Stan & Ollie

The small gold pins Stan and Ollie wear on their lapels for much of the film relate to the Grand Order of Water Rats, a British charity whose members from the entertainment industry donate to deserving individuals and causes. Stan and Ollie were Water Rats 465 and 466, respectively.

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The Laurel & Hardy museum, which holds many items from Stan Laurel's career, is located in his birthplace of Ulverston, Cumbria. Laurel occasionally visited his family there, and when he and Oliver Hardy visited the town as part of their 1953 British tour, they were met by a huge crowd. A bronze statue of the duo stands in front of the Coronation Hall theatre.

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Hal Roach outlived both of his stars by a considerable margin, dying in November 1992 at the age of 100. He was only four days older than Oliver Hardy and 18 months younger than Stan Laurel.

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The film is dedicated to the memory of Stan Laurel's daughter Lois Laurel, who died in 2017.

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John C. Reilly was given the choice of wearing a thick, warm suit to play Oliver Hardy (later fitted with tubes to pump cold water through) or gaining 100 kilos. As in his earlier films, he chose the former, put on weight, and then took a very long time to lose it, vowing never to do such a thing again because of the difficulty of shedding that much weight.

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The background footage on the Western set where Laurel and Hardy perform their dance routine comes from the original film Way Out West (1937).

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Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy, but took his father's name, Oliver, as a tribute to a father he never knew. For the rest of his professional life he was billed as Oliver Hardy. Friends and family, however, called him Babe Hardy instead, a nickname given to him by an Italian barber who powdered his cheeks while he cried: "nice-a-bab-y". He was credited as Babe Hardy in most of his later films at Lubin.

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When Oliver Hardy freed himself from his contract with Hal Roach Studios, he and Stan Laurel were finally able to sign one- or two-film deals with other studios. Most fans of the duo believe these films marked a decline in quality, with the exception of The Flying Deuces (1939). The scripts were often poor and the pair were beginning to show their age. Newer double acts such as Bud Abbott & Lou Costello and Bob Hope & Bing Crosby were becoming popular. Laurel & Hardy continued making films at a slower pace until 1945. Their last film, Utopia (1951), was poorly received and destroyed any hopes of a comeback.

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When Stan and Ollie arrived in Ireland to a cheering crowd, the church bells nearby happened to ring in time to the tune of the Dance of the Cuckoos, Laurel & Hardy's theme song. This really happened, and Stan Laurel later recalled that it moved both him and Oliver Hardy to tears.

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The "Elephant movie" that caused so much tension between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was Zenobia (1939). Hardy starred alongside Harry Langdon, a former major silent comedy star. The press interpreted it as the break-up of Laurel & Hardy. Langdon and Hardy came under a great deal of pressure, but Roach never intended them to become a permanent team.

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During the shoot, Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly had to learn, watch, rehearse and perform the duo's famous dance from Way Out West (1937), and even recreate the mistakes the famous pair made in the routine while filming.

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Laurel & Hardy's arrival in Ireland was marked by a tragedy of which the performers were unaware at the time. Three Irishmen dived into the sea and swam out to meet the boat when it was about 100 metres from the pier. Forty metres from shore they slipped beneath the surface and drowned. Their bodies were found the next day at low tide.

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The opening narration on the title cards notes that many of their films were dubbed into other languages for foreign countries. Their sound films were dubbed from 1932 onward, while between 1930 and 1932 Stan and Babe learned to phonetically perform the scripts of many films in other languages, with actors who spoke those languages filling the other parts. Versions of films such as Blotto (1930) and Chickens Come Home (1931) in multiple languages survive and are available on DVD and digital platforms.

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Director Jon S. Baird and screenwriter Jeff Pope's first choices for the roles of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly.

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The film was released nationwide in the United States on Oliver Hardy's birthday.

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After the Second World War, Laurel & Hardy opened the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in Kent. It was the world's smallest passenger train.

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Stan Laurel was a native of Ulverston in Lancashire (now Ulverston, Cumbria) in north-west England. The Ulverston Brewing Company in Cumbria has for several years produced bottled and cask beers with Laurel & Hardy-themed names such as Lonesome Pine and Laughing Gravy.

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Steve Coogan wore blue contact lenses in the role of Stan Laurel.

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The opening scene is a five-minute walk and conversation.

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Laurel & Hardy arrived in Ireland to a huge welcome at the start of their British and Irish tour in Cobh, Co. Cork.

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Stan & Ollie was first announced in December 2013 as a feature-length comedy-drama for BBC One.

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Despite the film's strong reception, box office success and awards buzz, it received no Oscar nominations at the 2019 Academy Awards in any category; however, some parts of the film were included in the montage.

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Irish author John Connolly, known for his horror, mystery and fantasy work, wrote "he: A Novel", a poignant, semi-fictional biography of Stan Laurel alongside Babe, as Oliver Hardy was known. In one chapter Connolly writes about the Boys' return to England, the subject of this film. At one stop the Boys were serenaded by hundreds of fans whistling their theme song.

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A Laurel & Hardy biography had been in the works for more than half a century; Stan Laurel once even suggested to Dick Van Dyke that he play him.

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Near the end of the fictional Robin Hood film, when Ollie falls into the water he performs his trademark 'slow burn': he turns to the camera with an annoyed expression and says, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"

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Oliver Hardy and John C. Reilly were almost the same height (6' and 6' ½" respectively).

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Jeff Pope described Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as his heroes.

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Bernard Delfont came from a show business family. One of his brothers was Lew Grade, who founded ATV Music Corp, which bought The Beatles' music publishing company Northern Songs. Grade (later Lord Grade) founded ITC, the company responsible for classic television programmes such as Thunderbirds (1965), The Prisoner (1967), Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and The Muppet Show (1976). Grade also produced many feature films, including Capricorn One (1978), The Boys from Brazil (1978), Raise the Titanic (1980), On Golden Pond (1981) and Sophie's Choice (1982). Delfont was also the uncle of Michael Grade, who would later become Controller of BBC One and later CEO of Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

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Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy also visited the Republic of Ireland on their final tour. They were greeted enthusiastically by hundreds of people.

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During the dance sketch they wear skirts, in MacMillan clan tartan.

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While Stan Laurel is at the reception, an extra in the hotel lobby is reading a newspaper. The Scotland football manager is a friend of the director.

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In a major coup for Faye Ward and the relatively new Fable Pictures, the rights to Laurel & Hardy's work were licensed by Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation.

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Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly are Oscar nominees.

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"Non, je ne Regrette rien [Trailer]", with music by Charles Dumont and lyrics by Michel Vaucaire, was performed by Edith Piaf.

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Steve Coogan was born almost eight months after Stan Laurel's death.

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