History Film / StanAndOllie

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stan&ollie.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:'''Ollie:''' I'll miss us when we're gone.\\
'''Stan:''' So will you.]]-]

''Stan & Ollie'' is a {{bio|pic}}graphical film directed by Jon S. Baird from a screenplay by Jeff Pope (writer of ''Film/{{Philomena}}'').

It is based on the late life of the legendary [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Hollywoodian Golden Age]] comedy [[DoubleActsAndGroups double act]] Creator/LaurelAndHardy, when they decided to tour music halls in UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} in 1953, after their heydays in the movie industry had come to an end. Long-held resentments threaten to force the pair apart during said tour.

Creator/SteveCoogan and Creator/JohnCReilly star as Arthur Stanley "Stan Laurel" Jefferson and Norvell "Oliver" (Ollie) Hardy, respectively. The cast also includes Creator/ShirleyHenderson as Virginia Lucille Hardy (Ollie's third wife), Creator/DannyHuston as producer Hal Roach, Nina Arianda as Ida Kitaeva Laurel (Stan's fourth wife), Rufus Jones as Bernard Delfont and Susy Kane as Cynthia Clark.

It is based on the late life of the legendary [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Hollywoodian Golden Age]] comedy [[DoubleActsAndGroups double act]] Creator/LaurelAndHardy, when they decided to tour music halls in the UK and Ireland in 1953, after their heydays in the movie industry had come to an end. Long-held resentments threaten to force the pair apart during said tour.

''Stan & Ollie'' is a biographical film directed by Jon S. Baird from a screenplay by Jeff Pope (writer of ''Film/{{Philomena}}'').

** During their falling out, Stan calls out Ollie for opting to remain with Hal Roach to do ''Zenobia'' while he went to 20th Century Fox alone. While Stan ''did'' have a contract dispute with Roach, in reality, Ollie, due to having a separate contract that had not yet expired at the time, was forced to stay with the two not going to Fox until 1941, over a year after leaving Hal Roach Studios following the completion of ''Saps at Sea''. Stan also encouraged Ollie to take on solo projects after he discovered he had diabetes which led to the latter to be in films such as ''The Fighting Kentuckian''.
** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan is encouraged to continue the tour with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack after opening night on their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled right then and there as Stan outright refused to continue without Ollie.

** During their falling out, Stan calls out Ollie for opting to remain with Hal Roach to do ''Zenobia'' while he went to 20th Century Fox alone. While Stan ''did'' have a contract dispute with Roach, in reality, Ollie, due to having a separate contract that had not yet expired at the time, was forced to stay with the two not going to Fox until 1941, over a year after leaving Hal Roach Studios following the completion of ''Saps at Sea''.
** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan almost does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack after opening night on their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled right then and there as Stan refused to continue working without Ollie.

** During their falling out, Stan calls out Ollie for remaining with Hal Roach to do ''Zenobia'' while he went to 20th Century Fox alone. While Stan ''did'' have a contract dispute with Roach, in reality he actually ''encouraged'' Ollie to continue working at Hal Roach Studios without him.
** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan almost does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack after opening night on their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled right then and there as Stan refused to continue working without him with Ollie's death 3 years later being what lead to Stan retiring[[note]] Though Stan did continue writing material for Laurel and Hardy until his own death in 1965[[/note]].

* ManInAKilt: As part of one of their shows in Britain, Stan and Ollie don kilts.

** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan almost does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack after opening night on their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled right then and there as Stan refused to continue working without him with Ollie's death 3 years later being what lead to him retiring[[note]] Though Stan did continue writing material for Laurel and Hardy until his own death in 1965[[/note]].

** During their falling out, Stan calls out Ollie for remaining with Hal Roach to do ''Zenobia'' while he went to 20th Century Fox. While Stan ''did'' have a contract dispute with Roach, in reality he actually ''encouraged'' Ollie to do the movie.
** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack during their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled as a result as Stan refused to continue working without him with Ollie's death 3 years later being what lead to Stan retiring[[note]] Though Stan did continue writing material for Laurel and Hardy until his own death in 1965[[/note]].

** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack during their 1954 tour and was unable to continue performing, the rest of the tour was cancelled as a result as Stan refused to continue working without him and Ollie's death 3 years later being what lead to Stan retiring[[note]] Though Stan did continue working on material for Laurel and Hardy until his own death in 1965[[/note]].

** Following Ollie's heart attack, Stan does a show with a man named Nobby Cook. When Ollie suffered a minor heart attack during their 1954 tour, the rest of the tour was cancelled as a result as Stan refused to continue working without him and Ollie's death 3 years later being what lead to Stan retiring.

** During their falling out, Stan calls out Ollie for remaining with Hal Roach to do ''Zenobia'' while he went to 20th Century Fox. While Stan ''did'' have a contract dispute with Roach, Stan in real life ''encouraged'' Ollie to do the movie. Ollie later joined Stan at Fox when he refused to start a new team-up with his ''Zenobia'' co-star Harry Langdon.

** Averted, but barely -- Ollie's knees are pretty weak and it's implied it happened when filming "Zenobia", the elephant picture he made for Hal Roach without Stan -- he was hit with an oversized mallet way too hard as part of a gag, and it did lasting damage.

-->'''Lucille''': Are you implying that Oliver and I aren't hard working?\\
'''Ida''': You live in Hollywood.\\
'''Lucille''': So do you and Stan.\\
'''Ida''': No, no, no, no, no: I may live in Hollywood, but '''I''' am not Hollywood.\\
'''Lucille''': Ida, you are the epitome of Hollywood.\\
'''Ida''' [''icily'']: [[LampshadeHanging Don't you ''pity'' me!]]

-->'''Stan''': Well why didn't you tell me you knew?\\
'''Ollie''': I thought you already knew I knew.\\
'''Stan''': How could I know that you knew I knew?\\
'''Ollie''': ''(chuckles)'' What would my line be here?\\
'''Stan''': Um..."Now I know you knew, but I thought you knew I knew, but you were pretending not to know I knew."\\
'''Ollie''': ''(chuckles)'' Thank you.

-->'''Ollie:''' It was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it, Stan?
-->[Stan nods and heads onstage. Ollie hooks him back as part of their act]
-->'''Ollie:''' I’ll miss us when we’re gone.
-->'''Stan:''' So will you.

-->'''Stan''': I loved us.\\
'''Ollie''': You loved "Laurel and Hardy." But you never loved me.

* RealityEnsues: Even for a semi-fictional biopic there are still a few;

* TheShowMustGoOn: What Ollie says word for word to Stan at one point upon reconciling with him. At the end of the film, while doing their last show and with Ollie visibly looking unwell, Stan suggests they just say their goodbyes, but Ollie insists on one last dance.

** Played dramatically straight when, the day after a falling-out with Stan, Oliver Hardy suffers an heart attack and a doctor is urgently summoned to his hotel room. Later, Ollie informs Stan that he intends to retire and we see in a flashback the doctor has told him that continuing to perform on stage can be fatal.

* TheGamblingAddict: Ollie has a weakness for horse racing. It doesn't outright ruin him, but coupled with his constant divorces it means he's not as wealthy as he could be.

* BitterSweetEnding: After a slow start, the duo’s European tour is a thunderous success and Laurel and Hardy are finally able to clarify their old misunderstandings and strengthen their friendship. But they are clearly seen as two has-been by the movie industry and Hardy is so sick that they will never perform together again.