Two Tars

Two Tars (1928) is a Hal Roach slapstick short directed by James Parrott — watch it online on iFILM. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play sailors on shore leave who rent a car, pick up two dates, and head out for a drive.

The drive stalls in a traffic jam. One small fender-bender sets off a chain of escalating revenge: a dented bumper leads to a ripped door, which leads to a smashed hood, which leads to something that stopped looking like a car some time ago. Edgar Kennedy, glowering at peak pressure as a furious motorist, is the highlight. Two Tars runs only 21 minutes, but the destruction piles up with its own internal logic — each act of retaliation proportional, then slightly over the top. Stream Two Tars (1928) online on iFILM.