>> well, here's another nice mess you have gotten me into. >> they were always true to their characters. you never get a sense that stan laurel is playing a character called stan laurel, or that oliver hardy is playing a guy named oliver hardy, they just are stan and ali. >> hello? >> where have you been? >> i was here, with me. >> stan laurel was the brains of the operation, oliver hardy would show up, hit his mark, do his job well, and then go golfing. he didn't want to do anything with the mechanics of it, he left it all to stan laurel. >> what are you doing with that cushion? >> well i keep on bumping my head. see? >> stan laurel was the total filmmaker. he wasn't just a character, he wasn't just a screen comedian. he was a writer, he was a director, but he was never credited as either. >> i think we were fortunate in sticking to our solid methods