"Actor: Stan"

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 13 - Sons of the Desert/Related Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £5.06   |  Saving you £0.93 (18.38%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Contains: Sons Of The Desert (b/w) Sons Of The Desert (colourised) We Faw Down Their Purple Moment On The Wrong Trek In 'Sons Of The Desert' Stan and Ollie attend the Chicago convention of their lodge but tell their wives they are going on an ocean voyage for the sake of Ollie's health - then discover that the ship has sunk! The silent short 'We Faw Down' anticipates this story with Stan and Ollie claiming to have attended a stage show - unaware that the theatre has burned down. In 'Their Purple Moment' Stan and Ollie go out for an evening without their wives only to discover that their money has been replaced with useless coupons. 'Sons Of The Desert' includes a guest contribution from fellow-Roach comedian Charley Chase; 'On the Wrong Trek' sees L&H returning the compliment in one of Chase's own films.

• Laurel And Hardy Collection - Vol. 1 | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £4.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Hustling For Health (1919): Stan's holiday plans go awry when he misses his train and accepts an invitation to stay with a complete stranger. The Paper Hanger's Helper (1920): The paper hanger (Oliver Hardy) and his assistant answer an urgent call from a mental hospital. A Lucky Dog (1921): The very first pairing of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on screen with Oliver playing a crook who tries to rob Stan. The Soilers (1923): A parody of The Spoilers (a major hit the same ye

• Laurel And Hardy - March Of The Wooden Soldiers | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £7.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The most lavish feature built around Laurel and Hardy, 1934's March of the Wooden Soldiers is also the most bizarre. Opening unpromisingly with one of several mawkish numbers derived from Victor Herbert's musical Babes in Toyland, the antics of toyshop labourers Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee are worked into a scenario midway between Lewis Carroll and The Brothers Grimm. Nursery-rhyme characters come and go in a surreal fantasy, with the evil Mr Barnaby threatening to evict Widow Peep from her shoe unless he receives her daughter Bo in marriage. The movie culminates in a full-scale invasion of Toyland by the yeti-ish Bogeymen and their defeat by the 100 six-foot wooden soldiers that Stan and Ollie have built by mistake. Henry Brandon gives a characterful performance, while 1930s child star Charlotte Henry is an appealing heroine. Directors Gus Meins and Charles R Rogers milk the slapstick to an increasingly unnerving degree. Reputedly Hardy's favourite among the double act's features, March of the Wooden Soldiers emerges now as their most audacious screen appearance. On the DVD: March of the Wooden Soldiers on disc reproduces the original black and white print in 4:3 ratio with pristine clarity; the mono soundtrack has similarly worn well. The potted biographies of Laurel and Hardy are too brief to be worthwhile, but the inclusion of the 1915 short Hustling for Health--among the earliest of Stan Laurel's film appearances--is a valuable bonus. --Richard Whitehouse

• Basic Instinct 1 And 2 | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Basic Instinct: A brutal murder. A brilliant killer. A cop who can't resist the danger. Michael Douglas stars as Nick Curran a tough but vulnerable detective. Sharon Stone costars as Catherine Tramell a cold calculating and beautiful novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite. Catherine becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered - a crime she had described in her latest novel. Has she been set up by a jealous rival or is she guilty? Obsessed with cracking the case Nick descends into San Francisco's forbidden underground where suspicions mount bodies fall and he finds within himself an instinct more basic than survival. (Dir. Paul Verhoeven 1992) Basic Instinct 2: Everything interesting begins in the mind. Dr. Michael Glass (Morrissey) a respected London criminal psychiatrist is brought in by Scotland Yard detective Roy Washburn (Thewlis) to perform a psychiatric profile and evaluation of novelist Catherine Tramell (Stone) following the mysterious death of a top sports star. Physically drawn to Tramell and mentally intrigued by her Glass is quickly sucked into her web of lies and seduction. The professional boundaries between Glass and Tramell are obliterated when she uncovers his basic instincts... (Dir. Michael Caton-Jones 2006)

• Laurel & Hardy Christmas Special | DVD | (14/11/2011) from £3.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (55.60%)   |  RRP £8.99

  A Festive Laurel & Hardy Treat!Episodes comprise:Laurel & Hardy - Below ZeroLaurel & Hardy - Big BusinessLaurel & Hardy - The Fixer UppersLaurel & Hardy - Laughing GravyLaurel & Hardy - Below Zero (Colourised Version)Laurel & Hardy - The Fixer Uppers (Colourised Version)Laurel & Hardy - Laughing Gravy (Colourised Version)

• The Great Locomotive Chase | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  During the American Civil War a Union spy (Fess Parker) is asked to lead a band of Union soldiers into the South so that they could destroy the railway system. However things don't go as planned when the conductor of the train that they stole is on to them and is doing everything he can to stop them. Based on a true story. Available on DVD for the first time!

