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There are a lot of funny scenes squeezed into one of the thinest "plots" you'll ever see in a story. Our heroes - Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - simply want to go to the annual convention of their group - "The Sons Of The Desert" and want their wives' approval to make the trip. As it turns out, they go anyway and, well, it's one wild scene after another.

Along the way, we see all the trademarks of these two famous comedians: Laurel scratching his head, crying when in trouble, having the better heart of the two and providing some clever slapstick and dialog. Hardy does his normal routine, too, with the dirty looks, the scheming and the pratfalls.

The women are the bosses and Hardy's wife is the toughest of the two, throwing plates at Olllie's head! These are tough old bags.

Oddly enough, on the second viewing of this film I found a bit slow going, which I didn't find the first time. Charley Chase, a famous silent comedian, is also in the film as are a few things you wouldn't associate with Laurel & Hardy: some sexual stuff! Really! There is a dance number in the middle of the film where I swear I saw a see-through blouse on the main dancer. Also, there was a play- on-words here about some woman "who likes to pump the organ." Well, this film was made a year or so before the Hays' Code went into effect.

At any rate, if you have never seen the famous duo, this is a good place to start.

SONS OF THE DESERT (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933), a Hal Roach feature presentation directed by William A. Seiter, starring the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is not a foreign legion story set in the Sahara desert as the title might imply, but a domestic comedy with "Sons of the Desert" the name of a fraternity lodge brothers organization where Stan and Ollie are members, Oasis 13, Los Angeles, California.

As the story goes, Stan and Ollie (Laurel and Hardy), best friends ("two peas in a pod") and next door neighbors, both married (with their front doors reading "Mr. and Mrs. Stan Laurel" and "Oliver Hardy and Wife"), are introduced as late arrivals to the "Sons of the Desert" fraternity meeting where the exhausted ruler announces the club's 87th annual convention to take place in Chicago, where all members are expected to attend. After the swearing-in ceremony and singing of "We Are the Sons of the Desert," guilt-ridden Stanley tells Ollie he's afraid to ask his wife, Betty, if he could go. Oliver, strong-willed on the outside, fearfully henpecked on the inside, insists Stanley let Betty know that he's "king of his castle." Easier said than done considering Mrs. Laurel (Dorothy Christie) is an avid duck hunter who never misses her target with her rifle. As for Oliver's spouse, Lottie (Mae Busch), whom he affectionately calls "sugar," she's caring to her husband's needs, but at the same time, is quick-tempered and domineering. After learning about the convention, she makes it clear to Oliver that she has her heart set on going to the mountains and is not permitted to attend. Since Betty has granted Stanley permission to go, Oliver comes up with a scheme pretending to have a nervous breakdown, and with Stanley's help, hires an animal doctor, Horace Merrick (Lucien Littlefield) to make a house call, examine Ollie (like a dog) and suggest an ocean voyage rest cure to Honolulu. Since Lottie doesn't like the ocean and claims to be a poor sailor, it is suggested Stan "accompany" him. The plan works, and the boys go to the convention, having the time of their lives. They even get to meet up with a loud-mouth club member named Charlie Chase, who turns out to be Mrs. Hardy's long-lost brother. On the very day the boys are to return home, the wives receive news that the Honolulu steamship has sunk. Unable to acquire the names of the survivors, the girls wait it out by attending a picture show at a local theater. While there, they watch a newsreel presentation of the "Sons of the Desert" convention with Stan and Ollie in full view marching in the parade, mugging their faces into the camera. How will the boys be able to explain this now that the wives are fully aware they've been tricked? With this being a favorite among Laurel and Hardy devotees, it seems natural the film's title be adopted for the Laurel and Hardy fan club. Movies such as this were probably an inspiration to future TV shows, particularly "The Honeymooners" starring Jackie Gleason (fat) and Art Carney (skinny) as Laurel and Hardy counter-parts. With numerous battle of the sexes comedies featuring henpecked husbands being common place either in short subjects or feature length films, even when knowing how this will all turn out, viewers familiar with this formula will still want to see the results, and find out whether the boys will fess up to the truth or face the consequences from their wives. As with Gleason and Carney caricatures in "The Honeymooners," the overweight is over confident, full of ideas that backfires on him, and married to a woman who's one step ahead of him, while Laurel, the thin one with a cry of a child, is weak yet sensible, and highly influenced by his friend, married to a loving spouse who knows the wrong he does is not of his own choosing. While deceiving and lying are never solutions to anything, Stan sums it up best with his own philosophy, "Honesty is the best politics."

