Oliver is heartbroken when he finds that Georgette, the inkeeper's daughter he's fallen in love with, is already married to dashing Foreign Legion officer Francois. To forget her, he joins ... See full summary »
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Oliver is heartbroken when he finds that Georgette, the inkeeper's daughter he's fallen in love with, is already married to dashing Foreign Legion officer Francois. To forget her, he joins the Legion, taking Stanley with him. Their bumbling eventually gets them charged with desertion and sentenced to a firing squad. They manage to escape in a stolen airplane, but crash after a wild ride. Written by
Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com>
The harp music Stan plays in his cell is played by Harpo Marx, who apparently also coached Stan on imitating his fingerings. See more »
Goofs
The water pitcher changes position before and after Laurel slides the desk in front of the window. See more »
Quotes
Oliver:
Hey Stan... oh, Stan... over here...
Stanley:
[Stan does a take - sees a horse in a pasture with Oliver's hat and mustache]
Ollie... is it really you?
Oliver:
[as horse]
Of course it's me. Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into.
Stanley:
Gee I'm glad to see you!
[scene fades, end of film]
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This was Laurel and Hardy's first feature film away from producer extraordinaire Hal Roach. While this is in no way Laurel and Hardy's best work, it still contains enough gags and silliness to entertain fans and the younger set. Stan Laurel is as sharp as always as is Babe Hardy but the story is somewhat lacking and drags in spots. The premise is good though: Trying to forget a woman who turned him down, Ollie wants to drown himself and convinces Stan that he must do the same. The boys meet an officer of the Foreign Legion who convinces them that they should join the Legion to help forget. Of course you know these two misfits are not going to do well in the Legion with its strict military code and constant marching. This leads to many good moments when, for example, the boys are forced to wash and press "a mountain" of laundry(literally). I especially liked the stunt flying and the surprise ending which, for me, wrapped everything up neatly. The part I really didn't like is having Ollie act like a simpering idiot when in love. It is just plain embarrassing. In their older films, they would get into bad situations but were never the objects of ridicule. Thankfully, this sequence passes by quickly enough and we go on to some great gags.
Sadly, the boys would end up making only one good film after this one (Saps at Sea)before moving to MGM and Fox where they were stuck in a bunch of bad or very average films.
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This was Laurel and Hardy's first feature film away from producer extraordinaire Hal Roach. While this is in no way Laurel and Hardy's best work, it still contains enough gags and silliness to entertain fans and the younger set. Stan Laurel is as sharp as always as is Babe Hardy but the story is somewhat lacking and drags in spots. The premise is good though: Trying to forget a woman who turned him down, Ollie wants to drown himself and convinces Stan that he must do the same. The boys meet an officer of the Foreign Legion who convinces them that they should join the Legion to help forget. Of course you know these two misfits are not going to do well in the Legion with its strict military code and constant marching. This leads to many good moments when, for example, the boys are forced to wash and press "a mountain" of laundry(literally). I especially liked the stunt flying and the surprise ending which, for me, wrapped everything up neatly. The part I really didn't like is having Ollie act like a simpering idiot when in love. It is just plain embarrassing. In their older films, they would get into bad situations but were never the objects of ridicule. Thankfully, this sequence passes by quickly enough and we go on to some great gags.
Sadly, the boys would end up making only one good film after this one (Saps at Sea)before moving to MGM and Fox where they were stuck in a bunch of bad or very average films.