• Tempo - Volume 1 | DVD | (21/01/2013) from £9.98   |  Saving you £12.00 (150.19%)   |  RRP £19.99

  ITV's seminal arts programme, Tempo ran for eight years through a decade which saw a creative explosion within all aspects of the performing arts. Its fluid style of presentation allowed an almost open-ended remit, enabling it to cover subjects as diverse as cinema, music, dance, photography, writing - and much more besides. At a time when television was being criticised for dumbing down, Tempo - more than any other series - showed that ITV could indeed go highbrow whilst still remaining populist - a philosophy and outlook that was to continue into the 1970s and beyond with its successors Aquarius and The South Bank Show.Unseen for decades, this two-disc set contains interviews, reportage and features on Jacques Tati, Stan Tracey, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lee Strasberg, Tom Jones, Orson Welles, Harold Pinter, Charles Eames, Jean Luc-Godard and more.

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 1 - A Chump At Oxford/Related Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £4.16   |  Saving you £1.83 (43.99%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy from Laurel and Hardy. Contains: A Chump At Oxford (b/w) A Chump At Oxford (colourised) From Soup to Nuts Another Fine Mess (b/w) Another Fine Mess (colourised) One of Laurel & Hardy's best-loved feature films 'A Chump At Oxford' sees them travelling to England to obtain an education only for Stan to be revealed as a long-lost British aristocrat! Also included is the classic silent comedy From 'Soup To Nuts' which the team remade as a section of 'A Chump At Oxford' - only with Stan switching his character to that of Agnes the maid! Also in this compilation is an earlier glimpse of Agnes in one of their greatest talkie shorts 'Another Fine Mess'.

• Laurel & Hardy: The Knockabout 3 Film Collection | DVD | (03/10/2011) from £6.65   |  Saving you £1.29 (19.40%)   |  RRP £7.94

  The Big Noise (Dir. Malcolm St. Clair, 1944):The zany antics of legendary comedians Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy come to life in this romp about two phony private detectives.The duo play janitors accidentally hired as sleuths to protect a new super-bomb destined for the War Department in Washington, D.C. However, the bomb's inventor has loaded his house with crazy contraptions that entrap and confuse the protectors. Meanwhile, next door is the biggest threat of all - a gang of crooks determined to get their hands on the inventor's deadly creation. Through a series of crazy misadventures, our heroes end up in a remote-controlled airplane, along with the bomb, and head straight for trouble.Great Guns (Dir. Monty Banks, 1941):Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy join the army to protect their country...but who will protect the army from them?In Great Guns, the comic team play a chauffeur and a gardener whose hypochondriac employer (Dick Nelson), a wealthy young man with little experience, is drafted. Convinced that he needs them in order to survive in the service, they join up as well. Of course, the Texas cavalry post to which they're all assigned is made far worse for the wear by the presence of these well-meaning troublemakers, and there is never a dull moment in this classic featuring two of the cinema's most revered comic actors!Jitterbugs (Dir. Malcolm St. Clair, 1943):Considered the best of the Laurel and Hardy projects filmed at Twentieth Century Fox, this energetic musical comedy also introduces singer Vivian Blaine.Stan and Oliver star as a traveling two-man jitterbug band, who operate out of a dilapidated jalopy and form an unlikely partnership with a likable con man (Bob Bailey). When the trio joins a carnival, they meet Susan, a naive young singer (Vivian Blaine), whose mother has been swindled by grifters. Suddenly chivalrous, the three orchestrate a sting operation using disguises - with Laurel dressed as Susan's disheveled aunt and Hardy as a rich Texan - to get the woman's money back. Although things don't go as planned, the inimitable comedy duo provide nonstop laughs from start to finish in this delightful caper.