The current success of SONS OF THE DESERT relies on its fine script, witty dialogue and clever gags, sometimes violent, thrown in. Mae Busch as Hardy's wife is as fine casting as Kathleen Howard is for W.C. Fields in three notable films. Busch's Lottie has a vicious laugh (HA!) added to her hot temper, leading to the result of smashing a vase over her husband's head and everything else that goes with it. While spouse abuse doesn't wear well with today's society as comedy, this was common practice with the Laurel and Hardy formula. Dorothy Christy as Mrs. Laurel, is charming, but makes herself clear at one point with her stern sounding voice in telling Lottie, "Stanley would never lie to me. I'd hate to think of what might happen, if he, ev-err DID!" With many classic scenes too numerous to mention, the film does take time for a brief musical number, "Honolulu Baby" sung by a male vocalist, with overhead camera shot of dancing Hawaiian girls doing formations in the Busby Berkeley tradition.

Distributed on video cassette from various companies during the early days of home video (1980s), SONS OF THE DESERT played on various cable networks throughout the years: The Comedy Channel (late 1980s) , American Movie Classics (1994-96) and finally Turner Classic Movies (where it premiered April 1st, 2005). It continues to be a perennial favorite Laurel and Hardy film. In spite of its age, the film still holds up today, and at 67 minutes, plays like an extended comedy short. If not their best comedy, SONS OF THE DESERT definitely ranks their best in the domestic sense. (***)

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy want to go to their 87th annual "Sons of the Desert" convention in Chicago, which no member has ever missed. But, domineering wives Mae Busch (as Lottie) and Dorothy Christy (as Betty) have other ideas. The women want to vacation in the mountains. While Ms. Christy gives permission for Mr. Laurel to attend the convention, Ms. Busch isn't so accommodating. So, Mr. Hardy decides to play sick, which (somewhat inexplicably) earns he and Laurel a trip to Hawaii (Chicago), without the wives.

Laurel & Hardy perform the old story smoothly; this film surely earns them the plot's patent. Clever scripting (Frank Craven) and direction (William A. Seiter) keeps things moving, and bits are well chosen. The slapstick hits a little too hard, sometimes; with the coming of sound, some of the physical comedy would look better in moderation (with a silly sound effect). Busch is one of the best Laurel & Hardy "wives". The duo's convention appearance, with the riotous Charley Chase is fantastic -- it includes a great theme song, "Honolulu Baby", performed by Ty Parvis and his hilarious hula dancers. Oh, lei!

Ollie wants to attend the annual convention of THE SONS OF THE DESERT in Chicago & have lodge brother Stan go with him. Their wives, however, have other plans. From such tiny acorns of humor do mighty oaks of hilarity grow...

This is a wonderfully funny film, with the Boys at their very best. Watch Stan's face as he eats the wax apple, or Ollie as he attempts to stand-up to his formidable spouse. The Sons themselves are a spoof of every fraternal organization that's ever taken itself too seriously.

Hilarious Charley Chase is the epitome of every obnoxious conventioneer you've ever tried to avoid. Mae Busch & Dorothy Christy are good fun as the Boys' wives, while Lucien Littlefield scores as a veterinarian called in to doctor Ollie.

Extra-sharp movie mavens will spot Charlie Hall as one of the waiters at the beginning of the 'Honolulu Baby' sequence; they will also recognize the voice of Billy Gilbert as the steamship official giving the announcement about the shipwreck survivors.

