This 1975 book by Laurel and Hardy biographer, cartoonist Al Kilgore and Hal Roach Studio historian Richard W. Bann is a very fun read. Much of the book consists of stills from most of their films (with the exception of the lost films, the movies where they have cameos and the Fox movies) and text explaining what is happening in each of the scenes and giving a recounting of many of the gags. The result is almost a hybrid of a picture book and a comic book. Luckily many of these films are still quite funny and enjoyable in this format, making this book a blast to read. For the films that don't receive this full treatment, there usually one picture from the film and a story summary.
Though this is a light and fun read, it is not devoid of information either. Each film receives a list of credits as well as working titles and release dates. There are short but informative bios of both members of the comedy team and brief summaries of each major change in their movie careers. However, when it comes to how informative it is, it has obviously been eclipsed by Randy Skretvedt's Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies. Though the same can be said for every Laurel and Hardy book and still for what it is this is surprisingly informative.
If I had any complaint about this book, it is that there is a rating system for each film (a certain number of derbies out of four) but no explanation for why this rating is given. Because of this, if you happen to disagree with the authors' opinions on certain films, no reason is given is to why they felt differently than you. This honestly annoyed me as I became very curious as to why they liked a film less than or I did or more than I did.
All in all, though this is a really fun book.
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