We very much enjoyed the Laurel and Hardy marathon that Turner Classic Movies offered us yesterday. We would have enjoyed it even more if some of the prints they aired hadn't been truncated or otherwise flawed…but as we always say here, some Laurel and Hardy is always better than no Laurel and Hardy.
A couple of TCM staffers read this site so let me ask them, pretty please, to find a print of Pardon Us with a clearer soundtrack, preferably one of the British release prints that's actually a little longer. I didn't watch everything but I have a couple of e-mails from L&H buffs saying that edited TV prints were used for Swiss Miss, Way Out West and Pack Up Your Troubles. This may not be TCM's fault. It may be a matter of what the distributor is supplying. Still, better copies of these films are around and there oughta be some way to get them on the air.
If you've a hankering to see a Laurel and Hardy movie, let me remind you that the TCM website will allow you to watch one of their better features, A Chump at Oxford, absolutely free and at any time you like.
Which reminds me! You can now advance-order a forthcoming (in October) boxed DVD set that contains all eighty of the Our Gang talkies that were made by the Hal Roach Studio between 1929 and 1938. These are supposedly good, "restored" prints and there are some special features, including a few commentary tracks and such, plus some silent shorts. The pre-order price is $55.00 from Amazon. Sounds great to me…and maybe it'll sell well enough to inspire a similar set of the movies that Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy made on that same lot.