Laurel and Hardy can seem so delightfully artless after an orgy of Chaplin. It's all appearance of course- Stan was every bit the craftsman too, but he crafted humour rather than art. And it goes without saying that while Laurel and Hardy films may never have aspired to the status of art, art, at their best, they most certainly are.
'Any Old Port!' isn't really one of the best of them though, that said, but it'sstill huge fun and features a gloriously vile turn from Walter Long. Two sailors home on shore leave help a hotel waif escape from the clutches of her bullying boss. Job done, and short of funds, Ollie enters Stan into a boxing fight- his opponent, the bullying boss. Really, Walter Long is hypnotically unpleasant here- his immoral, sociopathic sneer is haunting. I'm not sure the film would have been half as good without him.
The boxing match is good- but they always are aren't they? You have to really go some to fail with a comic boxing match. The best bits though are before the match even starts, with Ollie in Stan's corner, guiding him, working the crowd. Stan wins his fight, knocking Long out with his own loaded glove- but Ollie put all their money on the bully to win, so they've learn nothing, they've gained nothing. But they've saved a lady's honour. Laurel and Hardy were heroes every step of the way, whether they get recognized for it, rewarded for it, or not.
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