LAUREL AND HARDY FIND THEMSELVES IN ANOTHER CLASSIC FINE MESS
The original and greatest comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy, are coming back to our screens in October with the release of a Classic Collection video (£12.99) and DVD (£17.99). VVL is launching the first ever Laurel and Hardy DVD, featuring classic favourites, while the limited edition Classic Collection, features their three most popular films.


THE CLASSIC COLLECTION

Sure to be a collectable classic, the Classic Collection brings WAY OUT WEST, SONS OF THE DESERT and THE MUSIC BOX onto one video for the first time. These timeless comedies are the best selling of all Laurel and Hardy films and are an essential addition to any comedy lovers' video collection.

WAY OUT WEST, released in 1937 and directed by James Horne, follows Stan and Ollie on a mission to deliver a deed to a gold mine. Their antics cause a web of deception and the usual confusion they are renown for. The film features their famous dance routine outside a saloon and the team's duet, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.

SONS OF THE DESERT, directed by William A. Seiter was originally released in 1933. The film is set around a Chicago convention that Stan and Ollie are desperate to attend but Ollie has prior arrangements with his wife. An inventive plan and a few white lies later, the pair finally get to Chicago but typical Laurel and Hardy disasters quickly follow.

The Oscar winning film THE MUSIC BOX, was released in 1932 and directed by James Parrott. It tells the story of Stan and Ollie's absurd efforts to transport a piano up a huge flight of stairs. The challenge of this leads to another hilarious Laurel and Hardy episode which ends with the piano reduced to a pile of matchwood.

The films are filled with classic Laurel and Hardy humour and are complete, quality masters with restored, upgraded material and original titling.


DVD

Now, for the first time ever in the UK, Laurel and Hardy films are available on DVD. Combining timeless comedy with the latest technology, the DVD features BE BIG and LAUGHING GRAVY.

Never seen in the UK before, both films were filmed in Spanish and French. Laurel and Hardy couldn't speak either language and had to film each scene using simple cards that they would read off. This in itself creates comedy material.

Released in 1931, BE BIG is about a trip Stan and Ollie organise with their wives to Atlantic City. They soon regret the arrangements when they are invited to a prestigious dinner that evening. Ollie fakes an illness and the two wives are forced to go without them. However, after getting themselves into several funny predicaments, involving folding beds and Ollie getting stuck in Stan's boots, they do not make it to their evening dinner and the wives get the last laugh.

LAUGHING GRAVY, also released in 1931, begins with Stan suffering from the hiccups. The noise disturbs not just Ollie, but Stan's dog Laughing Gravy, whose presence is forbidden by the landlord. The landlord is woken and their efforts to hide the dog mean they find themselves in all sorts of ridiculous situations. A series of disasters later climaxes with the furious landlord bringing their eviction notice forward to precisely 15 minutes.

Laurel and Hardy remain one of the great Anglo-American partnerships of all time. Their widespread exposure to all generations continues, and is reflected in the video sales, which exceed 250,000 every year.


NOTES TO EDITORS
Classic Collection
Release Date:18th October 1999
Cast:WAY OUT WEST - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Sharon Lynne and Rosina Lawrence
SONS OF THE DESERT - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy and Charley Chase
THE MUSIC BOX - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Billy Gilbert, Charlie Hall
Running time:1 hour 40 mins approx
Rating:U
Price:£12.99
DVD
Release Date:18th October 1999
Cast:LAUGHING GRAVY - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlie Hall And Harry Bernard
BE BIG - Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Isabelle Keith, Anita Garvin and Charlie Hall
Running time:tbc
Rating:U
Price:£17.99

For review copies and photography contact:
Alice Howell/Tamsyn Zietsman
Talk Loud PR
0171 734 1133
alice@talkloud.co.uk