Dirty Work (1933) User Reviews

"Is this the home of Professor Noodle? We've come to sweep his chimney!"

[wmorrow59 · 8/10 · 4 February 2006]

This is an unusual Laurel & Hardy comedy with something of a split personality: at times it feels like two movies made in different styles spliced into a single short. Happily, each portion is funny in its own right, and the boys' seemingly effortless clowning carries the day and synthesizes the film's disparate elements into an entertaining whole. While I've never heard any Laurel & Hardy buff cite Dirty Work as an all-time favorite, it's nonetheless one that everybody seems to like.

Our story is set in the home of Professor Noodle, who represents one element of the story-line: a wildly over-the-top parody of Mad Scientist tales. This marks a rare venture into sci-fi territory for L&H; Abbott & Costello and The Three Stooges tangled with mad doctors far more often than Stan and Ollie. In any event, the professor is obsessed with creating a rejuvenating serum that can make people younger, while his sardonic butler, Jessup, expresses skepticism with rolled eyes and the occasional dry quip. Meanwhile, Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps who show up at the Professor's home the very day he perfects his solution. "Their" portion of the film consists of characteristic (but first-rate) slapstick involving the chimney, the roof, shovels, and a number of unfortunate mishaps. If you don't enjoy watching the boys screw up a task then you probably won't like Dirty Work, but for fans of the team this movie is a feast. The highlight comes when Ollie plummets through the chimney, lands in the fireplace, and is then pummeled with bricks that fall onto his head with maddening, rhythmic precision, one by one. I also like the shot of Ollie tumbling off the roof into a greenhouse; the process work is so rudimentary I suspect it was something of an inside joke, in the way that W.C. Fields' movies would boast the world's worst rear projection screens.

The slapstick stuff is great fun, but it's the mad scientist motif that makes this film memorably offbeat, and two supporting players deserve a tip of the bowler hat: prolific character actor Lucien Littlefield is terrific as Professor Noodle, delivering his overripe lines with relish and cackling with glee, while Sam Adams is a stitch in the less showy role of Jessup the butler. As great as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were in their prime, it's always worth noting that their supporting players at the Hal Roach Studio gave their films an enormous boost. So too, usually, did the background music of Le Roy Shield, but Dirty Work marks a rare occasion from this period that a Roach comedy has no musical accompaniment at all after the opening credits. Mood music might have enhanced the proceedings, but the lack of it is no great flaw. This is a highly enjoyable comedy, a prime example of what made Laurel & Hardy so popular in their day -- and long beyond it.

Laurel & Hardy as chimney sweepers = Laughs guaranteed!

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 28 June 2006]

The concept of having Laurel & Hardy this time in the role of chimney sweepers works out surprisingly hilarious. It guarantees some funny situations and silly antics, from especially Stan Laurel of course as usual.

The movie also has a subplot with a nutty professor who is working on a rejuvenation formula. It doesn't really sound like a logical mix of story lines and incoherent but both plot lines blend in perfectly toward the memorable ending. It's still a bit weird but its funny nevertheless, so it works for the movie.

The supporting cast of the movie is surprising good. Sam Adams is great as the stereotypical butler and Lucien Littlefield goes deliciously over-the-top as the nutty professor.

The movie is filled with some excellent timed and hilarious constructed sequences, which are all quite predictable but become hilarious to watch nevertheless thanks to the way they are all executed. It all helps to make "Dirty Work" to be one of the better Laurel & Hardy shorts.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Timing Bricks

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 27 September 2009]

Laurel & Hardy are working as chimney sweeps in this one, and they're summoned to the house of a slightly potty scientist who is working on a rejuvenation serum. Ollie spends much of the film trying to stay as far away as possible from Stan by working on the roof while Stan remains in the house, but working at the top end of a stick when Stan's at the bottom isn't a good idea, and it's not long before Ollie comes crashing down the chimney.

I wonder how much time was spent calculating the exact right moment to drop each brick onto Ollie's head to get maximum laughs as he sits at the bottom of the chimney. Possibly Stan, as he was the creative force in the partnership. If it was him, he got it exactly right. It's a small detail, almost inconsequential, but if it had been mistimed it wouldn't have been half as funny.

