is released to make Ollie unconscious also. Some staff are also affected. Stan and Ollie leave the office and go to their car, still laughing their heads off from the gas. There follows a protracted sequence where their drugged driving causes mayhem at an intersection, involving a traffic police officer who they fight with, and who tries to drive them to jail but drives poorly, eventually sinking the car into an open sewer.

Cast

Production notes

''Leave 'Em Laughing'' marks the first appearance of

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

in a Laurel and Hardy film. Chapters of

The Sons of the Desert The Sons of the Desert is an international fraternal organization devoted to the lives and films of comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The group takes its name from a fictional lodge that Laurel and Hardy belonged to in the 1933 film ''Son ...

(the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society) take their names from the duo's films. ''Leave 'Em Laughing'' chapters are currently located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Twin Cities, Minnesota and

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. ''Leave 'Em Laughing'' was remade by

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

in 1943 as '' I Can Hardly Wait''.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 233; Comedy III Productions, Inc.,

References

External links

* * * 1928 films 1928 comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Laurel and Hardy (film series) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films 1928 short films American comedy short films Films directed by Clyde Bruckman 1920s American films Silent American comedy films {{short-silent-comedy-film-stub