STAN LAUREL, AUTEUR

If anyone ever doubted that Stan Laurel was the real director of L&Hs films, one need only 'read' this photo (below) taken on the set of 'Men O' War', their third sound short (complete movie posted above).  On a sunny May morning in 1929, a small crowd of people sit on a knoll watching the slapstick movie-in-progress being shot in Hollenbeck Park, Los Angeles.  At the bottom sits Oliver Hardy on a bench in costume. His look is one of benign impatience--he's used to the delays and wishes he could be heading off to the racetrack. And perhaps they would have finished early had his partner Stan--known for being a perfectionist--not decided to get into an intent conversation with the two actresses playing the girls they pick up in the park. Stan's authoritative stance and the intent look on his face suggest a possible actor-director tussle over the motivation of the girls behavior in the scene. The other men on the set--in suits and hats of course--stand at a respectful distance, allowing the auteur-comic the space necessary for him to achieve the high standard he insists upon. There is only room for one director on a set and clearly Stan was it--as opposed to Lewis R. Foster who was the credited one. Is that Foster in the straw hat to the left of Ollie? Is he looking on in annoyance as his star usurps his role? And might that be a young George Stevens peering over Ollie's shoulder?