The Battle of the Century

The Battle of the Century is a 1927 silent short film starring comedy double act Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in 107 films between 1921 and 1951.[1] The film entered the public domain in the United States in 2023.

For the 1931 contract bridge match, see Bridge Battle of the Century.

Battle of the Century
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClyde Bruckman
Written byHal Roach
H.M. Walker
Produced byHal Roach
Starring
CinematographyGeorge Stevens
Edited byRichard C. Currier
Music byLeroy Shield
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • December 31, 1927 (1927-12-31)
Running time
19 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

The film is famous for its use of more than 3,000 cream pies (although the Guinness Book of Records claims that as many as 10,000 may have been used[2]) in the film's climactic pie fight. For many years only three minutes from the film's second reel, containing the pie fight, was thought to have survived, as the footage had been included in Robert Youngson's 1950s film documentaries.[3] However, the complete reel was rediscovered in 2015.[4] It was released to the public on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 16, 2020, as part of the Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations compilation of remastered films. Also in 2020, The Battle of the Century was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[5]

Plot

A broke Hardy arranges for Laurel to fight Thunderclap Callahan in a boxing match for which the victor will receive $100. Fighting as Canvasback Clump, Laurel accidentally knocks out Callahan in the first round, but because Laurel will not return to his corner, the referee is unable to reach ten in his count. Callahan regains his senses and pummels Laurel. When Callahan delivers his final knockout blow, the audience leaves immediately before the referee can even begin his count.

In a nearby park, an insurance salesman persuades a despondent Hardy to invest the $5 that he received from the fight in an insurance policy on Laurel, but for Hardy to pocket the insurance money, Laurel must be injured. Hardy places a banana peel on a sidewalk and takes the unsuspecting Laurel there, but a pastry chef slips on it instead, becomes angry with Hardy and throws a pie in his face. Hardy responds, and soon the entire block is involved in an epic pie battle.

Production notes

Although The Battle of the Century is officially a Laurel and Hardy picture as they are jointly billed in the opening titles, the men had yet to fully display their recognizable characters. Their screen characters are not yet called Stan and Ollie; Laurel plays Canvasback Clump and Hardy's manager character is not named.

Laurel later said that because throwing a single pie would be a dreadful cliché, "Let’s give them so many pies that there never will be room for any more pie pictures in the whole history of the movies."[6]

Early in the film, a young Lou Costello can be seen as a member of the prizefight crowd.[7]

Lost film status

For many years, footage from the climactic pie fight was the only known surviving material from The Battle of the Century, until the opening reel with the boxing match was discovered in 1979 by Richard Feiner.[8] However, the sequence in the park involving Eugene Pallette as the insurance salesman was missing, as was the final gag in which a policeman receives a pie in his face and chases Laurel and Hardy down the street in the fadeout.

What is believed to be the entire film was once broadcast on Spanish television (station TVE1) during the 1970s, including scenes of a customer in a barber's chair receiving a pie in the face while being shaved and a man buying two pies to participate in the pie fight.

In June 2015, it was announced at the Mostly Lost film workshop in Culpeper, Virginia that the second reel of The Battle of the Century had been rediscovered by film collector Jon Mirsalis as a 16mm print from the original 35mm negative.[9] The reel was found in the film collection of the late Gordon Berkow, who had acquired the collection of the late Robert Youngson, the writer and director of several Laurel and Hardy film compilations.[10] Youngson had received the reel as a preview print while working on his 1957 film compilation The Golden Age of Comedy. The film was initially restored by Lobster Films, with subsequent restoration by Jeff Joseph in partnership with the UCLA Film Archive. The first official screening occurred at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2015, followed by a screening at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2015.[11]

On April 8, 2017, the film was shown at the Toronto Silent Film Festival, with live accompaniment by Ben Model. On May 29, 2017, it was shown at the Southend Film Festival with live accompaniment by Adam Ramet. It was screened at the Mostly Lost film workshop in June 2016 on the one-year anniversary of the original announcement, with Mirsalis accompanying the film on piano.

Cast

See also

References
  1. The Battle of the Century at silentera.com
  2. The Guinness Book on Film History
  3. This was ironic, since Youngson had been sent the complete second reel as a 16mm preview reel in 1957, and it survived in his personal film archive, from which it was eventually recovered
  4. Barry, Dan (July 8, 2015). "Comedy's Sweet Weapon: The Cream Pie". New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  5. Alter, Rebecca (December 14, 2020). "Shrek Has Been Inducted Into the National Film Registry". Vulture. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. “Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy: An Affectionate Biography,” by John McCabe.
  7. The Battle of the Century - In the Cast. laurel-and-hardy.com, retrieved January 20, 2017.
  8. "Images - The Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy". Imagesjournal.com. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  9. Barry, Dan (July 8, 2015). "Comedy's Sweet Weapon: The Cream Pie". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  10. "The Battle of the Century and Other Comedy Restorations | Silent Film Festival". www.silentfilm.org. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  11. Rediscovered Laurel and Hardy – The Battle of the Century BFI Website, Retrieved September 8, 2015.
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