This article is about the 1927 silent short film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. For the 1967-68 ABC sitcom, see The Second Hundred Years (TV series).
The Second Hundred Years (a.k.a. The Second 100 Years) is a 1927 American silentcomedyshort film starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.
Plot
Stan and Ollie are two inmates sharing a prison cell. Together, they devise a plan to escape by digging a tunnel. However, their escape attempt takes an unexpected turn when they accidentally emerge through the floor of the warden's office. After a brief pursuit, they are apprehended and returned to their cell.
Undeterred, Stan and Ollie disguise themselves as painters and exit the prison during a meal break, posing as members of a painting crew. As they paint everything in sight, including a parked car and a passerby, they attract the attention of a vigilant policeman. In a bid to evade capture, they hijack a limousine and don the evening attire of its occupants, who happen to be French prison officials visiting the governor.
Mistaken for the French dignitaries, Stan and Ollie attend a banquet hosted by the governor. Amidst comical mishaps, such as Stan's struggle with a wayward cherry, they manage to maintain their charade until they are recognized by their fellow inmates and the real French officials. A chase ensues, leading to their eventual return to prison.
Laurel and Hardy's heads were shaved for their appearance in this film; their hair had not yet grown back in their roles in Max Davidson's Call Of The Cuckoo (1927), released a week after The Second Hundred Years.
Chapters of The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, called "Tents", all take their names from Laurel and Hardy films; there is a The Second Hundred Years Tent on Long Island, New York.
References
^Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 187. ISBN0971186804.