Night Owls (1930) Review: The Loudest Burglars in Movie History

You should probably watch this if you have twenty minutes and want to see two men engage in a death match with a backyard fence. If you hate slapstick or get annoyed by people being intentionally stupid, maybe skip it.

I watched this on a grainy upload and honestly, the bad quality made the physical stuff funnier. It feels like watching a private disaster unfold through a basement window.

The whole setup is pretty dark if you actually think about it. Edgar Kennedy plays this cop who is about to lose his job because he hasn't caught any criminals lately.

He finds Stan and Ollie sleeping on a park bench and basically threatens them into committing a crime so he can 'catch' them. It's a total setup, but the boys are too dim-witted to realize how bad this plan is.

They agree to rob the Police Chief's house. Yes, the actual Chief of Police.

The movie really gets going once they reach the wall. There is this one bit where Stan tries to help Ollie over the wall that goes on forever.

Ollie is such a big guy, and Stan is just... Stan. The way Ollie's face looks when he realizes his partner is useless is the best part of these movies.

It’s not like Chicago where everything feels like a big, stylish production. This is just two guys in a dark yard making way too much noise.

I love how they keep shushing each other. Every time they make a giant crash, they stop and go 'Shhh!' like that's going to un-break the window.

There is a cat in this movie that might be the best actor in the whole thing. It just sits there watching them fail, and you can almost feel the cat judging them.

The sound effects are what really get me. This was early sound film stuff, so every thud and clack feels boosted and weirdly sharp.

When Ollie falls into the trash cans, it sounds like a literal bomb went off. It’s the least stealthy burglary I’ve ever seen recorded on film.

Stan Laurel has this specific way of scratching his head that makes him look like his brain is actually short-circuiting. He does it a lot here when they get stuck on the window ledge.

The pacing is a little weird in the middle. They spend a lot of time just standing on each other's shoulders and wobbling around.

I found myself wondering why the neighbors didn't call the army, let alone the police. They are screaming at each other in 'whispers' for like ten minutes straight.

There’s a bit with a player piano that starts up by accident. It’s a classic gag, but the look of pure terror on Ollie’s face makes it feel fresh even if you've seen it a hundred times before.

James Finlayson is in this too, playing the Chief. He has those amazing eyebrows that seem to have a life of their own.

He does this double-take when he wakes up that is so over-the-top. It’s definitely not the kind of subtle acting you see in The Passionate Friends, but it fits the chaos here.

I noticed that Stan’s pants get caught on the fence and he just kind of dangles there for a second. I wonder if that was a mistake they just kept in because it looked funny.

The ending is a bit of a rush. It doesn't really 'conclude' so much as it just explodes into a chase and then stops.

I kind of like that about these old shorts. They don't feel the need to give you a moral lesson or a deep ending.

They just wanted to show you two guys getting hit with a brick and falling into a pond. And honestly? That's enough for me today.

It’s much better than some of the drier stuff from that era like When Men Desire which takes itself way too seriously. This movie knows it is about idiots and it embraces it.

Things that made me laugh:

• The way Ollie tries to tiptoe and his feet make these heavy CLUMP sounds.
• Stan trying to use a tiny little flashlight to see a giant house.
• The recurring gag with the officer's hat.
• The face Ollie makes right before he falls into the water.

It’s not a masterpiece of cinema history or anything. But if you want to see the blueprint for every 'dumb guy' comedy made in the last 90 years, this is it.

The physical comedy feels very dangerous sometimes. Like, they were actually falling off those roofs and hitting those fences hard.

I’m glad I watched it. It’s a nice reminder that being loud and clumsy has always been funny and probably always will be. 🐱