Christopher Reid This is the first Laurel and Hardy movie I've seen. Of course, I might judge it differently after I become more familiar with them. But that's the thing with watching classic movies - I'm constantly jumping in the deep end and there's always more to learn and understand. For now, I've got to trust my feelings and interpretations as they stand.I didn't like Stanley Laurel at all. I found his character overly stupid. A complete and utter moron but not in a funny way. His existence is unrealistic. He doesn't learn from his mistakes and he's unlikable (he eats fruit without asking and he's clumsy and useless). He always has a fake, blank expression on his face. As a performer, he is too one-dimensional and obvious. He didn't make me laugh once.On the other hand, I warmed up to Oliver Hardy pretty quickly. By halfway through, I was laughing at many of the things he did. His character is not an idiot. His acting is very natural and not too over- the-top. I enjoyed most of the times he fell or got hurt because they didn't look put on and his reactions were realistic.It's funny seeing someone get frustrated as things go wrong for them. Hardy opens a prank cigarette pack and then jumps when something suddenly pops out. He looks annoyed at the camera as he settles his nerves and then gives a fake smile and laugh to the person that pranked him. He also joins in on a prank call and the look on his face when he realises who he's talking to is priceless. I also love the look of curiosity/apprehension/confusion on his face as he watches his wife gathering all their plates and bowls in the kitchen.I think the material with the wives is quite dated. Aspects of it are funny. The idea that the men can't stand up for themselves is amusing. But the violence and anger of the women is too much and distracts from the otherwise innocent comedy that's going on.About 20 minutes into Son of the Desert, I was worried that it was going to be another huge disappointment similar to Duck Soup (I was excited for that movie but then found out that I abhor the Marx Brothers). But it picked up and Hardy kept me entertained. Laurel left a lot to be desired - his character is a cardboard cut-out and his comedic style is tired and obvious. I look forward to seeing some of their other films and finding out if my assessment of them will change or grow.

Prichards12345 "Why did you get a Veterinarian?" "I didn't think his religion had anything to do with it." Woody Allen would be proud of that one. Sons of the Desert is one of the boys' most beloved films. And rightly so. Ollie of course, fakes an illness so his wife will let him attend a Chicago convention - ah, c'mon you know the plot, you don't need me to recite it! This is a comedy full of classic moments, wonderful character stuff ("If I have to go to Honululu alone then he's going with me!" and delightful sit-com antics. It all builds up to that legendary moment when the two wives, fearing their husbands lost at sea, attend a cinema to get the latest newsreel. "If I could just see Oliver one more time." Aha, indeed! And of course the rambunctious Charlie Chase adds some salt to the proceedings. He worked off camera with Stan and Ollie many times of course.But if I had one favourite moment, it's a simple one: Ollie's expression when Stan has ratted him out. No one could do it like Oliver. No one.A prefect tonic for a rainy day.

tavm It was in 1979-when I was a kid of about 11-that I first watched this movie (my second viewing of Stan & Ollie after Way Out West) at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library (which today has been paved but the new version is now on the other side of the street). I stumbled in the middle of that one just as a singer was going to sing "Honolulu Baby" by Marvin Hatley (who plays the piano during the number). It didn't matter as I figured out the plot by the dialogue between their wives-one of whom is Mae Busch who often played the shrew in the Laurel & Hardy films. I eventually watched the whole thing when I bought the VHS tape from Video Treasures in 1992 and boy, did I find the whole thing hilarious from beginning to end which, having just watched for the fourth time, continues to this day! All the slapstick scenes are just sublime especially when Ollie does his hand gestures. And Charley Chase just adds to the funniness by playing an obnoxious fellow conventioneer! I think I've said enough to on that note, I very much recommend Sons of the Desert if you haven't yet! P.S. On that VHS tape, Stan's daughter, Lois, shows some photos of her father as a young man, as part of Fred Karno's troop with Charlie Chaplin, and some home movies of Stan with his father and aunt.

Neil Doyle LAUREL & HARDY are next door neighbors (married to DOROTHY CHRISTY and MAE BUSCH, respectively), both strong-minded women who remind me of the "Alice Kramden" character on "The Honeymooners". Neither one wants their hubby to go to a Chicago convention of The Sons of the Desert, so the boys have to fake an excuse in order to bamboozle their wives into thinking Oliver is following his doctor's orders to get a restful vacation in Honolulu.At the convention, it's a hoot to see dancing girls in Hawaian costumes (beefy and overweight by today's anorexic standards) while a slim male singer/dancer renders "Honolulu Baby" in a tenor voice. CHARLEY CHASE has a field day playing practical jokes on the boys, but it's the return home part of the story that really is the set-up for the best gags. In fact, it's the last twenty-five minutes that puts the film over the top as one of the best Laurel & Hardy features.Written by Frank Craven (the film actor, who also contributed to several screenplays) and directed by George A. Seiter, it's obviously the forerunner of many situation comedies about quarreling husbands and wives trying to outsmart each other.Stan is surprisingly funny when given a long, wordy sentence to say, and Oliver's facial reactions (especially when he fixes his gaze on the camera as if to say, 'Can you believe this?'), are priceless.Lots of fun for fans of the comedians.