Stunning colorized pictures of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy have been released to coincide with the new film about the famous comics.
The incredible images show the svelte Laurel and plump Hardy smirking as they look side on at the camera, speaking with each other and posing with props while dressed as prisoners.
Other striking shots show Laurel pulling a funny face for the photographer, Hardy smiling as he puts on a tie and Hardy staring in bemusement as Laurel gives him a thumbs up.
The original black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by housewife Nicola Branson from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
These colorized images of famous comics, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, have been released to coincide with the new film starring Steve Coogan as Laurel and John C Reilly as Hardy. Photographer Nicola Branson said: ‘Laurel and Hardy was a childhood memory for myself and my sister, and a few others of the silent movie era. Even without words these style of actors had the ability to make people laugh with their crazy antics’Laurel (right) and Hardy (left) were a comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American black and white cinema. Laurel was born in 1890 and died in 1965, while Hardy lived from 1892 to 1957. Nicola Branson added: ‘To bring back memories some people may have forgotten or not noticed on an original black and white photo. Restoring also brings back details that may have been lost over time’The comedy team was composed of Englishman Stan (left) and American Oliver (right), who became well known during the late 1920s through the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy and childlike friend of the pompous bully Hardy. Nicola Branson added: ‘The photos I decided to enhance with color, show the comical side and personal sides of Laurel and Hardy through twenty years of their professional lives’The duo’s signature tune is known variously as ‘The Cuckoo Song’, ‘Ku-Ku’, or ‘The Dance of the Cuckoos’. It was played over the opening credits of their films and has become as emblematic of the duo as their bowler hats. Stan & Ollie is a biographical comedy-drama film based on the lives of the comedy double act Footage of comedy legends Laurel and Hardy from the 1930s
