Independent film-makers are on a quest for memories and pictures of when the famous comedy duo came to Hull
Laurel and Hardy lookalikes with Rebecca Sills and Dean Sills(Image: Dean Sills/Dearne Productions)
Father-and-daughter film-makers who created a sell-out documentary on Laurel and Hardy and the legendary comedy duo’s connections with Yorkshire are working on a follow-up – and they need your help. Dean Sills, 57, and his daughter, Rebecca, 27, are award-winning filmmakers from near Doncaster.
The pair first ventured into film-making during the pandemic years, when lockdown led them to focus on a family of visiting squirrels that turned up out of the blue in their garden. Since then, the indie creators have turned their attention to the comedy team made up of Brit Stan Laurel and American Oliver Hardy.
In 2025, they released their first feature documentary film, Laurel and Hardy’s Yorkshire Adventures, about Stan’s Yorkshire family plus the theatres in the county where the pair performed in the 1950s. The low-budget film, including many interviews with loyal Laurel and Hardy fans, enjoyed huge success, from its premiere screening at the Sons of the Desert UK Convention in Harrogate, to Talking Pictures TV broadcasting the film on its streaming service, TPTV Encore.
“The film even had a limited cinema screening at Parkway Cinema in Barnsley and sold out on DVD due to popular demand,” said Dean. “More recently it was screened to a packed audience at Slapstick Festival in Bristol where it was well received.
“We are very surprised by how well the film has done. We just went out and interviewed people, the two of us with a camera and a microphone, no fancy studios or crew to help us.
“It took just 12 days to film Laurel and Hardy’s Yorkshire Adventures, but several months to edit it.” Now Dean and Rebecca are on another quest, again following in the footsteps of the comedy duo, for Laurel and Hardy: To Hull and Back – with a nod in the title to another comedy love of Dean’s, Only Fools and Horses.
“This time we’re looking for interesting people in Hull to interview who have a connection to Laurel and Hardy,” Dean said. “The focus will be on Laurel and Hardy at Hull New Theatre in 1947, the Palace Theatre in Anlaby Road, in 1953 and when they departed from the port of Hull in 1954 aboard the MS Manchuria.
“We also plan to film in other locations, including Grimsby, where we know Laurel and Hardy stayed at the Dolphin Hotel – some people from Cleethorpes have sent me pictures of them there.
“We’d love to hear from anyone in Hull, or Grimsby, who have connections to Laurel and Hardy, somebody with something interesting to tell. It could be that someone had a relative who went to get their autographs or who has pictures of them from the time; we want people’s recollections.”
The film-makers will not only be focusing on the famous black-and-white film stars but also on the areas they visited around the Humber, for broader interest. “A lot of the Laurel and Hardy films are in the public domain and we’ve been in touch with a company in the US who have given us permission to use certain films – we’ll show clips between speaking to people.”
Dean said: “A lady down south has contacted me with some pictures of where The Palace Theatre in Grimsby was [the comedy greats trod the boards there in 1954] and on the wall there’s a plaque about Laurel and Hardy performing there and there are some tiles from the original building.” For the last film, which was released on DVD, sold out and is “back on Amazon soon”, Dean and Rebecca interviewed 11 people, including Mark Greenhow, the owner and curator of the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Cumbria.
This year sees the 100-year anniversary of the famous partnership of Laurel and Hardy and filming for Laurel and Hardy: To Hull and Back will begin in late spring, filming throughout the summer. Dean, who is also an actor, said he expected to be able to release the documentary next year.
Anyone who can help Dean and Rebecca with recollections or memorabilia in connection with Laurel and Hardy visits to the Hull and Grimsby areas is asked to please email dearneproductions@gmail.com
Laurel and Hardy’s Yorkshire Adventures is available to watch at tptvencore.co.uk
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