MEN O'WAR (1929) **1/2 Anarchy on the high seas of a pond, Laurel & Hardy as naval personnel in search of dinghy jazz babes. It's about what you'd expect from that, which is good. I'm not sure that going with the flow into talkies served them best...not that there's anything wrong with their voices or lines, just that it distracts from their strengths. The primarily strength being facial expressions, and particularly those relating to consternation. Oliver Hardy clearly wins this showdown, with James Finlayson looking particularly lost in the medium: and I mean lost to the extent that he clearly suspects he's still in a silent feature, which he did so well.

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