The Second 100 Years
About The Second 100 Years
Stan and Ollie, cellmates, dig an escape tunnel and come up through the warden's floor. They are caught, then walk out dressed as painters and slap paint on a car and a passerby. They steal a limousine, put on the evening clothes of French prison officials who are due to dine with the governor, and are seated as the guests. A cherry and a roomful of real officials give them away. The chase ends back in the cells.
Cast & crew
More about The Second 100 Years
Fred Guiol directed. Leo McCarey wrote the story and H. M. Walker the titles. Hal Roach produced it for release by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on 8 October 1927. George Stevens photographed it. Richard C. Currier edited. A circulating print runs 22 minutes 36 seconds.
Themes
Making
Stevens, later a feature director, was the cameraman. The dinner scene is built so the prison clothes gag and the society gag occupy the same table.
Look
George Stevens photographed the tunnel gag, the paint spree, and the governor's dinner.
Preservation
A print survives, running 22 minutes 36 seconds.
Notes
- William K. Everson called this the first official Laurel and Hardy film, the one that presents them as a team. They had appeared together earlier without that billing.
- The credits name them Little Goofy and Big Goofy.
- James Finlayson plays Governor Browne Van Dyke. Tiny Sandford plays a guard, Charlie Hall a convict, and Eugene Pallette a dinner guest.
- Frank Brownlee plays the warden. Dorothy Coburn plays a flapper.
Scenes
- The tunnel opens in the warden's office.
- Dressed as painters, they coat a passerby along with the walls.
- Stan fights a cherry at the governor's table while the real French visitors arrive.
Also available
- Internet Archive (the-second-100-years_1927)
