Busy Bodies (film #12 on Laurel and Hardy DVD (Hallmark Home Entertainment, 2003)). [Category: Hollywood]

This classic Laurel and Hardy short should have been shown as an industrial safety film, since the duo demonstrates the consequences of violating every safety rule in the book, such as: Don’t lean over the work table while your buddy is planing wood; Don’t roughhouse around the chip disposal chute; and Don’t drive your car through a bandsaw. Of course, the biggest safety rule violated is Don’t hire Laurel and Hardy to work in a sawmill. It’s this kind of classic comedy that healed Norman Cousins; the gags are perfectly timed and I laughed almost without stopping throughout.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.