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Laurel And Hardy Biopic Has Impressive DNA And A Stellar Cast

By Skinner Bachs
Published on: 02:44 PST, Jan 19, 2016

There’s good news for fans of Laurel and Hardy, the comedians who saw their last box-office hit nearly three-quarters of a century ago. Latter-day Sons of the Desert and the current generation of cinephiles my find another fine mess of classic comedy and movie history in BBC’s latest biopic of the duo.

The Guardian reports that the BBC-produced biopic will be directed by Jon S. Baird, a critical darling in the U.K. for his directorial efforts on Filth and Cass and the U.K. TV series Babylon. The screenplay was written by Jeff Pope, whose big screen work on Philomena netted him Oscar and BAFTA nominations in 2013.

The Laurel and Hardy biopic will reunite Pope with his Philomena co-writer, Steve Coogan. Cast in one of the titular roles as the waifish Stan Laurel, Coogan is best known for his onscreen alter-ego Alan Partridge, an overeager try-hard who has more enthusiasm than talent. In Stan and Ollie, he will be showing a different set of acting skills as he portrays both the fragile, childlike, onstage persona of Stan Laurel and the older, savvy industry long-timer who is coming to terms with what he thinks might be his professional swan song.

Like Coogan, American character actor John C. Reilly has a respectable artistic double life, appearing in such critically acclaimed films as We Need to Talk About Kevin and Year of the Dog as well as loud, lad comedies Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, where he was a memorable second banana to Will Farrell. Creative aspects from all of Reilly’s past work will be visible as he shows Oliver Hardy’s larger-than-life pomposity to the stage while struggling with health issues behind the scenes.

Laurel and Hardy fans looking for backstage intel on the duo’s antics while making comedy classics such as Babes in Toyland, The Flying Deuces, or Sons of the Desert may be surprised by the period Baird and Pope have chosen for the biopic. There may be references to Laurel and Hardy’s glory days, but the film is set in 1953, catching up with them when years had passed without the duo or either man achieving a big hit. They agreed to do a music hall tour with the hope that it might spark a revival of interest in their past work and lead to roles in the future.

Early dates on the tour were sparsely attended and ignored by the press. In what looked to be a time for little else in the way of creative purchase, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy turned inward. Shared memories and a rediscovered delight in working together brought up renewed creative strength and unresolved issues. The question hanging over them as they push onward was one of finding a second professional life or accepting the tour as their valedictory effort.

The film is a labor of love for Pope, who is a professed fan of Laurel and Hardy. Max Every of ComingSoon.net cited Pope’s expressed affection for their work.

“When I watch their movies, in my head it is forever a Saturday morning and I am six years old watching the TV at home utterly spellbound, I am aware of the huge responsibility of bringing their characters to life, but I have not treated the boys with kid gloves or looked at them through rose coloured specs. They are living and breathing characters, with flaws and shortcomings. The research into this story threw up so many details and facts that I had no idea about. But everything I have done has come from a place of love and more than anything else I hope this shines through.”

The film, produced by BBC, Pope, and Faye Ward, one of the movers and shakers behind Jane Eyre, Suffragette, and The Other Boleyn Girl, is in the development phase. To date, no information about the filming or a release date has been announced the Laurel and Hardy biopic.

[Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images]

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