Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies

By Randy Skretvedt
Past Time Publishing, P.O. Box 142, Beverly Hills, CA (800) 677-1927
492 Pages; First Edition, 1987; Revised Edition, 1994
ISBN 0-940410-78-8 First Edition (Hardbound)
ISBN 0-940410-29X Revised Ed. (Paperback)

Highly recommended: The single most informative book on Laurel and Hardy. Provides a brief description and credits for each film, followed by never before published information gathered from studio records and from those who worked on the films. The story behind each movie is told as it happened, from the script's inception to final decisions made while editing. Biographical details fill in the gaps between the films, to provide the complete story of Laurel and Hardy as a team. And if that's not enough, the book also includes numerous rare photos - many never seen before. The appendix includes cast and crew bios. A revised second edition also includes information on the foreign language L&H films, as well as info on the newly rediscovered short, Now I'll Tell One. The book concentrates primarily on the Hal Roach years. If you read only one book on the boys, it should be this one.