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Reviews
Helpmates (1932)
Absolutely the Classic it's made out to be
Helpmates has laughs from beginning to end, replete with the slapstick and wordplay that are the trademarks of the greatest film comedy team ever. It's twenty minutes of delight and each gag builds on the one before and sets up the next, a crazy crescendo in a symphony of sublime silliness. The comic Lou Costello was once asked who he thought was the greatest comedy team of all time and he unhesitatingly named Laurel and Hardy. Helpmates is worth many watches. This 1932 short nearly equals their Oscar winning short, The Music Box. See it. Then visit the Boys again and again. Laurel and Hardy - except for their mishandling by Fox in the 1940s -- are, as the great Steve Allen once said - ALWAYS funny.
The Uninvited (1944)
A scary story played with humor and grace.
Thoroughly enjoyed Turner Classic Movie's Halloween presentation of the classic ghost story, "The Uninvited." Milland's character is much warmer and self-deprecating than his later performances. Hussy is witty, and Russell, in the first performance of an all-too-short career, is luminescent. A bloodless ghost story that nonetheless succeeded in making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end more than once. "The Uninvited" is an choice for your Halloween movie viewing, along with "The Others" and "The Canterville Ghost". Fans of the campy Batman series (1960s version) should take notice of Alan Napier (later Bruce Wayne's loyal butler), who is pleasant as a country doctor in love with Hussey's character. Watch this movie, and you will surely want to see it again next Halloween.