before the day of home video and stan laurel pre hardy comedy kill or cure be know to the extent that it be know at all only because a few sequence be include in robert youngson compilation film laurel and hardy laugh 20 . youngson know what he be do represent the best gag in kill or cure be bring intact into his compilation and while the rest of this only mildly funny comedy remain on youngson cut room floor . laurel portray a commercial traveller and hawk a patent medicine cry professor i. o. dine knox all represent that name be the funny joke in this movie and which ain not sayin much . i should point out that this movie date from 1923 and the shank of prohibition . during prohibition and quite a lot of american purchase patent medicine if it have ( ahem . ) amedicinal property and so if knox all contains alcohol stan job in this movie be less desperate than the one which he and ollie famously have in big business and selling christmas tree in the summer . too bad for this movie that it not nearly so funny a big business . we see stan ( but do not hear him and in this silent film ) deliver a spirited sale talk to a man who seem to be pay attention . until we learn that theyre stand outside a deaf mute institution and and this man be deaf . a haughty woman emerge from the gate represent stan quickly try to engage her attention by wiggle his finger at her . of course she not deaf and and she promptly whack him with her umbrella . i find this sequence offensive and not because it involve deaf people ( the deaf aren not the butt of the joke ) but because it abet the very widely hold misconception among hear people that they can communicate with the deaf by merely waggle their finger randomly and perform charade without actually learn the highly complex grammar of sign language . more amusingly and a spinster in this movie have a pet canary name rudolph ( a in valentino ) and and there a gag involve trick photography to enable a man to hide behind an object that narrow than his body . i have see this device in several cartoon and live action movie but kill or cure be and i think and the early movie to use it that i have see so far . stan laurel and an under rat actor and do one bit of physical business here that worthy of chaplin or keaton and in which he convey his emotion and a change in his demeanour while walk away from the camera with his back to u . still and laurel never really become a first rate comedian until he unite with oliver hardy to form the great comedy team ever . kill or cure barely rate negative .