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Amazing how they did it. This movie features war sequences, the lost of a friend who leaves a young daughter behind. All some serious heavy dramatic stuff but yet the boys manages to make this movie a perfectly entertaining one with some good slapstick humor and comical situations.

The movie at times is a sappy one that goes definitely over-the-top but yet for most part the story and its drama works effective. Stan and Ollie taking care of the young daughter of Eddie and their quest for her grandparents is quite heartwarming. Especially since the boys in this movie have an amazingly good chemistry Jackie Lyn Dufton, who plays the young girl. Especially Stan Laurel has a good chemistry with her. Dufton refers to Stan and Ollie as her uncle's in this movie and that special feeling is brought amazingly effective and believable to the screen.

Yet the movie is also one of their most fun ones, despite the dramatic undertone. The slapstick humor is especially top-class and the boys manage once more to get themselves into some silly and hilarious situations.

The movie its supporting cast is also good. The movie features lots of different actors in a variety of roles. Of course this movie also has the regular Laurel & Hardy actors in it, such as James Finlayson, Charlie Hall and Paulette Goddard. But it's the supporting cast as a whole that delivers a good and impressive performance.

A delightful and well made comedy that also works effective with its more dramatic moments.

8/10

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Despite being doughboys in General Pershing's army in France, the Allies still were able to win World War I with Laurel and Hardy in the ranks. But most of Pack Up Your Troubles is spent with the boys as veterans looking for the family of their late comrade Don Dillaway on behalf of his daughter little Jackie Lyn Dufton.

Best scene in the film is when Stan and Ollie are sent out on what their exasperated sergeant thinks and hopes will be a suicide mission. They're told to get a prisoner. Remember this is 1932 and the story of Sergeant York even without the movie being made was known to one and all. How do Stan and Ollie pull off a Sergeant York? Well it involves a prototype tank, the enemy trenches, and some barbed wire. You have to see it being done.

Laurel's scenes especially with the child have a nice ring of pathos to them. Most of the time he's simply an idiot, here he's a lovable idiot. Next best scene in the movie is the little girl reading Stan a bedtime story, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears and Laurel falling asleep.

Pack Up Your Troubles has an unusually good cast of recognizable character players in roles that we all identify them with. Of course James Finlayson is there as their commanding general. But also there's Charles Middleton as a welfare inspector, Billy Gilbert whose daughter blows up a marriage to Grady Sutton when the boys think he's Dillaway's father and Mary Gordon as a delightful old Irish mother babysitting the little girl for Stan and Ollie. Third best scene is the police closing in on them and them trying to escape in a dumb waiter.

Only their third sound feature length film and a winner for Laurel And Hardy.

Once again, Stan and Ollie find themselves being potentially done in for trying to do the right thing. Through a series of events, the boys find themselves in France in the service. They are totally incompetent as soldiers, of course, but they make the acquaintance of Eddie Smith, who helps them get by. Eddie gets a Dear John letter and gets the boys to promise that if anything happens to him, they will see that his baby gets taken to his father's home. Well, the sad thing happens and they are in his debt...a promising made. They are released from the Army as heroes for inadvertently rounding up a battalion of German soldiers. Once back in the states, they begin the arduous process of finding a man named Smith. This allows them to make some hilarious mistakes, including telling a bridegroom at his wedding that they have his child. A mistake, of course. This is a touching, loving effort. But, of course, these guys seldom catch a break.

Stanley's and Oliver's army buddy Eddie Smith gets killed in a war, so the boys have to find the grandparents of Eddie's daughter.So they go from door to door looking for every Smiths there are in the town.It's not an easy job for the boys to do, because there are many Smiths but only two boys.And it doesn't make the job any easier that they get blamed for a bank robbery. Pack Up Your Troubles is a very funny comedy from Laurel and Hardy.It is one of the best Laurel and Hardy movies.The movie has many funny situations.Watch the movie and you just can't stop laughing.

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES (Hal Roach/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932), directed by George Marshall and Raymond McCarey, marks the second starring feature film from comedy team, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and one of their finest efforts. Though categorized as a war comedy, the film in itself, divided into two parts, starts off with war related themed material while the second half concentrates more on the team's attempt in locating a little girl's grandparents while civilians after the Armitice.

