Long before his momentous teaming with Oliver Hardy, comedian Stan Laurel (1890–1965) was a motion picture star in his own right. From his film debut in Nuts in May (1917) through his final solo starring effort Should Tall Men Marry? (1928), Laurel headlined dozens of short comedies for a variety of producers and production companies, often playing characters far removed from the meek, dimwitted “Stanley” persona that we know and love. This is a film-by-film look at the pictures Stan made as a solo artist, as well as those he wrote and directed for other stars, shows his development as a movie comedian and filmmaker.
Comedy legend Jerry Lewis, a longtime friend and admirer of Stan Laurel, provides an affectionate and eloquent foreword. Included are several rare photographs and production stills.

Ted Okuda is a Chicago-based film historian whose articles have appeared in such publications as Nostalgia Digest, Filmfax, and Classic Images. James L. Neibaur is a film historian and scholar with more than 30 books and hundreds of articles appearing in Cineaste, Classic Images, Film Quarterly, Films in Review, Filmfax, and Encyclopædia Britannica.

Ted Okuda and James L. Neibaur
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 248
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4781-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8987-9
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments viii

Foreword by Jerry Lewis 1

Introduction 4

 1. Stan Laurel 7

 2. Laurel at Universal 11

 3. Stan Laurel Meets Hal Roach 16

 4. Stan Laurel at Vitagraph 30

 5. Stan and Broncho Billy 38

 6. Stan Returns to Hal Roach 60

 7. Stan Laurel and Joe Rock 129

 8. Stan Returns to Hal Roach Again 166

 9. Laurel with Hardy 180

10. Laurel and Hardy 216

Epilogue 226

Appendix: Compilations, Television Syndication, 8mm Movies and the Home-Video Market 229

Bibliography 234

Index 235

“highly recommended”—Midwest Book Review; “a wonderfully researched, fact-packed treat. This is a great book. Ted and James are at the top of their game here”—Little Shoppe of Horrors; “one of the best film books of 2012”—Thomas Gladysz, Huffington Post.