I love this movie. I was reduced to tears the first time I saw it and am reduced to tears every time I've seen it in the 50 years since. Talk about a movie holding up over 70 years. To my mind, it's the Citizen Kane of comedy. Everything about it is pitch perfect. To watch the boys as they sink deeper and deeper into absurdity in explaining their arrival back ahead of the rescue ship is a marvel to watch. There are so many subtle, nonsensical and memorable moments that stay in the mind years later one almost doesn't know where to start. The solemn dark lighting of the opening scene spoofing fraternal organizations, eating the wax fruit, the range of facial expressions of the wives throughout, the shot of the boys from the back sitting facing the fireplace as Stan disses his wife, Stan's wife in hunting regalia returning shotgun in arm carrying ducks, Ollie flirting on the phone not realizing it's his wife he's talking to, the stream of consciousness dialog in the attic, and on and on and on. A subtlety perhaps missed by many is the wonderful song and dance number at the night club....a simply wonderful lampoon to perfection of crooner Dick Powell and spoof of Busby Berkeley with those clunky but charming Hula dancers, struggling in a valiant but ultimately hopeless attempt to dance, fanning out to the camera and culminating in that marvelous overhead shot near the close. Just great. I could write a book on this movie, but I'll just suggest to viewers to get William K. Everson's book on the films of Laurel & Hardy and read what one of the great critics has to say about this gem.

It's not easy to keep the Laurel and Hardy brand of humor going for a full-length feature, but here they accomplish it pretty well. Although the premise would have been tailor-made for one of their two-reelers, they successfully stretch it out into over an hour's worth of material, providing plenty of laughs and using some clever ideas.

The story has Stanley and Oliver as two members of the "Sons of the Desert", who are preparing for their national convention. This gets the two into difficulty with their wives, and from there things build up into the kinds of predicaments that are familiar from their shorter features. What's rather impressive is how well they keep things going for so long. There's nothing that's forced or pointless, and the pacing is generally just right. As the wives, Mae Busch and Dorothy Christy have relatively easy roles, but they (and also Charley Chase) have a few good moments.

Anyone who enjoys Laurel and Hardy's shorter features will probably also joining the "Sons of the Desert" in this amusing movie.

Stan and Ollie are part of a Freemason's lodge and take an oath to go to their annual convention in Chicago. No one has ever broken this oath in the zillion year history of the Sons of the Desert Lodge so they'd better now screw up.

Only Stan and Ollie are both dominated by their wives who won't allow them to do anything with-out strict approval first. So they concoct a plan that involves pretending to go to Hawaii for a relaxing cruise but really going off to the windy city.

Too bad the ship sinks on the way their and they have fake being rescued (much quicker than everyone else) when they come back from the convention. Loads of hectic hiding and digging out of deep trouble follow.

Much funnier than I've made it sound. Honest!

It's really the only good full-length Laurel & Hardy movie that isn't distracted by a sub-plot, therefore an interesting story develops, and we get to see more of Laurel & Hardy. This movie more than any other just lets us laugh at the two characters we love best: Stan and Ollie. We see them as kids, sneaking around to a juvenile convention to escape the clutches of their motherly, domineering wives. There are some great sequences, and some truly hilarious moments. Stan is especially at his best, and the sequence where Ollie is sick is classic. "Why did you get a veterinarian?" "I didn't think his religion would make any difference."

A must for any Laurel & Hardy fan, and indeed a must for everyone who enjoys an utterly pleasant experience and a truly divine comedy.

Honolulu baby, Where'd you get those eyes?

It's one of their better feature-length efforts. The plot outline is familiar enough. Laurel and Hardy live next door to one another and both are married to domineering wives. L&H belong to an organization, The Sons of the Desert, that is holding its national convention in Chicago, but Hardy's wife is intent on taking him along on a vacation to the mountains. They contrive to convince the wives that Hardy is ill and must spend some time in Honolulu, with Laurel as his companion.

