Dick und Doof in der Fremdenlegion

I think most fans - myself included - of Laurel & Hardy consider their earlier work (at the beginning of the 1930s) to be their best. The films they made later, like this one, suffered from being a bit too long-winded, and were always bogged down with slightly wearisome romantic sub-plots. Nonetheless, THE FLYING DEUCES is one of their most accessible feature-length productions, and a film that it's difficult to dislike.

Much of the comedy here comes naturally and feels unforced. Watching the guys attempting to simply wash themselves in their room is a delight in itself. The plot makes sense, and when the pair are sent off to Africa to enlist with the Foreign Legion, the laughs don't stop coming. There's a fine song and dance routine, a lovely jail cell interlude (featuring James Finlayson, no less) and a classic chase-based climax. Little to dislike, really.

I love this film! This was Laurel and Hardy's best film and the only one in Public Domain! If you can find a complete copy. Take a close look at Stan during his soft shoe number of "Shine On Harvest Moon" As you look at your TV, look over Stan's left shoulder in the close-up. You will notice ANOTHER Stan! Stan Laurel's (Arthur Stanley Jefferson)'s real-life (look-alike) brother who was in California for a final visit with Stan. Travel to and from England was difficult then. Now it's common.

Ollie is in love but it turns out she is already married. He decides to kill himself and suggests that Stan should do the same. But they goof it up and meet a guy who tells them that the French Foreign Legion is the way to forget a crushing romance. Of course, off they go. We know from every military movie they were involved in that disaster is on its way. Naturally, the fact that people like Jimmy Finlayson were already in the Legion doesn't speak all that well for their choices. Soon they are getting a reputation as the worst soldiers in the battalion. They finally manage to get themselves listed as AWOL and as deserters. They risk facing a firing squad. The Flying Deuces thing is from the fact that they end up plane-napping a plane. We all know that while nothing goes right for them, some sort of miracle is going to keep them alive. It doesn't mean things are hunky-dory. There is a great rendition of "Shine on Harvest Moon," one of those great songs they occasionally did.

This was Laurel and Hardy's first feature film away from producer extraordinaire Hal Roach. While this is in no way Laurel and Hardy's best work, it still contains enough gags and silliness to entertain fans and the younger set. Stan Laurel is as sharp as always as is Babe Hardy but the story is somewhat lacking and drags in spots. The premise is good though: Trying to forget a woman who turned him down, Ollie wants to drown himself and convinces Stan that he must do the same. The boys meet an officer of the Foreign Legion who convinces them that they should join the Legion to help forget. Of course you know these two misfits are not going to do well in the Legion with its strict military code and constant marching. This leads to many good moments when, for example, the boys are forced to wash and press "a mountain" of laundry(literally). I especially liked the stunt flying and the surprise ending which, for me, wrapped everything up neatly. The part I really didn't like is having Ollie act like a simpering idiot when in love. It is just plain embarrassing. In their older films, they would get into bad situations but were never the objects of ridicule. Thankfully, this sequence passes by quickly enough and we go on to some great gags.

Sadly, the boys would end up making only one good film after this one (Saps at Sea)before moving to MGM and Fox where they were stuck in a bunch of bad or very average films.

Funny Laurel and Hardy picture has the boys as two Americans vacationing in France. Ollie develops a boy-like crush on a pretty café waitress and intends to marry her but has his heart broken when she must turn him down, for she is already happily married. Poor Ollie at first decides to end it all and take his good pal Stan with him, until he gets a better suggestion to just join the Foreign Legion to try and forget his troubles. This, or course, leads to even more troubles! A good solid comedy from Laurel and Hardy, nearing the very end of their best period in the Hal Roach movies. This film has long been available as a public domain release on various labels with rather weak quality, but the best print out there as of this date is the DVD from KINO. It really boosts the enjoyment of this one. *** out of ****