Probably, most people don't know that both Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel were film actors long before they teamed up. The two films in this collection are billed as "Laurel and Hardy", but instead it's... "Bobby Ray" (who?)... and Hardy... and these films were released at least ten years before Laurel and Hardy started their famous comedy duo. Bobby Ray is a totally forgotten actor (he had a pretty short acting career, and later in life he became an assistant director during the sound era), but interestingly Mr. Ray bears a passing resemblance to Stan Laurel. So, it was weird watching these film because you have the "skinny" and "fatty" look (although Mr. Hardy is notably younger and somewhat slimmer than we remember him), but the mannerisms and style of Laurel and Hardy that we know and love are absent here. Mr. Ray is kind of stone-faced and lacks a clearly identifiable character. Mr. Hardy, on the other hand, resembles his later persona very closely. I saw all kinds of little mannerisms in this 1915 film that I knew and loved from his Laurel and Hardy films (e.g. how he gesticulates when he's shocked). If you're curious to see what Mr. Hardy was doing before he met Laurel, then this might be an interesting historical curio for you. In the plot and style of comedy, these films are not similar to the typical Laurel and Hardy short film. It feels more like a Mack Sennett film in its frenetic pace and relentless physical gags... but with some snappy (and quite funny) one liners added in the intertitles. Having said all this, both films are actually pretty funny. There's a few good laugh-out-loud moments in both the slapstick and verbal humor. The second film has a death defying ending worthy of Harold Lloyd. So, you may enjoy this... just don't assume it's Laurel and Hardy.
