Beau Hunks (1931)

Jilted by his girlfriend, "Jeanie-Weenie," Oliver joins the Foreign Legion to forget, bringing Stanley along with him. They wilt under the scorching desert sun and under the harsh ... See full summary »

Director:

James W. Horne

Writer:

H.M. Walker (dialogue)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James W. Horne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
James W. Horne	...	Chief of the Riff Raff (as Abdul Kasim K'Horne)
Charles Middleton	...	Commandant
Broderick O'Farrell	...	Fort Arid Commander (as Broderick O'Farrel)
Harry Schultz	...	Captain Schultz

Storyline

Jilted by his girlfriend, "Jeanie-Weenie," Oliver joins the Foreign Legion to forget, bringing Stanley along with him. They wilt under the scorching desert sun and under the harsh discipline of the Commandant. On a long march to reinforce remote Fort Arid, the boys get lost in the sands, finally reaching the Fort only to find it besieged by the fearsome Riffs.

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Plot Keywords:

battering ram | laurel and hardy

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Taglines:

Love comes: Mr. Hardy is at last conscious of the grand passion -- Mr. Laurel isn't even conscious of the Grand Canyon.

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beau Chumps

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

37 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Harlow:  "Jeanie-Weenie", in photo.

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Goofs

Ollie falls down on a piano, which smashes to bits (and is obviously an empty prop). When the camera cuts in closer, Ollie's stomach is suddenly covered with piano hammers and other bits from the interior of a real piano, none of which were there in the first shot.

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Quotes

Ollie: Come, Stanley.
Stan: Where we going?
Ollie: We're going where we can forget!
Stan: What do you mean WE'VE got to forget?
Ollie: None of your business, let's go!

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Crazy Credits

Cast list concludes with 3897 Arabs, 1921 Riffians and four native Swede guides.

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Connections

Spoofs Beau Geste (1926)

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Soundtracks

"The Ideal of My Dreams"
(1910) (uncredited)
Written by Herbert Ingraham
Played on piano and Sung by Oliver Hardy

User Reviews

Choice Sample of Hunks

If as another reviewer says that Beau Hunks was Hal Roach's personal favorite of the many Laurel&Hardy shorts he produced, it certainly is a very good choice. Roach must have liked it because he expanded it later on in the decade to a full length feature film, Flying Deuces.

Poor Ollie is pining over his lost love because his Jeanie Weanie is getting married so to forget his troubles he joins the Foreign Legion, dragging along poor Stanley behind him. Of course as it turns out Jeanie Weanie is Jean Harlow who's sent these loving autographed pictures all over the world as we see when they settle into the barracks of the Foreign Legion.

The film is a satire of Beau Geste and of The Desert Song which only two years earlier had come to the screen. The enemy are the Riffraffs and a deadly bunch they are. Of course they haven't come up against Laurel and Hardy.

Two best bits in the film are the boys getting lost in a sand storm on the desert and then actually arriving at the fort ahead of the rest of the troop. Second is when Laurel the dunce is asked by Hardy why he's not carrying any equipment for the march and he innocently replies that he packed his stuff with Ollie's. This is Stanley's innocence at its finest.

One thing that is eerie about Beau Hunks is that the marriage Jean Harlow was to have the following year was to Paul Bern and we all know what a tragedy that turned out to be. She might have been better off marrying Ollie or one of the other Legionaires.

Beau Hunks is a choice sample of Stan and Ollie's comedy which is absolutely eternal.