Comparing "buddy" Pairs of the Old Cinema

After the introduction and expiration of the silent film genre, the earlier days of comedy brought about several comedy duos, also known as "Buddy" teams. Some of these teams included such acts as Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and later extended to include Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and some groups such as the Little Rascals and the Three Stooges. Every one of these teams had a ploy to win the hearts of their audience.

Most comedy duos used an approach to their acts where one member took on the "intelligent leader" role and the other the "incompetent side-kick" type of persona. In Laurel and Hardy's approach, it was Stan laurel that appeared to be the incompetent one; always messing things up and ducking around every corner to avoid any brush with danger. Close analysis would lead the viewer to realize that Laurel really is the star of the show, for it was Laurel's comic innocence and naivetй that make him a loveable character in their films. Certainly Oliver's skills added pizzazz to the comedy routine, but, I believe many could agree he could not hold a truly riveting act by himself alone.

A Short History of Movies (8th ed. Mast and Kawin) mentioned, "their films demonstrate the classic structure of farce...(they) begin with a single problem and then multiply that problem to infinity." This is easily shown when the movie Way out West opens with the two trying to locate a young woman who is owed wealth from a rich deceased relative and then escalates to them hoisting a donkey to the 2nd story of a building during one of the final sequences.

I found the effectiveness of their act to be based primarily on the idea that it seemed one member of the team, never knew what the other was doing. Every laugh seemed brought on by the fact Laurel and Hardy constantly misunderstood each other. One would take one path, and the other would head off in a different direction, only for them both to eventually reach mayhem at the same end.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby took a different approach to their comedy routine in Road to Morocco. Though Crosby seems the suave--romantic type, and Hope the more average kind of guy, both members get their laughs by backstabbing each other the entire film. In the beginning, Hope is bought by a Moroccan princess to serve as her fiancй until a curse upon his death takes place so she can marry her real love. In the meanwhile, Crosby tried to find his friend, believing he had been captured and was being tortured, only to find Hope lied about both fates. After his attempts to horde the princess for himself, Hope eventually finds out about the curse and quickly pawns the girl off to his counterpart with a "you belong together" speech. The laughs break loose when both characters are captured by the Princess's husband-to-be and neither of them knows their way around the desert. I think Crosby and Hope's act is effective because throughout the film they acknowledge the fact that it IS a film. Towards the end of the picture, Hope mentions how he could have won an academy award for his acting had he been given a chance to continue.

Though it seems a bit outrageous to watch such a movie that pokes fun at the fact that it is only a movie, I think it gives the characters a greater sense of realism and trust. They aren't trying to mislead you into believing anything and they are allowing