Saps at Sea

There would be those that argue by 1940, the boys are past their best. This is a reminder of the prowess of these two comedic, cinematic giants. Ollie is diagnosed with hornaphobia (in fact, you're on the verge of hornamania!) by James Finlayson and advised to get some calm ocean air to relieve his jangled nerves. With Stan acting as nurse, the boys hire a boat, intending to stay moored to the dock until their goat (the doctor advises plenty of ghost's milk) gnaws through the mooring and they are left to drift out to sea accompanied by escaped prisoner Nick Grainger (and Nick jr.). Some scenes had me rolling in laughter - Ollie blowing up the lungtester, the banana, the synthetic meal, the dodgy plumbing and the fight scene at the end. If you've seen this film you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't then I recommend you find out. **** out of *****

Stanley and Oliver are working in a noisy horn factory, which drives Oliver crazy.He doesn't even want to hear the sound of a horn after that.Jimmy Finlayson plays the doctor, who says the boys should go on a sea trip to get Ollie well. So the boys get a boat and do what Dr. Finlayson tells them to do.But a dangerous killer comes to the boat with them. Saps at Sea offers you many funny scenes, as the Laurel and Hardy films always do.No matter what the boys are doing in their movies, they're always hilarious.This movie has many scenes to remember, like when the crook makes Stanley and Ollie to eat "the food" they made.Saps at Sea is totally worth watching, if you want to get a few good laughs.I guarantee you will get some laughs when you watch this movie.Laurel and Hardy won't disappoint you.

Yes, as the other reviewers have already stated, this may not be vintage L&H but it's far from being their worst work as at 20th Century Stupid...I mean Fox. This film certainly has all of the basic ingredients for things to go wrong for the boys. But it's their serious approach and determination that makes them funny. They don't play it for laughs as other comedians might but they take their work and situation quite seriously and that is the essence of their eternal humor. In this film, they are faced with some basic issues that really might be encountered by any one of us today, namely job related stress. First, we would get checked out by a doctor and he would prescribe some much needed rest and perhaps staying by the sea. That's where the surrealness comes in to all of this. L&H always take a most plausible set of circumstances and exaggerate it but never to the point of being incredible, except maybe once in awhile. This makes us laugh because we can relate to their self caused predicaments and attempts at extrication. That's what makes Stan and Ollie universal in their appeal. In this film all those ingredients are presented in a delightfully artful and gracefully slapstick way. Not their best in comparison to their earlier work probably because this was the actual last film they did for Roach because he wanted to mirror the "big" studios and go into making features exclusively and also wanted to hurry up and finish their contractual obligation. BIG MISTAKE! They should have all stayed together and continued for maybe five more years. What the world may have missed in their not considering this as an option. Watch, laugh, and enjoy this as their last great performance.

I believe that next to "County Hospital" this is my most often viewed L & H movie. Ollie has a nervous breakdown from a case of Hornophobia caused by working in a horn factory. The sound of the musical instruments sets him off, giving him nearly superhuman strength and violent behavior. The doctor, Jimmy Finlayson, says they need to take a sea cruise. They have little money, so instead, they rent a houseboat moored to the dock. Sea ear but no complicated sailing. Who should come along but another one of those head shaved convicts, a public enemy, who decides to hide out on the boat. His name is Nick Granger and he calls his gun "Little Nick." The boys find themselves with no other option but to do him in before it does them in. Several efforts to do so are quashed. There is much physical humor and desperation. I found the conclusion satisfying in the best Laurel and Hardy tradition. The films that followed were not met with much acclaim. Maybe they were just tired, or their audiences had changed.

I've always enjoyed this film very much! The first time I saw it was on the Global Television Network in Canada when I was 12 years old back in 1976. They showed Laurel and Hardy features on Thursday nights that summer, and I got to see quite a few of their Hal Roach features, though sadly, I managed to miss "Sons Of The Desert" and would not get to see that wonderful film until about 1983.

Anyway, "Saps At Sea" is a Laurel & Hardy film that I have come to appreciate more as the years go by. I think that it really nicely sums up the friendship that the characters Stan & Ollie had with one another. They always stuck together through thick and thin (no pun intended!), and that dynamic is definitely evident here.

Sadly, this film was to be the swan song for both Ben Turpin (who appears briefly in a hilarious cameo as a cross-eyed plumber); and Harry Bernard, who does a memorable turn as a Harbor Patrolman. Harry would succumb to lung cancer in November, 1940 at age 62; and Ben Turpin would die on July 1st of that same year from heart disease at age 70.

Rychard Cramer as the antagonist Nick Grainger manages to be both menacing and hilarious at the same time! I was surprised to find out that five years earlier, he had appeared in a short titled "Dizzy & Daffy" (obviously about the famous Dean Brothers!). Kind of funny, considering he dubbed Stan & Ollie as Dizzy & Dopey!

I definitely agree with other reviewers who have stated that one's first Laurel and Hardy experience probably shouldn't be one of their latter day 20th Century Fox/MGM films, though some of those aren't all that bad for passing the time. Definitely avoid Utopia/Atoll K/Robinson Crusoeland (Yes, this movie has three titles!). Just the fact that Stan Laurel was so obviously appallingly ill, alone should be enough incentive to avoid this as your first Laurel and Hardy encounter. It will likely be your last!

Sorry I'm getting so off topic here. "Saps At Sea," in my opinion, is in many ways, the last true Laurel and Hardy film, and is certainly a worthy introduction for would be L&H fans!! (Mine was "Blockheads," another fine film).