Instead of going to Hawaii, L&H go to the convention, leaving their wives at home. They have a riotous good time in Chicago, drinking in night clubs, playing practical jokes, prancing along in a parade. Meanwhile the wives ponder the situation. Could the boys, somehow, have been up to something. Laurel's wife looks straight into the camera and declares in a steely voice, "Stan would never lie to me. I hate to think of what might happen -- if he ever did." The two wives discover that the ship on which their husbands are returning has sunk in a typhoon. They're frantic with worry. Then, in a newsreel, they watch a film of the convention in Chicago. There on the screen are Laurel and Hardy, making faces, tipping their hats, blowing kisses at the camera, dancing joyously in the streets.

Some of the monkey business is less funny than the rest. Laurel is so stupid in a childlike way that he can't tell his own doorway from that of his neighbor. The childishness extends to the acting. Laurel breaks into his familiar cries when he finally confesses. Hardy appears to mask his terror by running his chubby fingers nervously over the table top, as if it were a piano.

It's one of their best.

When you see this film, you are immediately struck by how familiar the plot is. Stan and Ollie want to slip past their wives and go to a convention for their local lodge. The elaborate way they devise in order to go and the subsequent discovery of their wives was repeated on both the Honeymooners and the Flintstones--and copied, though not quite as directly, in MANY sitcoms over the years. It's all here folks BUT it's funnier and fresher because it's the original.

The most glowing endorsement I know of was my wife's reaction to the movie. She generally HATES all the old comedies (not just Laurel and Hardy, but Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, W. C. Fields, etc.) but laughed herself silly watching the film. She later denied it was THAT funny, but her belly laughs were a dead giveaway!

Sons Of The Desert (1933) : Brief Review -

"Great gags, yeah".. From TWO MOST LOVED SONS of the Comedy Genre LAUREL and HARDY. In the begining credits it says, we are honoured to preserve the legacy of Laurel and Hardy hence here's my statement- "I am honoured to see this Laurel and Hardy's Comedy and i will preserve it for my generation as well as the next generation in every possible way". Sons Of The Desert is an early attempt of comedy of tricks and consequences in this genre. Stan and Ollie trick their wives into thinking that they are taking a medicinal cruise while they're actually going to a convention and then the wives find out the truth the hard way. 'Honesty is the best policy', you learn this once and for lifetime with this film. There is nothing much to talk about writing because a narrative that lasts for an hour or so couldn't go with better writing especially in this genre. It's all about situations that are created in simple way yet it look conventional. One can easily predict what's gonna happen next but it still gets you going with unpredictable gags. Now of course those gags comes anyhow, like from dialogues to physical activities to slapstick one liners. The main Motive is to make you laugh and the laughter should come organically where the film succeeds marginally. I might complaint against the slow start cause the narrative is short already. Once the first 10 minutes are past, there's is no stopping this laughter ride. Yes, the entire film is carried by the boss duo of comedy Laurel and Hardy. These two carries the film on their shoulder while Mae Busch & Dorothy Christy as their wives provides that extra little push. Those husband tricks against wife have been influential and are not outdated even today. Seiter's direction don't give much to blame for but yes it could have been out an out comedy flick where it fell short by a small margin.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

Almost perfect! The finish isn't up to the rest of the movie, but the absolutely hilarious beginning and middle make it one of the funniest movies ever.

Here are Stan and Ollie at their peak. Many of their trademark gags and takes appear, easily woven into the story, perfectly timed and crafted with comic panache.

The plot- henpecked husbands sneaking off for revelry- is now rather obsolete, but that doesn't diminish the clever narrative movement. Putting Charley Chase into a small role enhanced it, and the wives were very well played.

I don't rate many movies a 10, but one that gives pleasure over and over and over deserves it.

