Laurel and Hardy Revival 2015 - It Started With A Tweet

In 2014 I sent this tweet from my twitter account @stan_and_ollie



It wasn't until someone tweeted back "but where can we see them in a cinema?" that I realised no mainstream cinemas were showing the boys films and that something had to be done. I knew Stan Laurel's 125th birthday was coming up in June 2015, so I made some enquiries via twitter. I tweeted Showcase Cinemas and asked them if they would be interested in showing Laurel and Hardy in their cinemas which resulted in an email from their director of event cinema who quickly embraced the idea. It wasn't long before other cinemas such as Vue, Perth Playhouse, SGC and Movies@ jumped on board.


So... this June, kicking off in Liverpool on June 1st, there will be a Laurel and Hardy double bill screening of County Hospital and Sons Of The Desert in selected cinemas across the UK and Ireland. Some cinemas are even screening the films on 16th June, Stan Laurel's 125th birthday.

The demand for these screenings has been overwhelming not only here in the UK & Ireland, but also throughout Europe and the USA, so we're already planning on more screenings worldwide later in the year.

The last big revival of Laurel and Hardy was back in 1975 when they reached number 2 in the UK charts with ‘Trail Of The Lonesome Pine’, held off from the number one spot by Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Even into the 80’s the BBC regularly showed the Laurel & Hardy classic shorts on BBC2. Since those days, apart from loyal fans from ‘The Sons Of the Desert’, (the international L&H appreciation society) flying the flag, there has been virtually nothing in recent years to introduce younger generations to Laurel & Hardy. The aim of these national screenings is to invite families to come to the cinema… grandparents, mums, dads and the kids. We want to encourage people to put down their ipods, tablets, iphones and laptops for a couple of hours and come along and enjoy good family entertainment in the company of Laurel & Hardy... in a cinema... with a packed audience! The way they were made to be seen.

What started as a single tweet has turned into the beginning of the biggest Laurel and Hardy revival since 1975. What better way to introduce the boys to the next generation!

To everyone on Twitter, Facebook and to those of you out there who have bought tickets. Thank you for your support.

Ross Owen
Event Coordinator
www.LaurelAndHardyRoadshow.co.uk