Oliver Hardy solo comedies - Directed by Stan Laurel - Part 1 (1924-5) "Yes, Yes, Nanette"

This is Part 1 in a collection of short films featuring Oliver Hardy in the years before he teamed up with Stan Laurel. First up is Larry Semon's racing car comedy "Kid Speed" (1924). Semon was a star film comedian of the day and Ollie was a member of his stock company. This short is loaded with wild stunts and sight gags. Boxing legend James J. Jeffries has a small role as a blacksmith. Next up is "Yes, Yes, Nanette," a 1925 Hal Roach comedy short co-directed by Stan Laurel. James Finlayson is featured as a newly married man who meets his wife's less-than-welcoming family. Ollie has a small role as one of the wife's ex-boyfriends. Even Pete the Dog from Roach's Our Gang comedies gets in on the fun. Rounding out this segment is the first part of "The Paperhanger's Helper," a condensed version of the 1925 short comedy "Stick Around" that was released to the home movie market by Castle Films in the late 1940s. Ollie, as he often did at this time, plays a comic villain type who pushes around his smaller sidekick, played by Bobby Ray. It somewhat foreshadows the Laurel & Hardy relationship that lay in the future. This film concludes at the start of Part 2 of this series! Enjoy!