| Hats Off | |
| Director: | Hal Yates |
| Producer: | Hal Roach |
| Starring: | Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy James Finlayson Anita Garvin |
| Music: | Leroy Shield |
| Cinematography: | George Stevens |
| Editing: | Richard C. Currier |
| Distributor: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Runtime: | 20 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Silent film English intertitles |
Hats Off is a lost silent short film starring Laurel and Hardy. The team appeared in a total of 107 films between 1921 and 1951.
Stan and Ollie are salesmen attempting to sell a washing machine; they fail constantly after several near misses. One would-be sale has them carrying the machine up a large flight of steps, only to find out that a young lady wants them to post a letter for her. The boys later get into an argument knocking off each other's hats, which eventually involves scores of others. A police van eventually carts all those involved away except Stan and Ollie, who afterwards try to find their own headgear amongst the hundreds of others lying on the street.
Hats Off was an enormous success when first released, which made considerable headway in establishing the Laurel and Hardy team with the public. After being last publicly shown in Germany in 1930, Hats Off disappeared and is now considered a lost film.[1] Laurel and Hardy historian Randy Skretvedt dubbed Hats Off the "Holy Grail of Laurel and Hardy movies."[1]