Sons of the Desert (1933)

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Frank Craven (story)
Byron Morgan (continuity)

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

When Stan and Ollie trick their wives into thinking that they are taking a medicinal cruise while they're actually going to a convention, the wives find out the truth the hard way.

Plot Keywords:

Convention | Lodge | Newsreel | Veterinarian | Beautiful Woman

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Charley Chase	...	Charley Chase
Mae Busch	...	Mrs. Lottie Hardy
Dorothy Christy	...	Mrs. Betty Laurel
Lucien Littlefield	...	Dr. Horace Meddick

Also Known As:

Fraternally Yours (UK)

Runtime:

68 min | 65 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (nf) | Finland:S (1947)

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Three decades after the movie's release, its motif inspired the creation of an "international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society," named after the movie and created by Stan Laurel and his biographer John McCabe.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Laurel and Hardy are returned to their wives by the police officer, as they are led inside the house, the camera tilts back slightly and the boom mic is visible at the top of the frame as they walk toward the couch.

Quotes:

Lottie: I'll show you, you Son of a Desert! Go to a convention on me, ha! ha!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sprucin' Up (1935)

Soundtrack:

Honolulu Baby

as good as you'll find Laurel and Hardy flick

When you see this film, you are immediately struck by how familiar the plot is. Stan and Ollie want to slip past their wives and go to a convention for their local lodge. The elaborate way they devise in order to go and the subsequent discovery of their wives was repeated on both the Honeymooners and the Flintstones--and copied, though not quite as directly, in MANY sitcoms over the years. It's all here folks BUT it's funnier and fresher because it's the original.

The most glowing endorsement I know of was my wife's reaction to the movie. She generally HATES all the old comedies (not just Laurel and Hardy, but Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, W. C. Fields, etc.) but laughed herself silly watching the film. She later denied it was THAT funny, but her belly laughs were a dead giveaway!