BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

alexanderdavies-99382 "Sons of the Desert" stands as one of Laurel and Hardy's funniest feature films. The running time of 61 minutes whizzes by and there aren't any subplots. I shalln't describe the story as we fans know it by heart. The laughs are fast and furious and the narrative is kept simple. The team have very good dialogue to work with and as always, their comic timing is very natural. Mae Busch once again plays the shrewish wife and boy, she is one temperamental lady! Charley Chase makes an appearance at the Sons of the Desert convention as one of the members. He was the top comedian for Hal Roach before Laurel and Hardy eclipsed him. At this point in 1933, Chase's career was all but over and he was becoming a name of the past. I can understand why some fans find him a bit irritating. In "Sons of the Desert," his character is somewhat over the top with his constant laughing and playing practical jokes (reminds me of Arthur Askey). Happily, Charley Chase is only in the one scene. This is an undisputed masterpiece, not just from Laurel and Hardy but from American comedy in general.

dbedwards2003 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.

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!

Cyke 097: Sons of the Desert (1933) - released 12/29/1933, viewed 6/28/07.DOUG: We've kept up on some of the Laurel & Hardy shorts, both silent and sound, leading up to this, 'Sons of the Desert,' their first full-length feature. Can't remember who's who? It's easy: Ollie is the one with the head shaped like an "O." Ollie is basically the dumb guy who thinks he's smart, while Stan is the dumber guy who doesn't know the difference but is a lot nicer for it. Their routine was quite different from the Marx Brothers, who relied on both physical comedy and verbal sparring; this duo sticks mostly with the physical stuff (going back to their silent roots), although there are a few choice bits of dialogue. Also, while the Marx boys took situations and MADE them crazy, these two try to be normal, and crazy things end up happening TO them (not to mention the situations they cause with their own idiocy). Just one thing bugged me: we never really learn anything about the secret society that Stan and Ollie are a part of. What is their purpose? What is the meeting for? How do Stan & Ollie's silly antics in the movie affect them, if at all? They never really play a big role in the story other than setting up our guys for the comedy situations. All the same, very good laughs, definitely recommended for fans of classic comedy.KEVIN: The first feature-length Laurel & Hardy adventure on the list is sheer delight. The pair is a few years behind the Marx Brothers when it comes to features, but Stan and Oliver manage to make a much more impressive debut. The comedic beats are some of the best from the pair, and even though I felt that they were drawing it out sometimes, I still laughed. The story is slightly above average, centering around the pair trying to weasel out of their marital obligations in order to attend an annual fraternity convention. The crud hits the fan when the two idiots must explain why they weren't on a cruise to Honolulu that was hit by a typhoon (while they lied to their ladies and went to the convention). Stan's character, who struck me as somewhat inept and nonchalant in past shorts, here seems functionally retarded. To me, the real stars are the wives, played by Dorothy Christy and Mae Busch. What they do and say in putting up with their moronic hubbies (especially Busch) is inspired.Last film: Queen Christina (1933). Next film: Design for Living (1933).