The Second 100 Years

Comedian Stan Laurel, actor, writer and part-time director with 50 films under his belt, was hired by Hal Roach's studio in 1926 as a director and gagwriter. An accident in the kitchen that resulted in a severe burn from a hot leg of lamb sent Roach veteran actor Oliver Hardy to the hospital, giving Laurel an opportunity to appear before the camera again. He was asked to fill in for 'Ollie' in the studio's upcoming 'Get 'Em Young,' as well as the 1926's "45 Minutes from Hollywood." Laurel agreed.

Hardy, who had appeared in over 250 films, returned to work and found himself slotted in several shorts with Laurel. Observant studio director/writer Leo McCarey saw a certain chemistry between the two actors when they appeared together. Composing a script contoured to the pair's acting style, McCarey linked the two as a couple of convicts who share a prison cell together in October 1927's "The Second Hundred Years.". The pair make their getaway by stealing paint cans and brushes and impersonating themselves as painters. Stumbling upon a police officer, Laurel and Hardy paint railings, cars, shop windows, women's buttocks, anything to throw the cop off guard.

Hal Roach loved the interaction between the two and asked McCarey to oversee their on-screen presence. Despite directing only three Laurel and Hardy shorts in the next two years, McCarey was instrumental in their guidance by personally writing several of their screenplays and supervising others directing their films.

In "The Second Hundred Years," Roach realized McCarey's instincts were correct, launching one of cinema's most successful and funniest comedic pairing.