Battle of the Century

The Battle of the Century is a 1927 Hal Roach two-reeler starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who, although just teamed, had yet to take on their recognisable Stan and Ollie characters on a more or less permanent basis. A young Lou Costello can be seen in an early scene as a member of the audience at the prize-fight mentioned in the film's title. The film is most noted for the final sequence - a meticulously choreographed custard pie fight - that utilized an entire day's output of the Los Angeles Pie Company. For many years, footage from the famous climactic pie fight was known to be the only extant material from the film until the opening reel (featuring a boxing match) turned up in the 1970s. The sequence involving Eugene Pallette...