‘Habeus Ciorpus’ co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott was filmed on July 16–24 and 30–31, 1928. Since the jerk-offf who posted the film disabled the sharing of it on other websites you’ll have to click the above ‘watch on Youtube’ link to see it.  It’s worth the not terribly troubling trouble, though. Although technically a silent film — having intertitles and no synchronized dialogue — it was the inaugural Hal Roach film released with a synchronized music and sounds effects track for theatres wired for sound. The Victor sound discs were thought lost until a set surfaced in the 1990s and was reunited with the film elements. The film is importantly historically as the first Laurel and Hardy film to be released with recorded sound. Oh yes, it’s also very funny. I particularly like the mad little dance the Professor who sets the plot in motion performs that demonstrates with certainty to the police that he’s crazy (it’s at 4:00 minutes in). These silent L&H’s fascinate me–who knew at the time how perfectly their voices would match their characters? Perhaps Leo McCarey did and was waiting patiently for the arrival of sound to show what he already knew to the world…