Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

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

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

JohnHowardReid Stan Laurel (himself), Oliver Hardy (himself), Charley Chase (himself), Mae Busch (Mrs Lottie Chase Hardy), Dorothy Christy (Mrs Betty Laurel), Lucien Littlefield (Dr Horace Meddick, veterinary), John Elliott (Exalted Exhausted Ruler), Charley Young, John Merton, William Gillespie, Charles McAvoy, Robert Burns, Al Thompson, Eddie Baker, Jimmy Aubrey, Chet Brandenberg, Don Brodie (Sons of the Desert coterie), Philo McCullough (Assistant Exhausted Ruler), Charita (lead hula dancer), Harry Bernard (bartender/police officer), Sam Lufkin, Ernie Alexander, Charlie Hall (waiters), Baldwin Cooke (man who introduces steamship official/extra at the Sons convention), Max Wagner, Stanley Blystone (brawny speakeasy managers), Pat Harmon (doorman), Ty Parvis (singer at Sons convention), Blade Stanhope Conway (also known as Bob Cummings) (crowd extra during steamship radiogram scene), The Hollywood American Legion Post (Sons Oasis "13" crowd dress extras), The Santa Monica Lodge of Elks (people parading in the newsreel footage), Billy Gilbert (voice-over as Mr. Ruttledge).Director: WILLIAM A. SEITER. Story: Frank Craven. Story continuity: Byron Morgan. Additional dialogue: Frank Terry. Gag-men: Stan Laurel, Charley Chase, Glenn Tryon. Photography: Kenneth Peach. Film editor: Bert Jordan. Associate director: Lloyd French. Titles editor: Nat Hoffberg. Dance director: Dave Bennett. Song, "Honolulu Baby" (Parvis, Charita), by Marvin Hatley. Song, "Sons of the Desert" (chorus) by Frank Terry (lyrics), Marvin Hatley, William Axt, George M. Cohan, O'Donnell-Heath, Marquardt, and Le Roy Shield (music). Sound recording: Harry Baker. Producer: Hal Roach. A Hal Roach Production.Copyright 27 December 1933 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Corp. New York opening at the Rialto: 11 January 1934. U.S. release: 29 December 1933. U.K. release: 12 May 1934. 7 reels. 68 minutes. (Available on a Hallmark DVD. I've not seen this, but I can vouch for the excellent VHS tape).U.K. release title: FRATERNALLY YOURS.Alternate titles: SONS OF THE LEGION, CONVENTION CITY.SYNOPSIS: Stan and Ollie are sworn to attend a fraternal convention, but the wives have other ideas. Pretending sickness, Oliver has a doctor order him on a long sea voyage, with Stan in attendance. The ruse works, and they are off to the convention. The very day that they return, however, word is received that "their" ship has been wrecked. Grief=stricken, and to pass the time while waiting for news, the wives go to a movie — where they see a newsreel in which their husbands...NOTES: One of the ten top-grossing movie releases at the domestic box-office in 1934. The movie did far less business in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand where the Depression was starting to bite and movies like "Sons of the Desert" were not regarded as fit for adult entertainment anyway, but were formatted strictly for kids. It was not until Abbott and Costello arrived on the scene in the 1940s, that Laurel and Hardy enjoyed a mite of reflected glory! COMMENT: Many critics regard this entry as the best of the team's sound features, and I'm tempted to agree. For once, L&H had a reasonably classy director, and just look at that cast!

Hitchcoc 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.

Electrified_Voltage 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!

wes-connors Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy want to go to their 87th annual "Sons of the Desert" convention in Chicago, which no member has ever missed. But, domineering wives Mae Busch (as Lottie) and Dorothy Christy (as Betty) have other ideas. The women want to vacation in the mountains. While Ms. Christy gives permission for Mr. Laurel to attend the convention, Ms. Busch isn't so accommodating. So, Mr. Hardy decides to play sick, which (somewhat inexplicably) earns he and Laurel a trip to Hawaii (Chicago), without the wives.Laurel & Hardy perform the old story smoothly; this film surely earns them the plot's patent. Clever scripting (Frank Craven) and direction (William A. Seiter) keeps things moving, and bits are well chosen. The slapstick hits a little too hard, sometimes; with the coming of sound, some of the physical comedy would look better in moderation (with a silly sound effect). Busch is one of the best Laurel & Hardy "wives". The duo's convention appearance, with the riotous Charley Chase is fantastic -- it includes a great theme song, "Honolulu Baby", performed by Ty Parvis and his hilarious hula dancers. Oh, lei!