Stan & Ollie trailer: first look at Steve Coogan and John C Reilly's Laurel and Hardy biopic

The first trailer has been released for Stan & Ollie, the forthcoming film about Laurel and Hardy's difficult final tour. 

The biopic of the comedy duo stars Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel alongside John C Reilly as Oliver Hardy. The film is directed by John S Baird, best known for his 2013 Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, and written by Bafta-winner Jeff Pope.

It reunites Pope with Coogan for the first time since they co-wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for 2013's Philomena.

Pope has said he was keen to capture the "flaws and shortcomings" of Laurel and Hardy in his script, rather than giving a sanitised portrait of the beloved double-act.

"I am aware of the huge responsibility of bringing their characters to life, but I have not treated the boys with kid gloves or looked at them through rose-coloured specs," he said.

"They are living and breathing characters, with flaws and shortcomings. The research into this story threw up so many details and facts that I had no idea about.

"But everything I have done has come from a place of love and more than anything else I hope this shines through."

Laurel and Hardy made more than 100 films together from 1921-1951, before abandoning the screen for the stage, touring music halls around Britain and Ireland.

Stan & Ollie will premiere at the London Film Festival on October 21, before opening in cinemas nationwide on January 11.