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THE BULLFIGHTERS (1945)

This was the last movie the aging Laurel and Hardy made for Twentieth Century-Fox, and it's another fun and underrated one at that, even if it doesn't quite measure up to the classic shorts they made a decade earlier. They really manage to inject a lot of old tried and true gags into the proceedings, thanks in part to the fact that Stan Laurel is reported to have co-directed, and so the team had more input with regard to their jokes and material. Here, the "boys" are in Mexico where Stan is mistaken for a famous bullfighter. Many laughs ensue, and this one's a winner.

*** out of ****

It's no big surprise to say that Laurel's & Hardy's movies for the Twentieth Century-Fox aren't their best. This movie only confirms that. "The Bullfighters" is a decent entertaining movie but it's lacking in anything refreshing or magical, like in all of the other earlier movies always was the case.

It's probably true that Laurel & Hardy should had stopped before the '40's. After that their humor became outdated, less original and it didn't come across as natural but seemed forced instead. It was like Laurel & Hardy were playing a parody of their old selves in that time period. It sounds perhaps a bit too harsh, also considering that their movie from that period were all still pretty entertaining to watch.

As a standalone movie, "The Bullfighters" is a pretty decent movie to watch but as a Laurel & Hardy movie, it's a pretty bad one by their standards. The case of mistaken identity in this movie has been handled far better in the past and it doesn't work out halve as hilarious as it could have. The movie is lacking in some good original and refreshing humor and hardly features any slapstick, just some good old tit for tat routines but that really is about all. The movie offers plenty of entertainment but it doesn't all come over as terribly clever or new.

The movie its very simple story also doesn't help. The movie also features many characters that hardly serve any purpose in the movie at all and only make the movie unnecessary confusing. The same goes for some needless plot lines, like the boys being two private detectives.

The movie does have its good moments and its amusing ending also makes up a lot, although it comes a bit too late to completely make- or save the movie entirely.

Too simple and not refreshing enough to really leave a lasting impression but entertaining enough to watch, nevertheless.

6/10

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A surprisingly fresh little comedy. Laurel and Hardy, in their last American made movie, have made a silly little film with enough story and gags to entertain the little ones and make the adults smile. I have to admit that I laughed out loud at some of the gags. A great moment occurs when the boys are sitting in a hotel lobby near a fountain and Stan decides to "investigate" what a particular faucet is for. Of course Ollie gets sprayed, which leads him to think someone sitting next to him is responsible. Unlike some of their other later films, the duo's comic timing is very sharp here. The whole bit about Stan resembling a famous matador has been done before(and since), but if you don't think about it too much the film is pleasant enough. I give it six bullfighters out of ten.

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 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".