Atoll K

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.

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

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.

After some real clunkers in the '40s, it's nice to be able to say that L & H's final film is a good one.

Okay, so they look pretty old and they are the only members of the cast who haven't been dubbed, but this film is highly entertaining and filled with vintage Stan and Ollie humour. The concept of them building a home on a deserted island is literally previously unexplored territory and there is an effective underlying message about how a 100%-tolerance society can result in anarchy.

It might take some getting used to but it's still a film well worth seeing.

This was Laurel and Hardy's last film and, of all their features, the one with probably the worst reputation. I can give it the left-handed compliment of saying, "It is not as bad as you have heard it is." The boys are caught in a storm at sea but are saved when a submerged island rises up under their boat. Along with a few other misfits, they establish a cooperative society. Then, the outside world shows up, discovers uranium on the island and the rush is on. What is unique is the level of satire that is present in the movie's last third, even though it is genial rather than sharp. Laurel looks thin and old (he was, in fact, quite ill during filming), but gamely takes his pratfalls. There is plenty of the usual shtick between Stan and Ollie. I find it funny no matter how many times I've seen it so I laughed several times. For L&H fans.