Laurel and Hardy fans ought to be pleased by this very early teaming of the comedy duo. Curiously, the names given their characters in the IMDb database for this picture are incorrect - Stan Laurel was 'Hives' and Oliver Hardy was 'Maltreavers' in this film short, but for all intents and purposes, they're the comedians we've come to know and love through the decades. Virtually every other reviewer on this board describes the story so no need to go into that here. It's probably safe to say that Ollie appears like you've never seen him before with a lower face full of whisker stubble making him almost look like a villain. It sounds weird to say so but Stan looks almost attractive when he impersonates a maid, doing so in believable enough fashion that it wouldn't be the last time. This is easily the earliest team-up I've seen of Laurel and Hardy, although it certainly wasn't the first time they worked together. The year prior, Stan directed another film short in which his future partner appeared called "Wandering Papas".
Review of Duck Soup
