Be Big! (1931)
Directed by James W. Horne, James Parrott

Film Review

Be Big! is one of the very few Laurel and Hardy shorts that feels as if it is one reel too long.  The first reel contains the best gags, but this is copied almost verbatim in the duo's subsequent Sons of the Desert (1933). The situation is a familiar one to all true L&H fans: Ollie tries to get one up on his wife, ropes an unsuspecting and reluctant Stan into his machinations, setting up the film for the predictably disastrous denouement.  It all goes wrong in the second and third reels when the boys try to milk as many laughs as they can from what is basically one gag: Ollie trying to take off one of his boots.  Even with comedians as talented as Laurel and Hardy, it is asking a bit too much to play out the same joke over and over again for twenty gruelling minutes, and mirth turns to mild boredom way before the long-awaited punchline is reached.  As a nifty two-reeler, this could have been a classic.

Film Synopsis

Stan and Ollie are looking forward to their weekend break in Atlantic City with their wives.  But just as they are about to set off, Ollie receives a phone call from a friend inviting him to a truly unmissable stag night.  Feigning a sudden attack of bad nerves, Ollie persuades Stan to stay behind whilst their wives make their way to the station.  Unaware that their wives have missed the last train and are even now homeward bound, Stan and Ollie get dressed for their evening's entertainment...