Toureiros

Ironic this became the last film Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy made in Hollywood-and for 20th Century-Fox-as it was a definite improvement to those other post-Hal Roach movies from the previous five years. No longer do they have to deal with gangsters or spies, certainly what a relief to no longer have to also support any romantic couples, that's for sure! No, Stan & Ollie are once again left to their own devices in dealing with a cruel world. They're detectives here in Mexico where they're attempting to snag a woman while someone else they earlier prosecuted has threatened to skin them alive if he sees them again! It's only because of a fast-talking go-between man named Hotshot Coleman (Richard Lane who has great chemistry with Stan & Ollie) that the boys mostly manage to avoid Richard K. Muldoon (Ralph Sanford). In this one, Stan plays both himself and a bullfighter named Don Sebastian. Also appearing were Carol Andrews-the woman L & H are looking for-who participates in perhaps one of the funniest sequences in the movie, a reprise of the boys' "egg battle" sequence they previously did with Lupe Velez in Hollywood Party, and Hispanic bombshell Diosa Costello who performs her sexy song-and-dance act here. She was previously a partner with one Desi Arnaz before he met Lucille Ball. One more supporting player worth mentioning is Edward Gargan who is active in another "tit for tat" sequence involving Hardy. I initially saw this movie 25 years ago on VHS and I enjoyed it then and still do now especially since the DVD version I just watched also had a fine commentary track by Scott MacGillivray, author of the book-"Laurel & Hardy: From the Forties Forward".

Of course, this Laurel & Hardy feature is not another "Way Out West" (1937), but it's still worth watching. Their final Hollywood picture is far better than the other Fox and MGM products that the Boys did in the forties. Despite some boring sequences there is much more room for comedy - and Laurel & Hardy know to use it. Even Stan's make-up, which he was forced to change in the former Fox movies and that made him look much older, resembles his appearance in the old Roach days. One may wonder why producers in the forties after this movie did not realize, that these two genuine clowns had still the power to carry a whole picture. It's always sad to think of the fact, that there was only one more Laurel & Hardy film to be done after "The Bullfighters".

Mexico, Detectives Laurel and Hardy are on the trail of the evil Larceny Nell, but they get distracted by the usual assortment of Fox Studio gangsters. One of the gangsters notices Stan's remarkable resemblence to Don Sebastian, the great bullfighter. A lightbulb goes off in his head. Wackiness ensues.

Standard Laurel and Hardy film which is enjoyable from start to finish. There's plenty of slapstick; the egg smashing scene in the bar had me in stitches. Laurel & Hardy were visibly ageing but they still had the comic timing to pull it off. There's an energetic dance sequence by Diosa Costello and a pant splitting one.

yes, their final for the USA, and too bad it is far from their "average" feature for the great Hal Roach (1927-1940).

on the other hand, along with THE DANCING MASTERS, this hangs together as a *comedy* and the Director thankfully does not bog them down as the naïve but lovable dummies who spend all their time helping the young lovers.

some genuine laughs are delivered...and this cannot be said of most of their post-Roach stuff in the '40s. some great opportunities are lost, as usual in this Fox effort, but the picture has the right look and the comedy flows, like the '43 flick mentioned above.

Of all the six films Laurel and Hardy made for Fox Studios, THE BULLFIGHTERS is probably the second best of the lot and as such wasn't a bad way for the team to finish their last American film. Too bad they later decided to star in the rather dismal ATOLL K for a French studio.

For years, I assumed that all the films the team made post-Hal Roach Studios were bad. However, I recently finished watching all their RKO, MGM and Fox films and found them much more enjoyable than I'd anticipated. Now this isn't to say that they were great or nearly up to the quality standards of the Roach films--they weren't. But at least they were pleasant little films (aside from the dreadful THE BIG NOISE and perhaps THE DANCING MASTERS).

I think the reason why THE BULLFIGHTERS was such a watchable film is because the team had more say-so in the film and it was a bit more fun than the rather dull previous films (excepting JITTERBUGS). While a couple of the routines were unfortunately copies of fights from earlier films (such as BIG BUSINESS, TIT FOR TAT and Hollywood PARTY), the rest of the film was rather amusing. About the only let-up was towards the end when the whole film seemed to just degenerate into a riot. Fortunately, however, there was a bit more to the film and the final scene is really creepy--but also very creative and funny.

As I said before, not a great film but fortunately not one that was beneath them or embarrassing. Plus, unlike so many of these 40s films, there is no stupid sub-plot to get in the way--just lots of Laurel and Hardy. A pretty decent send-off from their American film career.