The potty professor's sarcastic butler is also pretty funny. 'You'll find it in there, standing against the wall,' he dryly informs Ollie when he enquires as to the whereabouts of the chimney.

One of the best of Stan and Ollie's shorts

[chris_gaskin123 · 10/10 · 25 April 2005]

I have seen Dirty Work several times and is probably my favourite Stan and Ollie short.

In this one, Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps and get the job to clean the chimney at the home of Professor Noodle (Lucien Littlefield). While Noodle is doing mad experiments in his lab, Stan and Ollie cause much chaos trying to clean the chimney and make a mess of the living room. The end is where Ollie falls into a tank of special formula that Noodle uses for his experiments and this turns him into a chimp! The best part is where Ollie falls down the chimney and loads of bricks land on his head, but he doesn't seem to suffer much pain from this.

Dirty Work is Stan and Ollie at their funniest. Great fun.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

What can I say – I‘ve yet to see an unfunny L&H short

[bob the moo · 17 January 2003]

Laurel and Hardy are chimney sweeps. They come to the house of research scientist Professor Noodle and set about ineptly trying to sweep his chimney – causing more damage than doing work. Meanwhile the slightly unhinged Noodle carries out tests on a potion that reverses the ageing process.

I'm slowing becoming a big fan of Laurel & Hardy. This is about the tenth short film of theirs that I have seen in the past month and I have enjoyed them all with only a few minor reservations. This is no exception. The simple set up give way to the jokes you expect and no real surprises, in fact at least two of the gags are so signposted you see them miles away. It's a credit to their delivery that it's all still very funny!

Both Oliver and Stan have great skills – whether it's Ollie's looks to camera or Stan's whimpering, all delivery is hilarious and average jokes are hilarious in their hands. The side plot of the potion is intrusive a little because we keep leaving the cleaning process to watch Noodle mix the potion but it does build to a funny climax so it is pretty much worth it.

Overall, fans of this wonderful duo will be pleased with this short as it is just what you expect from them – good routines, funny jokes and great delivery.

Cleaning Chimneys With Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 18 March 2000]

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. The Boys arrive to sweep the chimneys at the home of Professor Noodle, a mad scientist who's just perfected his rejuvenation serum. Stan & Ollie proceed with their DIRTY WORK, spreading destruction inside the house and on the roof. Then the Professor wants to try out his new potion...

A very funny little film. The ending is a bit abrupt, but much of the slapstick leading up to it is terrific. Especially good is Stan & Ollie's contest of wills at opposite ends of the chimney. That's Lucien Littlefield as the Professor.

"I have nothing to say."

[Prichards12345 · 7/10 · 12 December 2015]

Ah ha, but you make us laugh anyway, Oliver. This good little short has Stan and Ollie as chimney sweeps at the house of a mad scientist and giving a new meaning to the term "chaos theory". This has a beautifully timed moment with Ollie buried in fireplace bricks only to have another one fall on his head at regular intervals. The assault subsides, Ollie looks up in hope, and of course another one drops...sheer genius.

Our mad scientist has invented a "rejuvenation" potion and at the end Ollie gets to test it out! Don't know if it was just me but the chimp he de-evolves into seems have "Ollie" expressions in his disgust at Stan. A lovely ending. There are a few flat moments in it which perhaps could have done with a gag or two more, but on the whole it worked for me.

A lesser Laurel and Hardy short, perhaps, but still funny and entertaining.

DIRTY WORK - ONE OF THE FUNNIEST L&H SHORTS

[Sunsphxsuns · 10/10 · 16 January 2022]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made 107 films together as a comedy team (72 silent and sound short subjects, 23 features, and 12 cameo appearances in films starring others). Call me crazy ("Hey, crazy!") but I never enjoyed silent era films. I tried, oh I tried, but each time an actor's mouth moved there was nothing but an awkward silence. Then after what seemed too lengthy of a wait, a placard flashed on the TV screen, reflecting what the actor had just said moments before. I found this to be very distracting, plus it slowed down the natural comedic timing. This lapse between action and dialog, for me, was like watching an entire movie subtitled, and I couldn't square the two up.

