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The Laurel or Hardy Collection
(1917-1927)

Contents: The Hobo (1917), Frauds and Frenzies (1918), Just Rambling Along (1918), The Rogue (1918), Her Near Sighted Father [rerelease version of Married to Order] (1920), The Bakery (1921), The Bell Hop (1921), Golf (1922), Mixed Nuts (1922), Mud and Sand (1922), The Sawmill (1922), Kill or Cure (1923), Pick and Shovel (1923), The Soilers (1923), White Wings (1923), Her Boy Friend (1924), Kid Speed (1924), Should Sailors Marry? (1924), Smithy (1924), West of Hot Dog (1924), Chasing the Chaser (1925), Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride (1925), Hop to It! (1925), Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925), The Sleuth (1925), Stick Around (1925), Crazy Like a Fox (1926), 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926), Long Fliv the King (1926), Thundering Fleas (1926), Wandering Papas (1926) nd Crazy to Act (1927).

This budget collection has little in the way of unique offerings as over the years many collections have been issued containing the majority of these films.

Passport Video
2006 DVD edition

The Laurel or Hardy Collection (1917-1927), black & white, 560 minutes total, not rated, including The Hobo (1917), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, Frauds and Frenzies (1918), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, Just Rambling Along (1918), black & white, 9 minutes, not rated, The Rogue (1918), black & white, 26 minutes, not rated, Her Near Sighted Father [rerelease version of Married to Order] (1920), black & white, ? minutes, not rated, The Bakery (1921), black & white, 23 minutes, not rated, The Bell Hop (1921), black & white, 22 minutes, not rated, Golf (1922), black & white, 16 minutes, not rated, Mixed Nuts (1922), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, Mud and Sand (1922), black & white, 40 minutes, not rated, The Sawmill (1922), black & white, 21 minutes, not rated, Kill or Cure (1923), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated, Pick and Shovel (1923), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated, The Soilers (1923), black & white, 9 minutes, not rated, White Wings (1923), black & white, 8 minutes, not rated, Her Boy Friend (1924), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated, Kid Speed (1924), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, Should Sailors Marry? (1924), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, Smithy (1924), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, West of Hot Dog (1924), black & white, 30 minutes, not rated, Chasing the Chaser (1925), black & white, 11 minutes, not rated, Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride (1925), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, Hop to It! (1925), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated, Isn’t Life Terrible? (1925), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated, The Sleuth (1925), black & white, 9 minutes, not rated, Stick Around (1925), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, Crazy Like a Fox (1926), black & white, 21 minutes, not rated, 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated, Long Fliv the King (1926), black & white, 19 minutes, not rated, Thundering Fleas (1926), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated, Wandering Papas (1926), black & white, 18 minutes, not rated, and Crazy to Act (1927), black & white, 22 minutes, not rated.

Passport International Productions, DVD-5380, UPC 0-25493-53809-0.
Five single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 4.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; chapter stops; 4-page insert pamphlet; double-wide five-disc DVD keepcase; unknown suggested retail price.
Release date: 21 February 2006.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 4 / audio: 5 / additional content: 4 / overall: 4.

This DVD collection has been mastered from collector film elements that include 8mm and 16mm reduction prints. The majority of these video transfers are presented from low-quality analog videotape, with some displaying the ghosting to the right of bright objects in the picture that is characteristic of analog videotape. Some of these editions of the films are outright terrible. The films are all presented with a digital “The Laurel OR Hardy Collection” watermark in the lower right corner of the picture; this is to discourage video pirates (which is ironic given the low quality of many of these transfers).

The films are accompanied by soundtracks compiled from preexisting music recordings.

Supplemental material includes a video introduction by archivist Rob Stone; and a 4-page insert pamphlet with brief notes and film listings.

For our comparative reviews of some of the individual films in this collection, see our The Bakery on home video, The Bell Hop on home video, 45 Minutes from Hollywood on home video, The Hobo on home video, Married to Order on home video, Pick and Shovel on home video, The Sawmill on home video, Smithy on home video, The Soilers on home video, Wandering Papas on home video pages.