Atoll K

This film has the unfortunate distinction of being Laurel & Hardy's last film together. Though, it is true, you can see how ill Stan was and how age was ravishing both, it is NOT true that they had lost their charm. There are bits in this film that I found every bit as funny as those in the L&H heyday. Give it an honest try. I think you'll find this movie is unjustly maligned.

In their final movie together, Laurel and Hardy land on an island and try to establish their own society, but things don't quite go as planned after uranium is discovered on the island. "Atoll K" (also known as "Utopia") has the usual sorts of things that one would expect in a Laurel and Hardy movie, what with the various mishaps and things. It's surprising to learn that this flick was from France, but I'm sure that these guys are loved the world over.

All in all, this is a good lesson about what might happen when one tries to form a society. Stan and Ollie will definitely live on in the annals of comedy forever.

Stan and Ollie's farewell falls far short of the boys in their prime, it's true, but the film is nowhere near as bad as its reputation suggests. From what I'd heard about it I almost didn't want to watch this film – in much the same way as you want to remember a loved one hale and hearty rather than eaten away by cancer – but I braved it anyway. The print is atrocious with blurry visuals and poor sound, but even the poor picture doesn't disguise how ill and gaunt poor Stan Laurel looks. Apparently he had dysentery and prostate problems during filming, which accounts for his appearance. Ironically, Oliver Hardy, who would be the first of the duo to pass away, looks the better of the two, although it's plain to see that he'd piled on a few pounds since their heyday.

The film's storyline is fairly ordinary fluff about the boys travelling to a deserted island Stan has inherited and establishing a utopian society that works perfectly until the population count increases beyond single figures. There are a few glimpses of the old style from the boys but any enjoyment is tempered by the knowledge that you're watching ageing men trying to recapture something that they no longer possess. The rest of the cast are French, and the dialogue they speak is dubbed into English, which makes it visibly difficult for Laurel and Hardy to play off them they way they used to with familiar faces of old.

This film probably isn't one you'd want in your collection if you're a Laurel & Hardy fan, but neither is it one that should necessarily be avoided at all costs.

For new L&H fans, Stan and Ollie's appearance may be a shock. Stan looks VERY thin and has noticeably aged. Ollie, in contrast, has gained a LOT of weight.

If you can overlook their appearance, and the slow moving subplot, Atoll K does have some good comedy routines. However, their more elderly appearance does hamper what would otherwise be good gags. You just can't laugh at Stan while he is dealing with an inflating raft in the ship's cabin. He looks like he's truly in agony, and you want to help him instead of laugh at him. Also, the film is poorly edited. The original movie was 90 minutes long, but when re-released, it was shortened to a more tolerable 60 minutes. Most of the footage taken out was from the subplot, so taking out the extra half hour improved the movie.

While "The Boys" had more freedom to write gags and dialogue, nobody else on the crew had any idea what to expect in a L&H picture. Confusion and the illness of Stan and Ollie caused the picture to take an entire year to make! Not long after Atoll K was released, Ollie went on a diet and lost a LOT of weight, but it was too late.

This was part of a 3-DVD box-set, and it came with the Laurel and Hardy shorts Mud & Sand, Just Ramblin' Along, Oranges and Lemons, and the Three Stooges ones Brideless Groom and Sing a Song of Six Pants; it also came with another feature, Flying Deuces. The disc this was on came with The Tree in a Test Tube & Malice in the Palace. I haven't watched an awful lot of the duo, and other than the aforementioned ones, it has been years since I did. Not sure why this has such a low rating; it is genuinely funny and clever at its best(honestly, few of the light, goofy and, at times, cartoon-style slapstick gags fall flat), and it seldom, if ever, drags, for the 82 minute running time. It makes fun of politeness, taxes, and other everyday subjects, in spite of the unusual plot of a deceased eccentric uncle(always popular) leaving them an island. Inbetween clumsiness, knocking stuff over, falling, and other natural occurrences that are not presented as if they hurt, weepy Laurel(who looks so old and worn here) and dominating Hardy also explore social issues and government. Is that a good thing? Well, a lot of the way, the treatment of it is great. I don't think they quite keep up the quality all the way, though. Near the end(when this gets "big", with "action", as expected), this gets somewhat unrealistic, employs a sort of deus ex machina, and the conclusion has darkness to it. The FX are decent. Editing and cinematography are fine. A nice amount of laughs, and not boring. I recommend this to big fans of the two. 6/10