That being said, I didn't watch any of the short and feature length "TV reruns" unless they were "talkies." As a kid who was fortunate enough to have a tiny black and white TV set in my bedroom, every Saturday morning before my parents or the Sun were up, I was thoroughly mesmerized by the vaudevillian, overtly physical humor of Buster Keaton, Our Gang (The Little Rascals), The Three Stooges, and of course, Laurel & Hardy.

In Dirty Work (1932) the plot, like many of the L&H shorts, is simple - Chimney Sweeps Ollie and Stan set out to clean the chimney of a old and eccentric scientist (Professor Noodle) who has spend the last 20 years working on a "rejuvenation formula" that will make him 30 years younger. It doesn't take long before Stan and Ollie have bricks, black fireplace soot, broken furniture and pure mayhem ruining the old mansion. Indeed, the only thing the angry butler can say to the boys is "Somewhere an electric chair is waiting!" (This also happens to be one of my favorite lines in L&H films.)

No spoilers here as usual, but I will reveal that this film is one of the very few times you can see Oliver Hardy's tattoo (located on his right forearm).

Rather Strange Short

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 23 April 2004]

In many ways DIRTY WORK is a predictable L&H short on the surface with the boys going to sweep someone`s chimney . Guess what happens next ? That`s right slapstick at its most sucessful ensues .

But there`s one or two things that seem untypical . Ollie for example is very unlikable , he`s arrogant , he`s rude , and not only to Stan look at the way he addresses the servant with " HEY YOU " and takes a childish huff very easily with his catchphrase being " I have nothing to say " . In short Ollie plays a bully in a very unlikable way and I much prefer to see him to play the arrogant coward where he`s always at his funniest

DIRTY WORK also lacks the reportary regulars of the other L&H shorts like Finlayson , Long , Busch and Housman which means when we switch to the mad scientist plotline there`s a slightly creepy atmosphere that jars with the rest of the movie

Having said that this is still a good short mainly down to Stan . Also watch out for a scene featuring a fish . Many jokes/plots from L&H feature fish and this is another one

This just seems to prove that Laurel and Hardy could be funny given ANY situation!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 23 August 2008]

Some of my favorite Laurel and Hardy films have very, very little plot. Instead, they give them a rather mundane situation and just let them be hilarious! Films such as HELP MATES and BUSY BODIES are among the funniest as you see the boys working or cleaning house. Here in DIRTY WORK, most of the film is akin to these other two films--Stan and Ollie are chimney sweeps and spend most of the film trying (quite unsuccessfully) to clean a crazy professor's chimney. Seeing Ollie fall through the chimney, the boys making the house a total mess and the insane behaviors of Stanley all work together to make a very pleasing film.

However, in an odd twist, there is also a really weird subplot that begins and ends the movie. It seems that the professor is truly a mad scientist and he is working on a formula to make things younger. Late in the film, you see him make a duck into a duckling and even a duckling into an egg! Given that he then leaves the boys alone in the room, is it any surprise what happens next? While this subplot was unnecessary, it worked well enough. What worked exceptionally well was the middle portion. Give the boys nothing exciting to do and you'll be amazed at the hilarious results. One of the team's better films and it almost earns a 9.

Chimny Sweeps

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 22 July 2010]

Stan and Ollie show up at the house of a mad professor to clean his chimney. The professor is one of those kooks who has been trying for twenty years to make a potion that will physically regress subjects to an earlier physical age.

But that doesn't figure in until the end, when Ollie is reduced to a chimpanzee. (Creationists take note.) Before that, there are some amusing moments that are expectable in a Laurel and Hardy short -- the two of them tugging at the ends of a long handle with a huge filthy brush on the end, Stan finding the handle too short and substituting a loaded shotgun for one of the extensions, and Ollie falling down the chimney in a cloud of soot and having a couple of dozen bricks fall on him, followed (one after an agonizing other) by single bricks that hit him directly on the head, while he grits his teeth and takes it.

