Laurel and Hardy slowed the pace of comedy down considerably from the frenetic pace of the early days of movies, when slapstick was the focus. You had to watch carefully at the development of the action and where it was going. Stan Laurel was the architect of this new form of comedy, and he and Oliver hardy were the superb comedians who carried it out.

Hal Roach certainly knew what he was doing -- this was PURE classic comedy! "The Music Box", for which they won an award, is among the best L & H shorts.

Sublime in their simplicity.

Sometimes their humor missed the mark (especially in their later films) but overall, I think they were the best comedy team ever - for reasons too numerous to go into on this site. Sons of the Desert and Pardon Us were among their best full-length films (they usually were only good in the short ones), but I think their best material was in the early silent movies of the late 1920s. I'm one of those many people fortunate enough to have walked up & down the famous Music Box steps on Vendome Street in Los Angeles. Hal Roach deserves a lot of credit for L & H, as well as Our Gang and Charley Chase.

While I prefer The Stooges,I think these guys give them serious competition-and I've been amazed by their fans who hold big time Laurel and Hardy conventions.

I grew up watching these guys. They were so good together. My favorite running gag by them was when they would be doing some type of construction work. Hardy as usual would be standing around surveying the situation, and along would come Stanley with his simple little walk and goofy smile, carrying a long piece of wood or a pole of some type on his shoulder. He would walk across the screen while Hardy was watching him, then you would see the full length of the pole with Stanley impossibly carrying the rear end, as well. Hardy would jiggle his hat, and give an exasperated look at the camera. Classic!

I love Stan Laurel. He was a master of deadpan humor. Laurel could do more with one facial expression than most comedians today can do with a mouthful of words. Hardy, the boss of the team, was a great counter to the smaller Laurel. Together, they are a classic team.

At their best, brilliant. At their worst bloody awful. Their worst didn't come around too often, but often enough to take off a star.

Like most comedy teams from this period (Abbott and Costello, Marx Brothers, etc.), they stayed around too long, and ended up doing substandard work that was sad and almost painful to watch, especially when you remembered their past glory. At their best, though, there was nobody better than them, or funnier. Nobody.

Generally top flight with one or two exceptions.