• Fantastic Four | DVD | (11/07/2005) from £9.29   |  Saving you £3.70 (39.83%)   |  RRP £12.99

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 9 - The Bohemian Girl/Related Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £3.38   |  Saving you £2.61 (77.22%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Contains: Bohemian Girl (b/w) Bohemian Girl (colourised) On The Loose That's My Wife (b/w silent with musical score) Along Came Auntie (b/w) A classic full-length Laurel & Hardy film 'The Bohemian Girl' is based on the opera by Michael W. Balfe. Stan and Ollie play gypsies in Europe as it was centuries ago earning their living by an ingenious means of picking pockets. When Mrs. Hardy disappears with her lover they become guardians to a small girl who is really the daughter of an aristocrat. 'The Bohemian Girl' was the last L&H film to feature Thelma Todd who had worked with the team since their first talkie in 1929. This compilation includes one of her starring short comedies with ZaSu Pitts 'On the Loose' to which Laurel & Hardy contribute a guest appearance. Also included is 'That's My Wife' a classic silent L&H film that at one stage was going to be reworked as part of 'The Bohemian Girl' plus the earlier Hardy solo film that inspired its plot 'Along Came Auntie'.

• Lady and the Tramp 1 and 2 Double Pack | Blu Ray | (30/01/2012) from £43.18   |  Saving you £-15.19 (N/A%)   |  RRP £27.99

  Lady And The Tramp: Through the magic of Blu-ray and a brilliant restoration with high definition sound, Lady And The Tramp's exquisite animation and unforgettable songs come to life like never before! Experience the thrilling adventure of Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel, and Tramp, a freewheeling mutt with a heart of gold. This heartwarming tale charms a new generation with one of the greatest love stories of all time. This is the night to share a special Bella Notte with your family!Lady And The Tramp II: Now unleashed in high definition for the first time ever on Blu-ray, Disney's classic adventure continues with a new generation of hilarious canine characters! Lady and Tramp's mischievous pup Scamp is always in the doghouse, and an itch for freedom is sending him on the ultimate adventure! Scamp joins the Junkyard Dogs, a notorious pack that includes his idol, the streetwise Buster, and a sweet and sensible stray named Angel. Will Scamp choose the collar-free life with his new pals or embrace the pampered life he had at home?

• Bambi / Bambi 2 (Double Pack) | Blu Ray | (04/03/2013) from £10.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Bambi: It always comes up when people are comparing their most traumatic movie experiences: "the death of Bambi's mother," a recollection that can bring a shudder to even the most jaded filmgoer. That primal separation (which is no less stunning for happening off-screen) is the centerpiece of Bambi, Walt Disney's 1942 animated classic, but it is by no means the only bold stroke in the film. In its swift but somehow leisurely 69 minutes, Bambi covers a year in the life of a young deer. But in a bigger way, it measures the life cycle itself, from birth to adulthood, from childhood's freedom to grown-up responsibility. All of this is rendered in cheeky, fleet-footed style--the movie doesn't lecture, or make you feel you're being fed something that's good for you. The animation is miraculous, a lush forest in which nature is a constantly unfolding miracle (even in a spectacular fire, or those dark moments when "man was in the forest"). There are probably easier animals to draw than a young deer, and the Disney animators set themselves a challenge with Bambi's wobbly glide across an ice-covered lake, his spindly legs akimbo; but the sequence is effortless and charming. If Bambi himself is just a bit dull--such is the fate of an Everydeer--his rabbit sidekick Thumper and a skunk named Flower more than make up for it. Many of the early Disney features have their share of lyrical moments and universal truths, but Bambi is so simple, so pure, it's almost transparent. You might borrow a phrase from Thumper and say it's downright twitterpated. --Robert HortonBambi 2: A sequel to the 1942 Disney classic, Bambi, is laden with expectations since audiences are justifiably protective of this beloved tale abounding with enchantment and nostalgia. Rest assured: Bambi II rises to the occasion, succeeding at every turn. Brian Pimental directs the 70-minute direct-to-video release, which seamlessly integrates the beauty, subtlety, and essence of the original film. The new tale is actually a "midquel" as it takes place in the middle of the original film's story line, exploring Bambi's coming-of-age challenges. The saga begins soon after Bambi's mother has died--and for viewers who shudder at the thought of having to relive that traumatic movie experience, you won't. With gentle inferences to her passing, Bambi (voiced by Alexander Gould, Finding Nemo) is left to the clumsy-though-well-meaning care of his father, the Great Prince (voiced by Patrick Stewart) who faces the difficult task of raising a son while silently mourning his own loss. Yet the weighty subject of death is soon overshadowed by the wonders of forest life. Through skillful storytelling, the film takes an early turn toward levity. After all, it's spring and Bambi's familiar friends, Thumper and Flower, are ready to play. Especially charming are the scenes where the forest animals give each other lessons in bravery and soon have a chance to test their mettle in scuffles with a newcomer to the mix, a blustering bully named Ronno (voiced by Anthony Ghannam). A strong soundtrack includes selections by Martina McBride, Michelle Lewis, Alison Krauss, and Anthony Callea. There is even a nostalgic nod to the original composer, Frank Churchill, with "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song." The film's strength, however, is in its well-crafted humor: simple one-liners and animated antics that refrain from 21st century trends to cloak inappropriate innuendoes and double entendres in G-rated clothing, hoping to pander to an adult audience. This is vintage Disney; it panders to no one yet pleases all--delightfully worth the wait. The DVD's bonus material includes a "making-of" featurette, Bambi trivia, and a mini-tutorial with a Disney animator. (All ages) --Lynn Gibson