Opening title: "April 1917 – when the scratch of a pen on Capitol Hill caused crowns to rattle." After a brief montage of newspapers going to press with large headlines reading WAR DECLARED, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are seen seated on a park bench reading the latest news. While Ollie declares that flat feet is all that's keeping him from enlisting, the two are soon approached by a tough recruiting sergeant (Tom Kennedy). Even while their attempts pretending to be unfit for active duty, Stan foils up their disqualification, finding them in the next scene at the U.S. Army Training Camp. "It didn't take Uncle Sam long to whip this raw material into real fighting machine." Causing their short-tempered drill sergeant (Frank Brownlee) to go out of his mind over their bumbling antics, Stan and Ollie create more trouble while on K.P. duty, taking foul odor garbage to the general's (James Finlayson) residence, ending up in the brig with a tough cook named Pierre (George Marshall) after naming him the one who told them to place the trash into the general's home in a sarcastic manner. Eddie Smith (Donald Dillaway), the boys' best pal, receives a letter written by his wife telling him she has left him for another man, resulting on Eddie to leave his little daughter (Jacquie Lyn) in the home of a bickering couple (Rychard Cramer and Adele Watson) for the time being. Eddie is killed in battle, while Stan and Ollie unwittingly becoming war heroes. With the war ending November 11, 1918, civilians Stan and Ollie locate Eddie's daughter, take her away from the unhappy environment. They make every effort finding her grandparents with the only clue that their last name is Smith, thus having them going through every Smith name in the New York City directory. More problems arise as they try getting a $12,000 loan from the bank on their lunch wagon, and face losing Eddie's child to a mean officer of the Welfare Association (Charles Middleton) with efforts on taking her to an orphanage.

While the final print is somewhat handicapped by some rough cuts resulting to flimsy material, it's a wonder whether the original concept of the movie was initially longer longer than the theatrical 68 minute time frame, probably explaining after repeated viewing why certain characters, especially those part of the Laurel and Hardy stock company of James Finlayson, Billy Gilbert or Charlie Hall, have only brief bits. There is no plot development nor how Laurel and Hardy got to become such good friends with Eddie Smith. One would assume there's an edited account of first their meeting resulting to their friendship during their Army training segment. His dying in battle leads to the purpose of the story with Stan and Ollie doing a good turn by taking the responsibility for his little girl while spending months trying to locate her grandparents. The tight editing, obviously, keeps in the necessary scenes for plot development purposes while leaving more room for comedy material. Memorable scenes include Jacquie reciting a bedtime story to Uncle Stanley, struggling to keep awake; Stan and Ollie's individual attempts locating the many Smiths in the telephone directory; arriving at 311 Chester Drive where Stan and Ollie disturb a wedding ceremony addressing the child to be Eddie's baby, Eddie being the hapless groom (Grady Sutton); Stan going to Poughkeepsie to acquire if the Smith Brothers of cough drop fame to be the relatives, among others. Fine casting goes to Mary Carr as the baby's nanny; Mary Gordon as Mrs. McTavish, the baby sitter during the second half of the story; and Charles Middleton going with honorable re-mention as the one with a face mean and scary enough to "haunt a house." Jacquie Lynn, who sometimes speaks like future child star, Shirley Temple, gets in her finest moments mimicking Stan and Ollie both in mannerisms and famous line quotes, adding much to the fun during their troubles.

While the title, PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES, was used again for a Ritz Brothers comedy for 20th Century-Fox (1939), this is where the similarity ends. Home video prints to the original Laurel and Hardy edition (black and white or colorized) often eliminate material involving unpleasantness between the bickering couple looking after little Jacquie. Restored prints have turned up on numerous cable channel networks over the years, from American Movie Classics (1996-97) to Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: April 1, 2003). Adding a touch of World War nostalgia with background music from that era, including the title song, "Where Do We Go From Here?" and so forth, PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES is one of those films that seems to get better and funnier after repeated viewings, especially for devotees of this most famous of comedy teams of all time, Laurel and Hardy. (***)

"Pack Up Your Troubles" is a much funnier and better made film for Laurel and Hardy. The plot is more solid with a tighter narrative and the comedy has been blended in well. The opening of the film is 1917 - the year America entered the First World War. Stan and Ollie are drafted into the army where they befriend a fellow private. Sadly, this other soldier is killed in action and Stan and Ollie take it upon themselves to look after the deceased's little daughter. With the war ended, they need to avoid the dreaded orphanage as the child's mother shows no interest. Stan and Ollie try to locate the child's grandparents and this is what dominates the majority of "Pack Up Your Troubles." The team are on top form and they have great material to work with. Besides the comedy, there are moments of drama. Laurel and Hardy handle the more serious material very well. The scene where they realise their soldier friend has died is greeted with no humour or slapstick of any kind. James Finlayson has a brilliant cameo as the army officer, whose army quarters are accidentally smelling of litter. Watch his expression as he blows his whistle! Another regular supporting comedian, Billy Gilbert, makes an appearance as a rather irate future father-in-law at a wedding. I enjoyed the way the film ended, it was quite moving.

