The Battle Of The Century

The Battle of the Century (1927)

Runtime: 19 minutes

Directed by: Clyde Bruckman… and Leo McCarey

Starring: Laurel & Hardy

From: MGM

For those that love a good pie fight, this may have the best one. I’ve seen parts of it before but it was great to experience that in full, not to mention that segment in context. Battle of the Century can describe both the flinging of pastry and a boxing match that comprises the first few minutes between a scary-looking dude and Laurel. After that fight Hardy decides to commit insurance fraud by attempting to cash in on a policy by Laurel literally slipping on a banana peel. Instead, it results in hundreds of pies being thrown by what seemed like at least 30 people by the time the chaos concluded. It was classic: from setup to execution, how the madness escalates as more and more people on that city block become involved, the visual humor… the boxing is amusing but it is the second half of this which is the main reason for the high rating.

Apparently one day I should pick up on Blu-ray Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations. Besides me liking the duo both in silents and with sound, that features 17 shorts (including this one) and two features. The version of this in that collection is actually 27 minutes long because of the inclusion of a commentary track that goes long. The reason why it has a commentary track is its history: the movie has only been in its current form for a few years after having been feared lost for decades. For a long time after its initial release, part of the film was lost. Only recently was most of the missing footage found—you see, one scene is still missing so some stills and intertitles are used to explain what happened. Note that the 27 minute video is the one I saw on YouTube for those who want to see what I saw in its current form.