The comedy world of Stan Laurel

This book belongs on the same visible, accesible shelf as L & H - From The Forties Forward; Babe - Life of Olver Hardy (also by McCabe); The Magic Behind The Movies; and of course, The Life of Stan Laurel. Even the casual fan will take delight and be fascinated by late career entries by Mr. Laurel, detailed here: full scripts for radio, for the stage, and believe it or not....for television! Yes, that first unproduced script for "Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables", a 1956 TV Special series installment, is here. Along with scribbled notes - still inspired by a great comedy mind. [There are amazing other writing examples by Stan on the site: Laurel and Hardy Central].

The main thing that makes this book invaluable is the Stan Laurel-authored scripts to live Laurel & Hardy stage shows, and Laurel & Hardy radio performances. It also included an assortment of great gag ideas Laurel had for films that were never used. This book also helps set the record straight that Stan Laurel was the real creative force behind his best movies, even though others always got writing and directing screen credit. Historical interest aside, the Laurel & Hardy scripts are great reading for sheer entertainment value. Even if you've seen every Laurel & Hardy film made, realize that the Laurel & Hardy characters had a handful of other adventures which were not filmed. This book is a priceless way to access these great scripts. If you haven't seen many Laurel & Hardy films, rent some. I can recommend almost every Laurel & Hardy film made, with only a small handful of exceptions. After you've seen enough Laurel & Hardy films to become a fan, read this book. You're sure to love it. This is author/compiler John McCabe's _third_ book on the subject of Laurel and Hardy. His first book was a concise but excellent biography of Laurel and Hardy in the early 1960's, called "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." McCabe had met Laurel & Hardy in person when he first started that project, and he wrote that meeting L & H in person, and finding them to be such nice people in real life, was "like finding out Santa Claus actually existed." McCabe also co-authored a 1975 pictorial filmography called "Laurel and Hardy."

The main thing that makes this book invaluable is the Stan Laurel-authored scripts to live Laurel & Hardy stage shows, and Laurel & Hardy radio performances. It also included an assortment of great gag ideas Laurel had for films that were never used.This book also helps set the record straight that Stan Laurel was the real creative force behind his best movies, even though others always got writing and directing screen credit.Historical interest aside, the Laurel & Hardy scripts are great reading for sheer entertainment value.Even if you've seen every Laurel & Hardy film made, realize that the Laurel & Hardy characters had a handful of other adventures which were not filmed. This book is a priceless way to access these great scripts.If you haven't seen many Laurel & Hardy films, rent some. I can recommend almost every Laurel & Hardy film from before 1941. (Their post-1940 films were mediocre at best, mainly because Laurel had very little creative input to his films of that period.)After you've seen enough Laurel & Hardy films to become a fan, read this book. You're sure to love it.By the way, this is author/compiler John McCabe's _third_ book on the subject of Laurel and Hardy. His first book was a concise but excellent biography of Laurel and Hardy in the early 1960's, called "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy." McCabe had met Laurel & Hard in person when he first started that project, and he wrote that meeting L & H in person, and finding them to be such nice people in real life, was "like finding out Santa Claus actually existed."McCabe also co-authored a 1975 pictorial filmography called "Laurel and Hardy."