• Three Stooges In Colour / Laurel & Hardy - Way Out West / Marx Bros - Duck Soup | DVD | (18/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Three Stooges In Colour: Four remastered colourised comedy shorts featuring American vaudeville act The Three Stooges: Disorder in the Court (1936) Brideless Groom (1947) Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947) Malice in the Palace (1949). Way Out West: Stan and Ollie arrive in Brushwood Gulch bearing the deed to a gold mine. They are to deliver the deed to Mary Roberts but are intercepted by her employer villainous saloon-owner Mickey Finn. Finn passes off his wife Lola as the heiress but Stan and Ollie discover the truth and set about retrieving the deed. Finn has the Sheriff on his side so our heroes must resort to burglary - with the aid of ropes pulleys and their mule! Duck Soup: Groucho is Rufus T. Firefly the hilarious dictator of mythical Freedonia. Harpo and Chico are commisioned as spies by Groucho's political rival the calculating Trentino. The film contains many of the brothers' famous sequences: the lemonade stand the Paul Revere parody the We're Going To War number (a beautiful spoof of 30's musicals) the hilarious mirror scene and a final battle episode that has been copied by everyone including Woody Allen!

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 8 - Blackmail/Classic Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £8.49   |  Saving you £0.49 (8.91%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Chickens Come Home (b/w) Chickens Come Home (colourised) Politiquerias (Chickens Come Home in an extended Spanish-language edition with Laurel & Hardy speaking their own Spanish dialogue!) Come Clean (b/w) Love 'Em and Weep (b/w silent with music score) Sugar Daddies (b/w silent with music score) Early to Bed (b/w silent with music score) A collection of classic Laurel & Hardy shorts based around the theme of blackmail - actual or implied! In one of the team's best shorts 'Chickens Come Home' Ollie is a candidate for Mayor whose campaign is endangered by the reappearance of a girl from his past. Alongside the familiar version of this film is its feature-length Spanish equivalent 'Politiquerias' with L&H speaking their own foreign dialogue plus the early silent short 'Love 'Em And Weep' on which it was based. Another early silent 'Sugar Daddies' provides a variant on the idea (plus the same climactic gag!) while in the sound short 'Come Clean' regular foil Mae Busch - the blackmailer in 'Love 'Em And Weep' and its remake - is once again demanding money from Stan and Ollie. In the classic silent 'Early To Bed' Ollie has money to spare - and this time it's Stan who learns the power of blackmail!

