The boys assumed there must be royalty on the boat, too. As their ship docked, thousands of fans were waiting. Arguably, they rode the transition from silent movies to talkies better than anyone else and, more importantly, their relationship endured.ДЄ touching postscript about their personal friendship is illustrated by the anecdote of when, in the 1950s, they undertook a theatre tour of Britain. Whereas Chaplin's social themes and political thoughts were played out in his films, Laurel and Hardy's sole focus was to make us laugh. Stan Laurel was a writer and director as well, but only interested in comedy. Part of the comfort in watching them was to know that by the end of the movie, the relationship would remain intact.ДЄlso, unlike Chaplin, there was no room for pathos. Long before The Simpsons suggested that family dysfunction did not necessarily lead to decay, Laurel and Hardy's on-screen friendship endured, no matter what comic calamities and infighting attempted to derail it. However, for me, the most engaging aspect of their movies is their relationship. Both attitudes are constantly and remorselessly pricked in their movies. The pomposity of Ollie вЂ“ one we all develop to varying degrees вЂ“ is the riposte to society's pressure to be an achiever. The childlike curiosity of Stan вЂ“ pressing the button marked 'Do Not Press' вЂ“ is the curiosity we're born with but society knocks out of us. They represented the ordinary guy with no handout, no education and seemingly no prospects, who nevertheless strove forward dealing with life's absurdities in an even more absurd manner. However, much of their output was under the dark clouds of the Great Depression and prohibition вЂ“ hardly innocent and simple times.

Much has been made of the fact that the Stan and Ollie characters were basically children in adult bodies, that they represented more innocent times, with simpler values.

But catching Ollie's eye after the umpteenth brick has landed on his head still comes as an unexpected surprise. Stan and Ollie knew that to speak to the audience was to shatter the illusion and that too many glances would render them impotent. This breaking of the fourth wall is as delightful and involving to a contemporary audience as it was intended to be almost a century ago. At a time when screwball comedies were delivering comic verbal duelling at a pace that still impresses, Laurel and Hardy relied on the simplicity of a good line and an exasperated look directly into the camera. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the choreography of those routines and, more importantly, the sophistication of the sparse, spoken gags. Laurel and Hardy's slapstick routines, simple dialogue and plots (mainly consisting of turning everyday tribulations into Herculean trials of endurance) were easily appealing to a kid. Today, alas, there are fewer telly programmes that can be a shared family experience, and classic comedy shorts are rarely to be found despite the plethora of channels.

Back then, one of the joys of the summer and Christmas holidays was to be able to tune in to BBC2, see fabulous double bills and hear the whole family laugh together. I first 'discovered' them, like most people, from the endless showings on television when I was about six years old and became вЂ“ and remain вЂ“ totally smitten.

List of all laurel and hardy movies