10 Hilarious Stars. Two stories rolled in one, and with a stellar cast, generally found in Laurel and Hardy films.

The boys get drafted and turn the war upside down, but also manage to become heroes? The sergeant sends them out on a "suicide mission" (for obvious reasons). Stan and Ollie get into a tank that manages to hook a barb wire fence --and they round up the enemies. Amazing!

The casualty of the war is their best friend Eddie, who has a cute baby girl (played by Jacquie Lyn Dufton). Stan and Ollie spend the rest of the film trying to track down Eddie's father so Jacquie will have a home. At the same time, they're running a hot dog stand on wheels to support themselves.

One of the craziest scenes; the guys trying to hide Jacquie from a welfare officer (Charles Middleton) who wants to put her in an orphanage. A lot of it was made up as they went along with a very thin script or outline. Stand outs are director George Marshall who plays the boiling mad army cook. He would occasionally get into bit roles and have some fun. Charlie Middleton is spot on as the heartless welfare worker.

Also Richard Tucker, long time actor in silent films, is funny as Mr. Smith, the bank manager -- Eddie's REAL father! He tells Stan and Ollie he'd have to be "unconscious" to loan them money and then gets knocked out.

Somehow(?) they get the money, leave the bank and drop the cash in the street, only to have a cop chase them and hand it back! Classic L & H stuff. It's scenes like this that inspired Abbott and Costello.

Best Line; A cop asks Ollie, "You're trying to find her father? Stan responds, "No, we're just lookin' for him."

Production notes indicate Anita Louise was to be cast as the leading lady, but her role was written out of the final script. The only female part of significance is Mrs. MacTavish, the baby sitter, played by veteran Mary Gordon (best known as Sherlock Holmes landlady).

There was some controversary for many years as to what ever happened to child actress Jacquie Lyn Dufton, who also appeared in a few Our Gang films.

According to notes, her stepfather asked for more money and she was cut from the studio. As an adult she got married, but little was heard about her. In the early 90s, Stan Laurel's daugher put out a notice (via the Sons of the Desert fan club), asking to be contacted, and Jacquie responded. Now an official member of movie history.

Laurel and Hardy's next film would be THE DEVILS BROTHER, co-starring their old pal Thelma Todd. Forever on dvd and remastered blu ray, and thanks much to MOVIES Net and METV Plus for rerunning this gem of gems.

Early Laurel & Hardy feature isn't among their best, but still provides entertaining viewing.

Story begins with America entering the First World War, and L&H conscripted into the army after being spotted loafing on a park bench. Action moves to training camp, then onto the trenches in France before returning to America. Here Laurel & Hardy find themselves responsible for a dead army buddy's little girl, whom they must return to her rightful guardian.

Film isn't as polished as later entries, and certainly can't compete with the likes of 'Sons of the Desert'. Even so, the continual odd-couple bickering between the two ensures plenty of laughs. The scene where they go to the Bank to get a loan on the strength of their mobile food business is out of the top draw - if there is a better comedy duo in movie history I've yet to see them.

Former doughboys Stan & Ollie take responsibility for the tiny daughter of a dead Army buddy. First they must rescue her from the dreadful fellow claiming guardianship. Then the Boys must try to track down the little tyke's grandparents. Not an easy task, considering the chaos they're about to encounter.

This feature plays like two or three short subjects strung together. There's a great deal of slapstick, as is usual in a Laurel & Hardy film, and the results are enjoyable. Stan & Ollie almost pull off the impossible: to make World War One trench warfare seem funny.

James Finlayson plays the Boys' exasperated General. Billy Gilbert & Grady Sutton are two zanies at a fancy wedding the Boys disrupt. Richard Cramer makes a nasty villain. Film mavens will spot sweet old Mary Gordon as one of the child's baby-sitters.

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES is the second L&H feature. They do a great job, providing straight laughs for over an hour! The supporting cast reads like a "who's-who" of 1930's comedy:Charles Middleton, Jacquie Lyn, Muriel Evans, Billy Gilbert, C. Montague Shaw, George Marshall, Rychard Cramer, James C. Morton, Richard Tucker, Lew Kelly, and other greats such as the immortal James Finlayson as a General. Directed by George Marshall and Raymond McCarey (brother of L&H creator Leo McCarey), Photographed by Art Lloyd. Screenplay and Dialogue by H. M. Walker. A comedy classic.

