The Second Hundred Years (film)
1927 short film by Fred Guiol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Second Hundred Years (a.k.a. The Second 100 Years) is a 1927 American silent comedy short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.
| The Second Hundred Years | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Fred Guiol |
| Written by | Leo McCarey (story) H.M. Walker (titles) |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Starring | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy |
| Cinematography | George Stevens |
| Edited by | Richard C. Currier |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 22:36 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Stan and Ollie are two inmates sharing a prison cell. Together, they devise a plan to escape by digging a tunnel. However, their escape attempt takes an unexpected turn when they accidentally emerge through the floor of the warden's office. After a brief pursuit, they are apprehended and returned to their cell.
Undeterred, Stan and Ollie disguise themselves as painters and exit the prison during a meal break, posing as members of a painting crew. As they paint everything in sight, including a parked car and a passerby, they attract the attention of a vigilant policeman. In a bid to evade capture, they hijack a limousine and don the evening attire of its occupants, who happen to be French prison officials visiting the governor.
Mistaken for the French dignitaries, Stan and Ollie attend a banquet hosted by the governor. Amidst comical mishaps, such as Stan's struggle with a wayward cherry, they manage to maintain their charade until they are recognized by their fellow inmates and the real French officials. A chase ensues, leading to their eventual return to prison.
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- Stan Laurel as Little Goofy
- Oliver Hardy as Big Goofy
- Charlie Hall as Convict
- James Finlayson as Gov. Browne Van Dyke
- Otto Fries as Lecoque
- Rosemary Theby as Dinner Guest
- Ellinor Van der Veer as Countess de Cognac
- Dorothy Coburn as Flapper
- Tiny Sandford as Guard
- William Gillespie as Extra
- Frank Brownlee as Prison Warden
- Edgar Dearing as Officer
- Charles A. Bachman as Officer
- Bob O'Conor as Voitrex
- Eugene Pallette as Dinner Guest
- Laurel and Hardy's heads were shaved for their appearance in this film; their hair had not yet grown back in their roles in Max Davidson's Call Of The Cuckoo (1927), released a week after The Second Hundred Years.
- The Three Stooges would paint their prison uniforms black in 1941's So Long Mr. Chumps.[1]
The "prison" gate is at 1601 Marengo Street in Los Angeles.[2] The chase scenes were filmed on Main Street in Culver City.[3]
Chapters of The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, called "Tents", all take their names from Laurel and Hardy films; there is a The Second Hundred Years Tent on Long Island, New York.
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