Escalating, expertly orchestrated havoc was a specialty of the greatest of all movie comedy duos, as demonstrated by these four classic shorts.

Long extant only as a fragment, this recent reconstruction of THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (1927, Clyde Bruckman, USA, 19 min., DCP digital) opens with a hilarious, long-lost boxing match and climaxes with an epic pie fight. Preservation funding provided by Jeff Joseph/SabuCat and UCLA Film & Television Archive.

HOG WILD (1930, James Parrott, USA, 19 min., 35mm) centers on Stan and Ollie's calamitous efforts to erect a radio antenna on the latter's roof; the opening bit of Ollie looking for his hat is a priceless display of pompous indignation. Preservation funding provided the Laurel & Hardy Preservation Fund, including the support of many "Sons of the Desert" tents, and Jeff Joseph/SabuCat.

BRATS (1930, James Parrott, USA, 21 min., 35mm) features Laurel & Hardy as both their adult selves and their miniaturized children, with an overflowing bathtub providing the coup de grâce. Preservation funding provided by the Laurel & Hardy Preservation Fund, including the support of many "Sons of the Desert" tents, The Packard Humanities Institute and Jeff Joseph/SabuCat.

PERFECT DAY (1929, James Parrott, USA, 20 min., 35mm) depicts Stan and Ollie's futile attempts to set out with their families on a picnic, accompanied by a repeated, increasingly ironic chorus of neighborly "goodbyes!" Preservation funding provided by a UCLA Spark crowdfunding campaign. Thanks to our numerous donors including members of the "Sons of the Desert" tents, M. Duane Rutledge and The Packard Humanities Institute. (MR)