()

Submitted by Steve

POOPER:
Following a public argument, Stan and Ollie are not speaking to each other, but continue to perform the shows. During a public appearance, Ollie suffers a heart attack, and is told by the doctors to quit the tour. Ollie tells Stan he is retiring and they bury the hatchet. Bernard Delfont, their tour manager, wants Stan to continue the tour with another comedian, but he cannot bring himself to perform with someone other than Ollie. Despite his poor health, Ollie decides to continue the tour. Stan later tells Ollie the movie deal fell through, but Ollie knew all along. Title cards at the end say Laurel and Hardy never performed again after the tour ended, Ollie died in 1957, and Stan continued to write Laurel and Hardy gags until he died in 1965.

LONG VERSION:
In 1937, legendary comedy duo Stan Laurel (Steve Coogan) and Oliver “Ollie” Hardy (John C. Reilly) are among the biggest stars in Hollywood. While they are shooting their classic movie Way Out West, Stan tells studio head Hal Roach (Danny Huston) that he won’t renew his contract because he feels that he and Ollie aren’t getting paid enough based on their international fame. Stan wants to sign with another studio that will pay them more, but Hal won’t let Ollie out of his contract, and even makes him team up with another comedian for his next movie. Since the new studio won’t sign Laurel without Hardy, Stan feels betrayed by his longtime partner for not trying to get out of his contract.

Now it’s 1953, and Laurel and Hardy, back together but no longer big stars, are embarking on a tour of the UK, where they will perform their famous routines on the stage. They are going to the UK to shoot a movie based on the Robin Hood story, and the tour is to pass the time and make some money while they wait for the movie’s producer to line up the financing for the film. Their tour producer, Bernard Delfont (Rufus Jones), doesn’t promote the tour very well since he is more interested in promoting his younger clients, so their early shows are in small venues with sparse crowds. Stan and Ollie demand that he do more for them, so Delfont sets up public appearances that go over well, so the crowds begin to increase in size for their shows. The shows get great reviews and even more people are attending their shows, so as a result, Delfont rebooks Stan and Ollie into larger venues, including several shows at the Lyceum Theatre in London.

Between shows, Stan and Ollie are writing gags for their upcoming movie, but they are wondering why the movie producer, a man named Miffin, is avoiding their calls. Stan goes to visit Miffin in his office, but he is not there, so his secretary has to tell Stan that the financing couldn’t be arranged, so the movie shoot has been cancelled. Stan is devastated by the news, but he decides not to tell Ollie and they continue to work on gags for the movie. Soon, Stan and Ollie’s wives join them in London, and it’s obvious they don’t get along. Following their first show at the Lyceum, Delfont throws a party in their honor. At that party, Stan’s wife Ida mentions to Ollie’s wife Lucille that it’s good to see them together again since Ollie did “the elephant movie” (the movie Ollie did with the other comedian). This comment soon leads Stan and Ollie to have a very public argument about Stan’s feelings of Ollie’s betrayal that led to their on-screen breakup. Ollie then tells Stan that he feels like they were never friends, only partners brought together by Hal Roach. Despite the real argument, the crowd at the party think it’s an act and laugh as the duo walk away from each other.

Even though Stan and Ollie are not speaking to each other, they continue with the shows and the public appearances. An appearance at a beauty contest comes to a halt when Ollie collapses on stage. At the hospital, Ollie is told by the doctors that he suffered a heart attack and they strongly recommend that he quit the tour. Stan goes to visit Ollie in the hospital, and Ollie tells him that he is retiring and is going home as soon as he is released from the hospital. They continue talking, and they both reveal that they didn’t really mean what they said at the party and bury the hatchet. Afterwards, Delfont goes to Stan and suggests he continue with the tour with another comedian, but Stan can’t bring himself to go through with the shows since it’s not Ollie on stage with him. That night, Stan tells Ida that he truly loves Ollie as a friend and won’t continue with the tour, while at the same time, Ollie tells Lucille that he won’t spend the rest of his life waiting to die and goes to rejoin Stan on the tour. The duo perform their last show at the Lyceum, and Ollie surprises Stan by suggesting they end the show with their signature dance routine, even though his ill-health makes that difficult. During the show, Ida begins to see what Lucille is going through and holds her hand, signaling that the women are starting to get along better.

Stan, Ollie, Ida, and Lucille are now on the boat from the UK to Ireland, and it’s here that Stan finally tells Ollie that the movie deal fell through. Ollie tells Stan that he knew all along, but he wanted to continue working on gags because he enjoyed working on them with Stan. Upon arriving in Ireland, Stan and Ollie at greeted by a huge crowd, and even the church bells are playing their famous theme song, The March of the Cuckoos. The movie ends with title cards stating that once the tour ended, Laurel and Hardy never performed together ever again. Ollie’s health never recovered and he died in 1957. Stan refused all offers to perform with other comedians since none of them were Ollie. Stan died in 1965, and he spent the last years of his life continuing to write gags for Laurel and Hardy, even though none of them would ever be performed.