The butler's name is Jessup and at one point the professor comes rushing in and shouts, "Where's Jessup?" Ollie answers sweetly, "Oh, about thirty miles southeast of Atlanta." Hardy was a native of Georgia and it would be surprising if this weren't his contribution.

Bricks on the Head

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 16 January 2017]

Here we go again. New job. Chimney sweeps at the home of a nutty scientist. The guy is working on a kind of fountain of youth substance and Laurel and Hardy are called in to clean the chimney. Of course, not only do they not do their jobs, they dismantle the place they are working on. So what else is new? Nothing, other than the incredible ways they find to wreak havoc on the world. This has one of my favorite bits that they used in other films as well. As the chimney collapses, Ollie sits on the hearth as one brick after another falls on his head. Just when you think the last brick has fallen, another one bonks him. These guys were the absolute best.

Chim Chim Cheree, Stan and Ollie

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 December 2016]

Dirty Work finds Laurel and Hardy doing the dirtiest work around. That of chimney sweep in London. Looks like they could have used some help from Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. Her traveling umbrella would have been of great help from keeping the boys going down that dirty chimney shaft.

But half the fun of this short subject is just who they were sweeping for. None other than mad scientist Professor Noodle played by Lucien Littlefield. He's looking for subjects to experiment on with his new rejuvenation formula. It's stuff you have to be careful with or otherwise you regress too much.

You can imagine all the problems the boys have as chimney sweeps. But the climax is when Stan bumps Ollie into a big vat of Littlefield's formula. Coooooo, what a sight.

Good short subject and Littlefield looked like he was having some fun.

Closer To A Stooges Short Than Laurel And Hardy

[film_poster_fan · 3/10 · 26 May 2022]

As this short film progresses, it seems more like a Three Stooges short than something Laurel and Hardy would do. The gratuitous violence, the mad scientist, and the stupid conclusion are all out of the Stooges playbook. None of it is believable. Thank goodness, they redeemed themselves with "Sons Of The Desert" soon after this short was made.

VERY Funny

[RussianPantyHog · 23 April 2004]

I've just watchd this particular L&H short on BBC2. Hard to believe it's SEVENTY ONE years old, but still as fresh as a daisy. I wonder what this part of LA looks like today? As usual a simple idea and basic props are all it takes for 20 minutes of pure joy. That's genius for you. This episode was clearly 'inspired' by their classic Hog Wild (filmed 3 years earlier), but it's still wonderful. I read (small SPOILER) that "Dirty Work" encountered problems with the censor back in 1933. The end involves Ollie falling into a water tank with a whole jar of "rejuvination formula". A single drop would've turned him into a child, but a LITRE of the stuff and evolution itself is reversed & he ends up as a chimpanzee (still in a bowler hat). That was a risque thing to show, back then. Glad to see such attitudes have changed, while the genius of Laurel and Hardy lives on forever. God bless 'em.

The funniest Laurel and Hardy short ever made!

[mrags2818 · 10/10 · 1 September 2002]

This is by far the funniest short made by the two comic geniuses. From the time they walk in, to the time Hardy just falls off the roof, this keeps me laughing hysterically. I highly suggest that every fan of Laurel and Hardy should see this short. I also recommend all of the Ghost Series. If you are looking for laughs, see this movie and you will be happy.

Not Starring Norm MacDonald And Artie Lange

[boblipton · 8/10 · 29 December 2020]

No, this isn't the 1998 comedy feature directed by Bob Saget. It's another of the classic Laurel & Hardy shorts, in which they play chimney sweeps who go to do a job at a mad scientist's place. From that description, you can be sure it won't turn out well; I said "Laurel & Hardy", didn't I? With Ollie on the roof and Stan in the living room, the only one who's going to come out well when Lucien Littlefield tries out his rejuvenation potion, is the chimpanzee.

Hardy does look good covered in soot. It hides his bald spot.

Let Me Explain My Rating

[arfdawg-1 · 6/10 · 3 April 2019]

I really feel a need to explain my 6 point rating.

The truth is, if this movie was just about the slapstick antics between L&H cleaning the chimney, I'd give it a 10.

It's top notch, and I don't think they've done better.

