THE MUSIC BOX (1932)

A solid thirty minutes of bliss as Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy attempt to deliver a player piano to a man who loathes the instrument in this updated take on the myth of Sisyphus. The director, James Parrott, makes a stunningly poor camera angle choice that de-emphasizes the incline of the stairs the boys have to negotiate & the original film elements haven’t been well preserved, but nothing can do much to lessen the brilliant comic team-play on view here. It's a pity that too many people only know the boys from their later/lesser features. Their best work can be found in their late silent & early sound shorts. Laurel was undoubtedly the force behind the camera, but Ollie certainly holds his own in front of it. Hilarious, treasurable, priceless.