LAUREL & HARDY are next door neighbors (married to DOROTHY CHRISTY and MAE BUSCH, respectively), both strong-minded women who remind me of the "Alice Kramden" character on "The Honeymooners". Neither one wants their hubby to go to a Chicago convention of The Sons of the Desert, so the boys have to fake an excuse in order to bamboozle their wives into thinking Oliver is following his doctor's orders to get a restful vacation in Honolulu.

At the convention, it's a hoot to see dancing girls in Hawaian costumes (beefy and overweight by today's anorexic standards) while a slim male singer/dancer renders "Honolulu Baby" in a tenor voice. CHARLEY CHASE has a field day playing practical jokes on the boys, but it's the return home part of the story that really is the set-up for the best gags. In fact, it's the last twenty-five minutes that puts the film over the top as one of the best Laurel & Hardy features.

Written by Frank Craven (the film actor, who also contributed to several screenplays) and directed by George A. Seiter, it's obviously the forerunner of many situation comedies about quarreling husbands and wives trying to outsmart each other.

Stan is surprisingly funny when given a long, wordy sentence to say, and Oliver's facial reactions (especially when he fixes his gaze on the camera as if to say, 'Can you believe this?'), are priceless.

Lots of fun for fans of the comedians.

I have recently been sitting through a lot of the Laurel & Hardy short films, and have been enjoying them quite a lot, as it has been a trip down memory lane. I remember watching them when I was a kid. So as I had the opportunity to watch the 1933 feature "Sons of the Desert", of course I did so.

However, I have to say that I found more enjoyment and entertainment in the short comedy films in comparison to this 68 minute feature. Why? Well, this 1933 movie just wasn't as crammed with as much funny situations, slapstick comedy and witty banter as the short films had a tendency to be. So this movie was not quite as funny. Sure, it was watchable, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't pack as much of a punch.

This 1933 movie does have a much larger production and a much larger cast ensemble than the short films, obviously. And that was actually quite nice to see. And the acting performances in "Sons of the Desert" were good. It is always a blast to watch Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy on the screen.

A shame that this particular movie didn't have as much comedy appeal as the short films.

My rating of "Sons of the Desert" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This has got to be one of the funniest movies ever made by Hollywood. The only other that comes close is Laurel and Hardy's "Way Out West." No other comedy team in the history of show business had the perfect comic timing of Stan and Oliver, not even the inimitable teams of Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis. Stan and Oliver had appeared separately in several films before they were teamed. Although they were both multi-talented (Oliver was one of the best singers around) and individually funny, together they broke all the comedic barriers. No such chemistry has existed between two entertainers before or since. Mel Brooks said it best, "Dying is easy. Comedy, that's difficult."

This time around the boys attempt to slip away from their domineering wives (Only Stan would choose a mate that was one of the best duck hunters around and thus a crack shot with a gun) to attend a convention of the illustrious "Sons of the Desert" in Chicago to hear the "exhausted" ruler speak, as Stan calls him. Oliver feigns illness, getting Stan to bring a fake doctor to advise a sea cruise to Honululu. Only Stan could make opening a door to exit a room excruciatingly funny. As usual Stan bungles it all and gets a Veternerian instead who just happens to bring his dogs along on the house call. The ruse works after a few hilarious scenes involved Oliver and the tub of hot water in which his feet are soaking. The boys ultimately end up in Chicago. The boat to Hawaii sinks and with the sinking of the ship, the boys' fabrication also fills with water.

As good as Stan and Oliver were, Charlie Chase, an almost forgotten genius of slapstick, nearly steals the show from the boys as a practical joker who just happens to have a sister who lives at the same address as Oliver Hardy lives. Chase was more than a match for the two and their scenes together represent the apex of their careers.

Stan and Ollie were not just gifted visual comics, their repartee with each other was exemplary. The lines though supposedly written by others would not have the same humorous effect if spoken by anyone else. I'm sure much of the dialog was added to or ad-libbed by the team. Stan tries to rationalize the situation, "Well if she didn't go to the mountains, then Mohammad would have to come here." Ollie jumps right in, "What has Mohammad got to do with my wife?" To read more of the brilliant lines, note IMDb's quotes taken from "Sons of the Desert."

