28 April

Laurel & Hardy Triple Bill    Beginning with Flying Elephants’(Dir. Frank Butler, US, 1927) in which the boys are transplanted to pre-historic times and their bowler hats are substituted for Hollywood-issue caveman outfits. Next up is their final silent Unaccustomed as We Are (Dir. Lewis Foster, US, 1929, re-made as their first talkie) in which Ollie brings Stan home for dinner, much to the disgust of Mrs. Hardy who storms out leaving the coast clear for the pair to try their charms on beautiful neighbour Mrs. Kennedy (Thelma Todd). Finally,  one of Laurel and Hardy’s best-loved shorts: Big Business (Dir. James Horne, US, 1928) which sees the duo gain-lessly occupied as door-to-door Christmas tree salesmen falling foul of short-tempered James Finlayson (Larbert-born local celebrity) with predictably but oh-so-satisfyingly destructive results.  Presented as an encore screening from this year’s Hippodrome Silent Film Festival (HippFest).  With live musical accompaniment by Jane Gardner (piano) and Hazel Morrison (percussion).  Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland Link