Sons of the Desert

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.

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. (***)

Laurel & Hardy have sworn an oath to their brotherhood, the Sons of the Desert to attend their convention in Chicago. The trouble is their wives are against the idea so they need to find an excuse.

Hardy pretends to be ill and Laurel gets a vet who tells Mrs Hardy that he needs a sea voyage to Honolulu.

Once they arrive in Chicago they get involved in all sorts of pranks courtesy by an obnoxious funster who turns out to be Hardy's long lost brother in law.

Our duo have failed to keep themselves inconspicuous in Chicago as the Sons of the Desert march has been filmed and unbeknown to them their return ship from Honolulu has sunk and their wives worried that they are lost at sea. Laurel & Hardy are in trouble when they return home and do not realise that honesty is the best politics.

Lots of fun here as Hardy boasts that he rules the roost in his house when we know he does not. Charley Chase pops up at the convention scenes as an obnoxious reveller with Hardy always falling for his pranks. A memorable song with Honolulu Baby and a great one line response delivered by Laurel when questioned why he got a veterinarian over. 'I didn't think the man's religion should have any bearing.'

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.