good back-story, and good acting

Absolutely Fantastic

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

For me, this is the funniest of the Laurel & Hardy films. In this one, the boys, who belong to a lodge, are expected as members to attend a convention in Hawaii. This is quite an exploit but Stan's wife is OK. Ollie, on the other hand, as is always the case, has the shrew for a wife and nothing will deter her. So what happens is that Ollie feigns illness and gets a doctor (a veterinarian) to say he needs time away. They decide to go to Honolulu, but it is a ruse to get them to Chicago. They go, have a great time, and return with leis around their necks, thinking they are in the clear. Unfortunately for them, the girls have gone to a movie and see a newsreel about the convention and see the two idiots waving to the camera. To make matters worse, the ship the boys supposedly were on sinks on its way to Hawaii. Well, the girls are loaded for bear and the fun really starts. This is one hilarious film by any standard.

While growing up with my older brother we would often quote a line from one of Laurel & Hardy's movies that we knew so well, including this movie. It was sort of like that old joke about career convicts in a cell-block who after repeating the same jokes over and over, found themselves resorting to simplifying the system by yelling out a number. Each number was associated to a specific well-worn joke, and thus, when the number was yelled it would made everyone in the cell-block remember and laugh. Number 6!!! LOL. Our L&H routine basically created the same reaction for me and my brother. Our mother did not understand how a simple line of dialogue would set us off. Some of the best lines I still remember, and which still makes me laugh are: 'There's going to be a fight. It's going to be terrible.' 'There were two of them… Nick and Nick Jr.' 'We ship-hiked.' The quotes would often lead to further laughter as we commented on the actions that transpired in the movie that keyed on the quote. This kept us in hysterics for some time. Our mother just ignored it and left us to our own little world. It is funny we remember these small events all our lives. An interesting side note: When I briefly lived in southern California in the 1970's I attended several meetings of the "Sons of the Desert," which was the official Laurel and Hardy fan club (or 'Tent"). These meetings were surprisingly staid and quiet. It often included the showing of a L&H short, or obscure silent movie. Frequently it included the introduction of a little-known, surviving player or technician whom were involved in making L&H movies. At the time I wished my brother was there with me so we could have lightened up the place with our L&H routine. Isn't that what a fan club is all about?

The only reason I am writing this, and I am no film critic, is because I have NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD as when I saw this very charming, hilarious, LAUREL & HARDY FILM. Speak of comedy. I love film comedy. What is it that makes this film so extraordinary is the incessant gags and the convoluted plot with a bunch of twists and turns that on the surface seem absurd but they truly can happen in life! And the results are ALWAYS RIOTOUS! In a nutshell, L&H belong to the fraternal order of THE SONS OF THE DESERT. They are to have a convention in Chicago, but realising the wives won't consent, they concoct an outrageous tale so they can recuperate in Honolulu to cure a faked malady...but their ship sinks, the boys are caught on a newsreel film in Chicago, and guess what the wives see??? Speak of coincidence! Charles Dickens never had so many! Well, the husbands try to get out of their jam and it's just too funny to describe their machinations to save face. Moreover, there is a sweet moral to the story which we all can appreciate. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY. And so it is. By the way, the ending is just the most hilarious scene I've ever seen. Plenty of gags, great acting and broken dishes...and you can't help feeling sorry for poor Ollie. You have to see this gem of a film, produced in 1933 by HAL ROACH, and I guarantee you'll split your sides and fall down laughing.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, a renowned comedy duo from the first half of the 20th Century, are still remembered today for their contributions to the genre, which they certainly deserve to be. I was introduced to Laurel & Hardy during my childhood in the 90's, with video tapes from my late grandfather. I remember seeing quite a bit of their work, mostly shorts, years ago, and I think I found most of it hilarious! However, I never saw this particular full-length film, considered by many to be their funniest flick, until this year. Knowing how popular it was, and knowing it was from a comedy team that had made me laugh so hard in the past, I obviously had lofty expectations for "Sons of the Desert". I think those expectations were met! Stan and Ollie are members of a fraternity known as the Sons of the Desert. This organization is about to hold its annual convention in Chicago, and they take an oath to attend. Stan is reluctant, afraid his wife won't let him attend, but it turns out that Ollie's wife is the one who won't let her husband go to the convention, as the couple have planned a trip to the mountains. Determined to avoid breaking the oath, Ollie pretends to be ill, and Stan gets a doctor, who happens to be a veterinarian, to prescribe an ocean voyage to Honolulu. So, Stan and Ollie go to the convention, with their wives thinking they've gone on the Hawaiian voyage! It won't be that easy trying to keep their wives from knowing where they've actually been, especially after the boat they are supposedly on sinks in a typhoon while the two are on their way home!"Sons of the Desert" consistently had me laughing, often hard, like I was expecting, and I can't think of a single lame gag in the entire film! If you're familiar with Laurel & Hardy, I'm sure you know to expect a lot of physical/visual humour, which is all done very well here. Other things that make this film so funny include Laurel's famous crying, some priceless lines from him (such as what he says about the veterinarian), and Hardy's reactions to Laurel's mistakes. This is all typical of the duo. They first appear in the film at a meeting with the Sons of the Desert, and as soon as they enter, the humour and foolishness begin! This continues pretty much non-stop for most of the film! Ollie's short-tempered wife, played by Mae Busch, is another comic highlight, and so is an appearance from comedian Charley Chase. All these things should make the film a great viewing experience for many people who like slapstick and chaos in comedy!