However the plot revolving the nutty professor and the weirdo butler is kind of stupid. Actually, not kind of, it is.

"Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into"

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 9 November 2018]

For sure, in the first 2/3 of the 20 min. film, the boys are trying to do the dirty work of sweeping out the chimney in the house of Prof. Noodle. In the last 1/3 of the film, we stitch to emphasis on Prof. Noodle's formula he's been working on for 20 years , which he hopes will produce rejuvenation in any animal. He very much has the aurora of a Hollywood mad scientist..........Of course, without seeing them, you can imagine the mischief L&H could get into in sweeping out a chimney, and they don't disappoint. Their attempt to prevent soot from getting all over the house is an abject failure, as Stan manages to pull the protective cover over the fireplace off of the mantle, with his clumsiness. Stan mostly works from the fireplace, whereas Ollie mostly stays on the roof, to guide the progress of the brush. Stan's addition of broom handle extensions was sometimes too long, and poked Ollie, perhaps causing him to fall off the roof, or get a face full of soot(Actually chocolate powder was used as a stand in). Several times, Stan unexpectedly opened the roof hatch, hitting Ollie. One time, Stan ran out of handle extensions(?), and used a long rifle to finish the extension. He fired it, and the brush and extensions went up, bothering Ollie. He even hit a goose, that fell down the chimney! Eventually, Ollie also falls down the chimney, after mostly destroying the external chimney. Off course, he brings down much soot, and (fake) bricks keep hitting him on the head for some time. If you have seen "Laughing Gravy" recently, this scene should be deja vu ........Their cleanup operation generates a few chuckles. Stan uses their coal shovel to scrape the soot off the floor and carpet. He's too vigorous, and scrapes up some of the carpet too. When they are talking about a picture on the wall, instead of dumping the soot into the burlap bag, he dumps it down Ollie's overalls. .......Their cleanup work is interrupted by the Prof. proclaiming that his concoction is a success. He put a little in a tank of water, and the duck he put in the tank quickly regressed to a chick! Thus, it really accomplished extreme developmental regression, rather than rejuvenation of the adult.....The Prof. goes looking for his butler: Jessup, to make him a human guinea pig. Meanwhile, the boys see a fish in an aquarium, and decide to see what the formula does to that. Ollie stands on a chair overlooking the tank, with the entire stock of formula in his hand. Stan tries to give him an eye dropper to put just a little formula in the tank, as too much might send it back too far. However, Stan bumps Ollie, who falls into the tank with the entire stock of formula! We see bubbling and condensed vapor, and hear Ollie hollering. Finally, he comes out in a modified form, I won't say what(very funny). Stan asks him to speak to him. Ollie says "I have nothing to say", which echoes a running gag. I think it would have been funnier if he said his famous line "Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into". What do you think?........See it at YouTube. I watched the colorized version, which was sharp, rather than the B&W version, which is also there.

Just the thought of Laurel and Hardy and a chimney brings in laughs.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 29 October 2016]

Take two bumbling chimney sweeps, a crazy scientist, an acerbic butler and one cute chimp, and you've got the recipe for success. There was less soot after the Chicago fire than what Laurel and Hardy produce here. The boys were funnier when they went after the kiddie audience than with adult themes, although their comedy was often dark it regardless. I think the Butler must have seen them in "Help Mates" and "The Music Box", giving them droll directions when they arrive as to where the fireplace is. What happens from there is consistently funny with an ending whose style would end many of Laurel and Hardy's shorts and features.

Great old-fashioned comedy

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 16 August 2014]

Stan and Ollie are employed as chimney sweeps, with predictable (but entirely hilarious) consequences. This is slapstick comedy at its best: short, straightforward and with an emphasis on hilarious pratfalls and physical comedy throughout. There's a twist ending of sorts thrown into the mix as well: a sub-plot that sees an eccentric scientist making an elixir of eternal youth results in some unforeseen consequences for the boys.

The comedic duo are at their best in DIRTY WORK, and the gags come thick and fast. I believe that the pair were at their best when employed in physical labour, and the calibre of this effort helps to highlight that.

Belly laughs still provided in 2015.

