alexanderdavies-99382 "Bonnie Scotland" is well worth seeing for Laurel and Hardy as their scenes steal the film. The scenes involving the rather boring love subplot, weaken the film but that is certainly no fault of Stan and Ollie. I suppose the idea was to help sustain the comedy by having Laurel and Hardy exit the film for minutes at a time, then bring them back for more hilarity. In theory, there is nothing wrong with doing that. However, the subplot in "Bonnie Scotland" could have been better. Stan and Ollie travel all the way to Scotland for the reading of a will after they hear one of Stan's relatives has just deceased. When that doesn't go according to plan, they unwittingly become conscripted into the Foreign Legion. Upon which, all manner of mayhem occurs! I love the dance sequence when our hapless heroes are reduced to clearing up the litter. I think it is both creative as well as being funny. I was delighted to see regular comic foil, James Finlayson make an appearance as Stan and Ollie's drill sergeant! "Bonnie Scotland" wasn't made at the "Hal Roach" studios. Instead, the film was made at "M.G.M" as they had the distribution rights. The production values are rather better than usual but the comedy is still great. Stan and Ollie are on top form and the climax is a delight.

Gordon Cheatham (cheathamg) This Laurel and Hardy film is probably a spoof of a film called "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" that was released earlier the same year. Even though it's titled "Bonnie Scotland" it has very little to do with Scotland. The boys show up in a Scottish village, located somewhere on the back lot of the Hal Roach Studios in Hollywood, after being informed that Stan is an heir to a portion of the estate of a deceased lord. They are disappointed in their hope for riches and in financial straits, so they join the British army. They wind up on the Northwest Frontier in British Colonial India, located just around the corner from Scotland somewhere on the back lot of the Hal Roach Studios in Hollywood. Stan and Ollie provide their usual high jinks and a good time is generally had by all, but the film suffers the same problems of most of their feature length films. The studio filled the script with alternative plots that didn't focus on Mr. Hardy and Mr. Laurel. The plot of "Bonnie Scotland" involves a thwarted romance between the heiress of the lord's estate and a penniless law clerk. It is rather boring and certainly interferes with the comedy. One of the funniest scenes involves Stanley, who is chronically incapable of staying in step with the rest of the soldiers. At one point he gets the soldier next to him to fall into step with him and this gradually spreads until the entire regiment is in step with Stanley. The climax involves a great deal of slapstick and ultimately nothing in the various plots is resolved.

JoeKarlosi Well, half a good Laurel and Hardy movie is better than none. This comedy begins well, as Stan and Ollie visit a small village in Scotland hoping to secure a huge inheritance for Stan (aka "Stanley McLaurel", HA HA HA!) after a dear departed one of his has passed on. The duo are devastated when they find out what the "fortune" is (I'll leave that as a hilarious surprise). From here, the boys are involved in center stage antics as they run out of money and have to make ends meet in a boarding house where they do not disappoint their audience. Then, halfway through, L&H wind up joining the army, the action moves to India, and the comedy team takes a back seat to a very uninteresting love story between other characters. It's a shame, because the first part of the movie is so much fun. To make the situation even more overbearing, the romantic lead man here, played by William Janney, is a real silly geek and unworthy of our attention. **1/2 out of ****

Ron Oliver Stan & Ollie arrive in BONNIE SCOTLAND to claim Stan's inheritance. Through a series of mishaps, the Boys end up in the British Army, stationed in India & threatened with imminent death at the hands of a fierce tribal chief...With rather more plot than usual in a typical Laurel & Hardy film - the romantic subplot has virtually nothing to do with Stan & Ollie - this is still a delight for fans of the Boys. By this point in their joint career they were past perfection & beyond praise. Seeing them act together is like watching an intricate piece of clockwork. Among the highlights here: the candle under the bed; the `invisible' accordion; and the dance to ‘A Hundred Pipers'.Stan & Ollie are given fine support by the rest of the cast: Mary Gordon, as the hotel proprietress; David Torrence, as a crusty old lawyer; Daphne Pollard, as a feisty little maid; and James Finlayson, the Boys' eternal foil, as their long-suffering Sergeant Major. June Lang & William Janney supply the romantics.The lovely opening shots of Village life set the mood beautifully; early scene where blacksmith Lionel Belmore hammers out the `Cuckoo Song' - while the Boys make their first appearance & march towards the camera - is a joy.