Stan and Ollie are called to fight in WWI and this portion of the film is among the funniest and most memorable. Oddly, the studio gave the plot some pathos, as their army buddy, Eddie, is killed--leaving his daughter an orphan. So it's up to the boys to take care of the child as they try to locate her grandparents--whose name, unfortunately, is Smith!

This film is a very uneven film, as it tries to give quite a bit of plot to the comedy duo and it tries to inject a little bit of pathos--something I absolutely HATE in comedies. No, I would have preferred less plot and more stupid highjinks, but alas, some execs thought it would be nice for the boys to take care of a cute little girl following the segment on the war, and so a lot of the film is devoted to this. Ho, hum. This doesn't excite me, but considering the overall quality of the film, it still is worth watching. For me, movies without cute little ragamuffins in need are preferable. No, I wanted a little more violence and banter between Stan and Ollie and no kids, thank you.

Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy wind up in the army in the Great War. In the trenches, they become friends with Don Dilaway. When he buys the farm, they return to the United States, rescue his orphaned daughter Jackie Lyn Dutton, and try to locate her grandfather amid the comedy set pieces.

It's a surprisingly serious movie amidst all the shenanigans and gags. Among the issues are marital breakdowns, abusive foster parents (played by the thoroughly malign Richard Cramer) and the unfeeling child welfare system (personified by Charles Middleton). Yet it never falters, thanks in no small part to direction by Ray McCarey and George Marshall -- the latter has three scenes as a miserable army cook. Through it all, the friendship of Stan and Ollie sustains them. They are stupid and ineffective, but they know they can rely on each other's poor best in the face of a hostile world. Plus they are so very funny.

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES only begins to pick up at the point the boys decide to track down the father of a little girl in their care. The best scenes involve their relationship with the cute tyke, who has a wonderful scene with STAN LAUREL where she puts him to sleep with her own version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Another highlight has the boys needing $2,000 and going to see a bank manager who has a good laugh when he sees that their restaurant business is nothing more than a traveling cart on wheels.

"I'd have to be unconscious to give you any money for that," he cries, and presto he knocks over a heavy vase that falls on his head. The boys escape with the money and even wackier developments follow.

Finally, the situation is straightened out when they accidentally run into the girl's grandparents who intend to see that L&H get the proper award for finding their lost grandchild, just in time for the happy ending.

A bit too plot heavy, but there are many scenes that are good for the kind of laughs you expect from any Laurel and Hardy film.

Worth seeing, but not one of their best.

Every once in a while we see a movie about the military enlistment of someone who has trouble taking orders; examples include "Stripes" and "Your Mother Wears Combat Boots". One of the earliest examples was the Laurel & Hardy flick "Pack Up Your Troubles", wherein the boys get drafted into WWI. Following the typical fine messes into which they get themselves, one of their compatriots asks them to do him a favor should he die. This leads into what must have been one of the more serious plots that their movies ever had.

While the movie is comedy through and through, it was a surprise to see Stan and Ollie display a more human side in this movie. I liked seeing them show that, wacky though they were, their characters had the courage to do the right thing when all hope seemed lost.

Of course, one could ignore that and simply revel in the antics. And boy are there some funny ones! I hope that people keep watching Laurel and Hardy forever.

A comedy that features The Great War as it`s back drop might be in very poor taste but since it features Stan and Ollie this can be forgiven . The trench scenes are probably the funniest parts of the film with Ollie getting blamed for Stan " Cleaning out a coffee pot " and Stan wishing Ollie luck as he`s forced over the top

After the war scenes we`re transported a few years into the future where the boys are trying to track down their old comrade Eddie Smith who has a daughter and I failed to get a joke because social mores have changed so much in the meantime . The action takes place at a wedding of a man called Eddie Smith ( An entirely different Eddie Smith ) where Stan , Ollie and a young girl appear . The doorbell is pressed and answered by a butler

" Does Eddie Smith live here ? "

" Yes "

" That`s swell because we brought his daughter "

The butler`s eyes roll and the bride`s father picks up a shotgun to attack the bridegroom when he hears this news . I was puzzled for a moment as to why this reaction came about but then I realised that in the 1930s no one but no one had children before they were married . How times change

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful.

