THE BULLFIGHTERS (1945) ** Laurel and Hardy were funny to the end, and sound didn't hurt 'em any. In fact, Stan Laurel has a very funny voice. Maybe the gags weren't quite as high-powered and fresh after so many, maybe subtle shocks were already being lost on an audience becoming acclimated to social outrages (though nothing like what the '60s would bring). On the other hand, there's something timeless about three people standing around in a bar waiting for each other to crush eggs into the various aspects of their clothing, as the nearly endless gag with Carol Andrews goes. The heroic duo are probably also upstaged by Diosa Costello's rumba dancing, but they were always gracious enough not to mind. So it's Mexico City, bullfighting detectives, tequila, fountains, shady promoters, crowded taxis...they couldn't help getting old, but they weren't willing to sit still, either. Something very appropriate about that final scene, got to keep going no matter what. I don't know if that was their credo, but if it wasn't, they wouldn't have any qualms about borrowing it for a minute.
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