If you enjoy "Sons of the Desert," by all means watch "Way Out West." The two represent Laurel and Hardy at their best. There are several Laurel and Hardy shorts that come close to matching the two feature length features, especially the Academy award winning "The Music Box."

This movie combines everything that made other Laurel & Hardy pictures so great and such a delight to watch; slapstick humor, crazy situations, well written dialog and a good comedy story. This movie has it all and therefor this movie can truly be regarded as perhaps the most definite Laurel & Hardy picture around.

The movie has a classic comedy story. It's very simple and it has been used in many different other variations before and after this movie but it's extremely effective. It's another fine mess the boys get themselves into after they secretly go to a convention of the 'sons of the desert' in Chicago after fooling their wives, by telling them that they are going to Honolulu to 'cure' Oliver's faked illness. However when the steam-liner the boys were supposed to be on sinks, the boys can't go home without letting their wives know were they truly had been. In between they also get themselves into some silly humorous trouble, which this time also involves fellow comedian Charley Chase, who was the brother of regular Laurel & Hardy picture director James Parrott.

This is not necessarily the movie with the best or most Laurel & Hardy jokes or slapstick moments in it but it's the whole package of the movie that makes this one such a great and enjoyable one that deserves a position among the greatest comedies of all time. It combines all of the best elements out of Laurel & Hardy movies and the end result is an hilarious, easy and pleasant to watch movie, from start till finish, that never loses any of its power.

The trouble the boys get themselves into is of course silly and therefor also extremely fun at the same time. It's the sort of simple light hearted comedy we unfortunately see so little anymore in movies these days. All of the silly moments are very well build up and executed in the movie and timed. It also is of course thanks to the talent of Oliver Hardy and Stanley Laurel that all the moments work out so well and effective in a comical way. They make the simple story work out way more effective than you could ever anticipate. The movie is also helped by some well written comical dialog. This movie perhaps has the most dialog gags out of all the Laurel & Hardy pictures that are still around.

Even the slower moments of the movie never get boring, thanks to the energetic comedy acting from Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Laurel & Hardy regular Mae Busch also shows up again as Mrs. Hardy. Busch is always a pleasure to watch in any Laurel & Hardy movie and was a real great comedy talent.

All in all, this might very well be the best and most definitive Laurel & Hardy picture ever made, that deserved to be ranked among other comedy classics.

10/10

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Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, the two greatest laughter-makers ever to grace stage and screen (as I'm sure millions will agree) appear here in their finest and funniest feature film. This film is so full of masterful strokes of comedy that its warmth and humour will never fail to touch those who watch it - much the same as this beloved duo. I would speak for hours on this masterpiece (why it is such perfect comedy from beginning to end, in its structure, characterisation, performances, direction, editing, and so on; why it is so successful in encapsulating the fundamental innocence, craft and appeal of the greatest comedy team of all time; why it means so much to Laurel & Hardy admirers, and why it should mean so much to everyone who has ever experienced any sort of humour), if I could. But I can't. So I won't.

All I ask you to do is to watch this and relish Laurel & Hardy's timeless magic.

Mr Laurel & Mr Hardy, the laughter you've given to myself and countless others will never be replicated or surpassed, and is eternally appreciated.

And to Stan: Neither do I too. Isn't that nice?

If Laurel & Hardy had never made any other film, they would have secured their place in movie history with "Sons Of The Desert". It is the perfect Laurel & Hardy feature. The cutaway to Oliver Hardy's reaction as Stan Laurel confesses the whole complicated scheme to their wives is quite possibly the single funniest shot in the history of the motion picture. If you've never seen a Laurel & Hardy feature, this is the one to see. Stan Laurel was a comic genius. Oliver Hardy was probably the funniest man to ever step in front of a movie camera. This film epitomizes "classic comedy".