Although a vast majority of Laurel and Hardy's previous efforts ranged from above average to very good ('45 Minutes from Hollywood' being the only misfire and mainly worth seeing as a curiosity piece and for historical interest, and even that wasn't a complete mess), 'Two Tars' for me was their first truly classic one with close to flawless execution. Didn't find 'Pack Up Your Troubles' quite one of their very best, but it to me still very good and some of the best material is among their funniest.

Admittedly, the story is pretty thin and is pretty standard and the beginning is a touch slow.

Despite that, 'Pack Up Your Troubles' is great fun while also having a definite degree of substance, never less than very amusing and the best moments, such as the ending, being classic hilarity. It is never too silly, there is a wackiness that never loses its energy and the sly wit is here, some of the material may not be new but how it's executed actually doesn't feel too familiar and it doesn't get repetitive. Yet there is also a surprising amount of pathos, that is actually genuinely moving and not over-sentimental. A lot happens yet it doesn't ever feel rushed or over-stuffed. The ending is a delight.

Laurel and Hardy are on top form here, both are well used, both have material worthy of them and they're equal rather than one being funnier than the other (before Laurel tended to be funnier and more interesting than Hardy, who tended to be underused). Their chemistry feels like a partnership here too, before 'Two Tars' you were yearning for more scenes with them together but in 'Pack Up Your Troubles' and on the most part from 'Two Tars' onwards we are far from robbed of that. Their comic timing is impeccable.

'Pack Up Your Troubles' looks good visually, is full of energy and the direction gets the best out of the stars, is at ease with the material and doesn't let it get too busy or static. The supporting players are solid, but Laurel and Hardy steal the show as they ought to.

Concluding, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Laurel and Hardy trying to avoid enlisting into the army are caught by a sergeant and they hilariously struggle to interpret the simple direct orders given to them while they are on kitchen duty. Anyways it's world war 1 and out there in the battle, they form a bond with fellow soldier Eddie Smith who has a daughter back home. To honour Eddie, the duo vow to safely return back his daughter to Eddie's father. Sadly the girl is living with an abusive foster parents and the duo break the law by running away with the child. How do they find the real Mr. Smith forms rest of the story.

This feature length film of Laurel and Hardy has a solid emotional core plot and those scenes work well. Rest of the film is filled with the duo's signature gags with Ollie being at the receiving end of it all. With the runtime of barely over an hour, it is commendable how humor and the emotional drama is balanced. While the initial scenes are their usual routine, once they embark on the journey with the child, the emotional core gives more weightage and further make those comedy scenes work. The ending however is rushed asusual. Overall it's a decent watch and commendable for handling the drama as well.

This is the cutes little girl's role ever made since Shirley Temple. When she was sitting in the lap of a very sleepy Stanley, she decided to read "The 3 Bears" to him. Her adorable accent alone was precious.

Hal Roach/MGM Feature Film.

Early Sound, actually Includes a Few Explanatory and Funny "Cards" Left-Over from the Silents.

A Good Production with a Heavy-Hand (for a comedy) Touching on War-Deaths, Orphans, and Child Abuse (sometimes cut in early TV prints),

Although "The Depression", a couple of Years in, is Never Explicitly Eluded.

The Slapstick is Very-Violent at Times (boiling coffee), Word-Play isn't Used as Much as it Could Have Emphasizing the Beginning of the "Sound" in the Movies.

But the Silents were Inherently Sight-Gags and the Genius Comedians of the Era Perfected the "Art" into a Science.

Think Chaplin, Keaton, and Others Including L&H.

Hal Roach Studios was a Strong Participant and Audiences were Used to and Loved the Visual Mayhem.

There are Many Touches that Round-Out the Film with Familiar Character Actors Amidst Contrived Situations Where L&H Flourished.

The Drill Instructor, the Cook, the Wedding, the Smiths, the Banker, the Welfare Sheriff, the Garbage Cans, and More.

Fans of the Team will have a Field-Day with the Non-Stop "Idiocracy", although some Rumblings About the "Child", and an Overloaded Plot can be Heard if You Listen Hard Enough.

But One Gets the Feeling that Every-Soul in America, by 1932, was Feeling the Pain of the Depression.

Both Individually and Collectively. The Emphasis on Pathos was a Natural Expressive Vent, Created to Relieve some of the Suffering that was Just Beginning.

Actually Little to Gripe About in this Hour-Long Homage to the Soldiers of WW1 and a Child Born into the Down and Out Era.

This is at the Start of Laurel and Hardy's almost 2 Decade Run of Feature-Length Sound Movies.

Definitely Worth a Watch.