(1929)
5
Janiss Garza
This classic Laurel and Hardy two-reeler is as near to perfection as any short comedy, silent, or sound can get. A number of the duo's films are based on the "reciprocal destruction" theme -- Two Tars and Tit for Tat are two other hilarious examples -- but Big Business stands out because of its masterful pacing and brilliant casting (nobody but the ever-irascible James Finlayson could have played the boys' victim so fiercely and funnily, and Tiny Sanford's cop blends just the right amount of disbelief, toughness, and humanity). The tempo starts off close to a snail's pace while Stan and Ollie make a couple of unsuccessful attempts to sell their Christmas trees (the details, by the way, are brilliant; for example, even though they are in sunny Southern California, the boys are dressed in heavy overcoats more suited for a real Christmas-y climate). The pace doesn't immediately pick up when the duo reaches Finlayson's home: Director James W. Horne purposefully lingers while the tree's branch and Stan's coat get caught in Finlayson's door. Then the mass destruction begins, and the rhythm begins to pick up...and pick up...and pick up until all three characters are deep into a furious frenzy of violence. By the end, Finlayson is so beside himself that it's all he can do to wrestle with the boys' remaining intact tree with their car completely annihilated in the background. Stan, oblivious as always, is in the middle of pulverizing a piano when he finally senses Sanford's presence. Accusations, tears, and resolution follow, and the laughs continue to the final exploding cigar. When it comes to structure, Big Business has few peers and to this day it is an example of excellent comic film making.
cast-crew for Big Business on AllMovie
Big Business (1929)