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 12 - L & H and the Law/Classic Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £4.22   |  Saving you £3.03 (102.36%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Contains: Scram! (b/w) Scram! (colourised) Night Owls (b/w) Night Owls (colourised) Night Owls (Spanish version) The Second Hundred Years (silent with musical score) The Call Of The Cuckoo (silent with musical score) Duck Soup (silent with musical score and sound effects) 45 Minutes From Hollywood (silent with musical score) Big Business (silent with musical score) A collection of classic shorts with Stan and Ollie finding themselves - mostly - on the wrong side of the law. In 'Scram!' a judge orders them to leave town after finding them guilty of vagrancy. 'Night Owls' sees Stan and Ollie in the same condition but the local cop is willing to let them go if they are willing to pose as burglars. 'Ladrones' is an extended Spanish-language version of 'Night Owls' with L&H speaking their own dialogue. Stan and Ollie are shaven-headed convicts in 'The Second Hundred Years' a silent classic in which they escape from jail disguised as painters. The shaven heads are still visible in a guest appearance made at the same time in the Max Davidson comedy 'Call of the Cuckoo'. In 'Duck Soup' they elude the sheriff by taking refuge in an empty mansion posing as owner and maid for the benefit of prospective tenants. '45 Minutes From Hollywood' the first Hal Roach film in which both Laurel and Hardy appeared casts Oliver Hardy as a hotel detective. The all-time classic 'Big Business' - sometimes hailed as the greatest of all the L&H films - involves them in battle with irascible James Finlayson following their attempts to sell him a Christmas tree.

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 17 - Swiss Miss/Animal Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £7.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Contains: Swiss Miss (b/w) Swiss Miss (colourised) The Chimp (b/w) The Chimp (colourised) Flying Elephants (b/w silent with musical score) In 'Swiss Miss' Stan and Ollie visit Switzerland in the hope of selling mousetraps only to find themselves having to work in a hotel to pay off their bill. One of the most memorable scenes is that in which they are required to transport a piano across a flimsy rope bridge where they meet an escaped gorilla! Another large ape is Ethel the title character of 'The Chimp' while large creatures of a quite different kind appear in the Stone-Age comedy 'Flying Elephants'.

• Laurel And Hardy - Collector's Edition (Box Set) (Five Discs) (DVD) | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  This Fun Packed 5 DVD box set contains the following feature length and classic short movies of probably the greatest comedy duo ever to hit the silver screen. UTOPIA FLYING DEUCES MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS THE SLEUTH WEST OF HOT DOG KID SPEED MUD & SAND KILL OR CURE TREE IN A TEST TUBE SHOULD TALL MEN MARRY? SCORCHING SANDS WANDERING PAPAS MUMS THE WORD MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 6 - Murder in the Air/Classic Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Contains: The Laurel/Hardy Murder Case (b/w) The Laurel/Hardy Murder Case (colourised) The Laurel/Hardy Murder Case (Spanish version) Berth Marks (b/w) Berth Marks (colourised) Oliver The Eighth (b/w) Oliver The Eighth (colourised) A collection of classic Laurel & Hardy shorts with the overall theme of murder including one of their few surviving foreign-language editions plus the English version of a film incorporated into it. 'The Laurel/Hardy Murder Case' is a spoof of the kind of thriller prevalent at that time complete with hysterical relatives grim policemen and disappearing bodies. 'Noche De Duendes' is the Spanish-language version of this film extended in length by reworked material from an earlier short 'Berth Marks' which is also included in this compilation. In 'Oliver The Eighth' regular foil Mae Busch is at her best as a homicidal maniac!

• The Anderson Tapes | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An early example of the techno-thriller, The Anderson Tapes--sharply directed by Sidney Lumet from the novel by Lawrence Sanders--follows just-out-of-stir Duke Anderson (a balding Sean Connery) as he plots the heist of an entire New York apartment building, enlisting a crew that includes Martin Balsam as a vintage 1971 gay stereotype and a very young Christopher Walken in perhaps the first of his jittery crook roles. The gimmick is that Anderson has been out of circulation so long that he doesn't realise his mafia backers are only supporting him because they feel nostalgic for the days before they were boring businessmen and that the whole setup is monitored by a criss-crossing selection of government and private agencies who don't care enough to thwart the robbery, which instead becomes unglued thanks to a gutsy young radio ham. With a cool Quincy Jones score, very tight editing, a lot of spot-on cameo performances from the likes of Ralph Meeker as a patient cop, this hasn't dated a bit: it's wry without being jokey and suspenseful without undue contrivance. On the DVD The Anderson Tapes offers a nice anamorphic transfer, a few trailers and various foreign language options. --Kim Newman