Watch The Midnight Patrol For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Wonderful Movie

A different way of telling a story

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are the most famous comedy duo in history, and deservedly so, so I am happy to see any of their films. Officers Stan and Ollie pull over to open up their police telephone and take out their lunch of sandwiches and milk bottles, and Stan manages to snap the phone cord. Just after tucking in, they get a radio report that some men (Bob Kortman and Charlie Hall) are trying to steal their spare tyre, so Stan gets out and chases these men away and threatening arrest next time he sees them. They mock him, so he throws a brick through their brick, and they it back through the back window of their car, hitting Ollie on the back of the head and cracking on open his milk bottle to squirt him in the face. Then the police radio reports a man trying to break into 24 Walnut Avenue, but they quickly forget this address when the car stalls, and with their phone cord broken Stan goes into the near jewellery store. He fails to notice the man inside trying to crack open a safe is a crook (Frank Terry) as he makes he phone call to get the address again, and when Ollie comes in the crook gets his gun out. The crook gets a ticket to appear in court at his convenience, and after making the phone call again with Stan losing half the address, the crook trying to steal their car is told to appear in court the next day, no excuses. So the boys get to the address reported, and they see a man (Frank Brownlee) banging on the windows and going down into the basement, while they follow him, the man has a word with his Butler (Al Corporal), as he is the owner of the house. The boys find he has locked the door to the basement, so after Ollie has a little tumble going up the wrong set of steps, they go outside to the front door. Stan suggests if they want to get through it they should step back ten paces, so as Ollie steps back he ends up in the near pond on step nine, and when he gets out soaked, he also gets squirted by his water filled gun. While Ollie and Stan grab and lift the near heavy bench, the house owner is getting dressed to investigate the noises outside, and the boys mess up swinging the bench into the door when Stan makes Ollie fall in the pond again, and Stan gets splashed too. After lifting up the bench which Ollie was trapped under in the pond, and taking a pond weed and fish out of their clothes, Stan and he have a quandary about which direction to swing and move the bench. After swapping ends of the bench, they count three and swing the bench forward, crashing through the door and going up a few stairs before the floor gives way, and they go into the basement landing in a barrel of sauerkraut. The house owner comes down with a long barrelled shot gun, and he also goes through the hole in the staircase landing in a wardrobe, and it is only when he is knocked on the head by a bottle that he is quiet. So Stan and Ollie take what they think is the criminal to headquarters, but everyone is shocked to see it is Police Chief Ramsbottom, and he has no hesitation to shoot the boys as they walk out, but is good enough to call the coroner. Filled with wonderful slapstick and all classic comedy you could want from a black and white film, it is an enjoyable film. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were number 7 on The Comedians' Comedian. Good!

This is most definitely not one of the best or most memorable Laurel & Hardy shorts. It doesn't really have enough slapstick in it and the comical situations, although good, feel far fetched and perhaps a bit awkward, especially toward the ending.They could have done something more interesting with the concept of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy joining the police force. They get themselves into some comical and dumb situations but it all is perhaps a bit too formulaic. That is the main reason why "Midnight Patrol" is an enjoyable but at the same time very forgettable Laurel & Hardy shorts.Lloyd French never was the best or most consistent director of Laurel & Hardy movies. His movies are certainly enjoyable but lacking in originality or true creativity at the same time.I'm beginning to sound negative but of course this movie is not an horrible one to watch. Mainly the Laurel & Hardy fans will still find plenty to enjoy in this movie, although also they have to admit that this is far from the best and/or most memorable Laurel & Hardy shorts.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Laurel and Hardy are police officers. They must get a burglar although we know that the man they are looking for is no real burglar. He just wasn't able to enter his own house.With some very funny moments for Laurel and some pretty nice verbal jokes as well this short is entertaining enough although I have seen better from Laurel and Hardy. The story itself has some nice surprises.

Laurel and Hardy are police officers on the night shift patrol. They get a call about a robbery, only to find that two men are trying to steal the spare wheel from their car. They get past this to find they have forgotten the address. Laurel goes to find a phone to ring the station but gets involved in a safe cracking. When they eventually get to the address of the reported robbery things go from bad to worse.Opening with a rolling title sequence, this short made me think I had walking into the wrong screen, however, despite the gritty noir opening, this is Laurel and Hardy. The actual plot is filled out by several scenes on their way to the robbery, before eventually getting to the scenes of them trying to get into the house. All of these work quite well and all scenes make good use of their physical comedy skills – the scenes involving a locked door and a pond being the best.The low point of the film is the final shot (literally!) which is probably the worst judged ending of any short of theirs I've seen. Basically the film ends with the Police Commissioner borrowing a gun, firing two shorts at the backs of our fleeing heroes and then saying `call the morgue'. I was waiting for the final short of L&H holding their backsides in pain or something, but no, so the end of the film sees them shot dead! I couldn't help feel that this was totally against the idea of the comedy that had gone before.Laurel and Hardy both do good work and make the physical stuff look easier than it really is. The support cast of criminals are amusing – although the tyre thieves are just tough, the safe cracker has his share of disbelieving double takes.Overall this is an amusing little short. The major downside here is the fact that the ending leaves a sour taste and is very badly done.