With Love and Hisses (Short 1927)

With Love and Hisses (Short 1927). 21m | Passed

“This silent early pairing of Laurel and Hardy is entertaining and inventive, using a minimal amount of u0026#39;title cardsu0026#39; to tell its simple but sight-gag-stuffed story. Even though the iconic duo arenu0026#39;t playing their most iconic characters (heightened versions of themselves) in u0026#39;With Love And Hisses (1927)u0026#39;, their dynamic is still clear and engaging, with opportunities for both of them to play off Finlaysonu0026#39;s stern Captain also being utilised incredibly well. They actually interact with him almost more than they do with each other and it makes for a refreshing take on the now well-known formula, while still maintaining the underlying spirit of Laurelu0026#39;s sweet, slightly unintelligent innocence causing Hardy seemingly endless frustration as it gets him into seemingly endless trouble. The piece is, generally, superb. Itu0026#39;s consistently fun and has a number of properly funny set-pieces. There are also some really nice, often special-effects-driven sight-gags (as I mentioned), which pretty much never fail to get a laugh; the strongest of these is a moment in which we see Laurelu0026#39;s cartoonish throbbing toes. Generally, though, most of its success is sourced directly from its fantastic central performances. Itu0026#39;s a remarkably visual experience – which youu0026#39;d think would be obvious due to its silent nature, but there are plenty of pictures which fail in this regard. Of course, the narrative only serves as a way to get to each gag and there arenu0026#39;t any u0026#39;rolling in the aislesu0026#39; moments, either. Still, these are small, essentially inconsequential complaints. This is an enjoyable film throughout. 7/10”