The boys get in deep trouble with their wives in "Sons of the Desert." They have their hearts set on going to the Sons annual convention in Chicago, but Lottie Hardy says Oliver is going to the mountains with her. So, he feigns sickness and Stan gets a veterinarian as an M.D. to diagnose his need for a trip to Honolulu. Lottie gets sea sick so Stan has to go with Olie.

When they return home after a week's carousing in the Windy City, they find the wives gone and the newspaper on the table that announces the sinking of the Honolulu ship on its return. The survivors are due in the next day. But before they can leave the house, the girls return. The guys head for the attic to hide out until the next day. The girls go to a movie to calm their nerves and see a newsreel of the Sons of the Desert convention in Chicago. And, of course, the husbands are hogging the newsreel camera.

It's hilarity from that point on when the girls return home and the guys are found out before the rescue ship returns. As Stan says, wife Betty tells him that "Honesty in the best politics." Here are a couple more favorite lines.

Oliver, "Why did you get a veterinarian?" Stan, "Well, I didn't think his religion would make any difference."

Stan, "We're just like two peas in a pot." Oliver, "Not pot - pod-uh, pod-uh."

SONS OF THE DESERT

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Sound format: Mono

(Black and white)

Stan 'n' Ollie attend a convention in Chicago against the wishes of their domineering wives (Mae Busch and Dorothy Christy). Unfortunately, truth will out...

William Seiter's magnificent film ranks alongside WAY OUT WEST (1937) as the finest example of L&H's craft, a glorious concoction in which every scene, every bit of business, glows with joyous absurdity. Basically an expanded remake of the short film WE FAW DOWN (1928), "Sons..." is a riot of comic invention, from L&H's mirthful entrance, to their encounter with obnoxious colleague Charley Chase at the 'Sons of the Desert' convention, to a climactic sequence in which The Boys are forced to justify themselves to their outraged wives (including Busch, never better as Ollie's bad-tempered spouse!). A genuine comedy masterpiece. Originally released in the UK as FRATERNALLY YOURS.

When Stan and Ollie trick their wives into thinking that they are taking a medicinal cruise while they're actually going to a convention, the wives find out the truth the hard way.

This is not my favorite Laurel and Hardy. I am now beginning to think that their shtick works best in smaller doses, maybe 25 or 30 minutes. The first half of this film is really good, then it begins to sag with only a few parts really attempting to redeem it. The gag is pretty simple and does not require a full hour.

That being said, I do appreciate the influence this film has had on others. As others have pointed out, it seems to have been directly lifted for a Flintstones episode. (And with the Flintstones being more in the 25-minute range, it is perhaps more effective.)

The only reason I am writing this, and I am no film critic, is because I have NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD as when I saw this very charming, hilarious, LAUREL & HARDY FILM. Speak of comedy. I love film comedy. What is it that makes this film so extraordinary is the incessant gags and the convoluted plot with a bunch of twists and turns that on the surface seem absurd but they truly can happen in life! And the results are ALWAYS RIOTOUS! In a nutshell, L&H belong to the fraternal order of THE SONS OF THE DESERT. They are to have a convention in Chicago, but realising the wives won't consent, they concoct an outrageous tale so they can recuperate in Honolulu to cure a faked malady...but their ship sinks, the boys are caught on a newsreel film in Chicago, and guess what the wives see??? Speak of coincidence! Charles Dickens never had so many! Well, the husbands try to get out of their jam and it's just too funny to describe their machinations to save face. Moreover, there is a sweet moral to the story which we all can appreciate. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY. And so it is. By the way, the ending is just the most hilarious scene I've ever seen. Plenty of gags, great acting and broken dishes...and you can't help feeling sorry for poor Ollie. You have to see this gem of a film, produced in 1933 by HAL ROACH, and I guarantee you'll split your sides and fall down laughing.

I got a little bored on this one, and I don't think it is their best work. Anything they've done is better than "Utopia" but this is not too much better. I can say I cried, because of my Love for L&H I bought this movie "sight unseen" and payed full price and I was very disappointed.