[Ben_Cheshire · 10/10 · 17 May 2015]

It should have been a simple job. Sweep the chimney, they said? How hard could it be? Mr. Noodle is hard at work on God only knows what, while his butler gives the boys lip and Stan and Ollie do the absolute reverse of cleaning a chimney. One thing I learned from this short was that not all Chimney Sweeps were as chipper as Dick van Dyke, and for good reason. This truly was one of the dirtiest jobs of the 20th Century.

Stan and Ollie are in top form in this classic short, with belly laughs still provided in 2015. on much of it: The sight of Ollie in the garden with the sprinklers. The bricks falling from chimney. The moment when Stan realises he deserves a bonk on the head. That ending.

There is a unity and perfection to shorts like this that provide this many laughs and have such a unity of plot and situation. One of the greats.

This short film may have needed some work

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 20 August 2015]

"Dirty Work" is a black-and-white short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This one here was made in 1933, so over 80 years ago. At this point, they were already in sound and silent films were a thing of the past. Here the two have trouble with a mad scientist and more mayhem than usual happens probably because of that. The director is Lloyd French, who only became 50 years old, but made over 100 films, including many short movies, during his 15 years of creative movie-making. This one here is certainly not one of his best works and I also don't think it's among Laurel and Hardy's finest. All in all a mediocre film that could have needed some better (and more frequent) humor.

Dirty Work

[jboothmillard · 8/10 · 22 July 2009]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Professor Noodle (Lucien Littlefield) is nearing the completion of his rejuvenation formula, with the ability to reverse ageing, after twenty years. Ollie and Stan are the chimney sweeps that arrive to do their job, and very quickly Ollie wants to get away from Stan making mistakes. Ollie goes to the roof to help with the other end of the brush at the top of the chimney, but Stan in the living room ends up pushing the him back in the attic. After breaking an extension, Stan gets a replacement, a loaded gun, from off the wall, and of course it fires the brush off. Stan goes up to have a look, and Ollie, standing on the attic door of the roof, falls into the greenhouse. Stan asks if he was hurt, and Ollie only answers with "I have nothing to say." Ollie gets back on the roof, and he and Stan end up in a tug and pull squabble which ends up in Ollie falling down and destroying the chimney. Ollie, hatless, in the fireplace is hit on the head by many bricks coming down, and the butler Jessup (Sam Adams) is covered in chimney ash smoke, oh, and Ollie still has nothing to say to Stan. The boys decide to clean up the mess, and when Stan tears the carpet with the shovel, Ollie asks "Can't you do anything right", and Stan replies "I have nothing to say", getting the shovel bashed on his head. As Ollie holds a bag for Stan to shovel in the ashes, they get distracted by a painting on the wall, and the ashes end up down Ollie's trousers, so Stan gets another shovel bashed on the head. Professor Noodle finishes his formula, and does a final test on a duck, with a drop in a tank of water, changing it into a duckling. He also shows the boys his success, turning the duckling into an egg, and he next proposes to use a human subject, i.e. his butler. While he's gone, the boys decide to test the formula for themselves, but Ollie ends up being knocked by Stan into the water tank with all the formula. In the end, what was once Ollie comes out, an ape, and when Stan asks him to speak, all Ollie ape says is "I have nothing to say", and Stan whimpers. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Very good!

Chimney sweeps and the mad doctor

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 26 October 2018]

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Dirty Work' quite one of their very best, but it to me still very good.

Admittedly, the story is pretty thin, in fact there's not really much of one, and is pretty standard.

It was something of a turn off seeing Hardy have an atypically unlikeable character, he does very well but the type of character doesn't suit him, he works better as a bumbler.

Despite that, 'Dirty Work' is great fun while also having a definite degree of substance, never less than very amusing and the best moments being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. It's all simple but it is effective in its simplicity without feeling too thin, Professor Noodle adds lots of fun and conflict. The ending is a little abrupt but great fun as well.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Dirty Work' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable. Hardy is still funny even with a different and not so appealing character.

'Dirty Work' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting cast support them well, with a fantastically nuts Lucien Littlefield being a terrific adversary.

Concluding, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox