Sons of the Desert (1933)

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.

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writer:

Frank Craven (story)

Stars:

Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stan Laurel	...	Stan
Oliver Hardy	...	Ollie
Charley Chase	...	Charley, Son of the Desert from Texas
Mae Busch	...	Mrs. Lottie Hardy
Dorothy Christy	...	Mrs. Betty Laurel
Lucien Littlefield	...	Dr. Horace Meddick
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marta DeVeaux	...	Hula Dancer

Storyline

So that he and Stan can sneak away to Chicago and attend the annual "Sons of the Desert" lodge convention, Ollie pretends to be sick, and gets a doctor (who turns out to be a veterinarian) to prescribe a long ocean voyage to Hawaii. Decked out in leis and strumming ukeleles, they return home only to learn that the ship supposedly carrying them has sunk. Their hastily- contrived tale of "ship-hiking" their way back cuts no ice with their wives, who've been at the movies watching a newsreel of the lodge's convention parade, starring... guess who?

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Plot Keywords:

convention | lodge | veterinarian | newsreel | ice pack | 

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Taglines:

Their New Full-Length Feature Picture!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Wüstensöhne

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min 65 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Mae Busch's fourth appearance as Oliver's high-strung, short-tempered wife.

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Goofs

Ollie says that they ship hiked home after being shipwrecked. Stan puts his right elbow on Ollie's knee but when the shot moves from close up to long shot it's Stan's hand that is then on Ollie's knee.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sons of the Desert chorus: [the members sing "Auld Lang Syne"] And here's a hand, my trusty friend, and gie's a hand o' thine, / We'll take a cup of kindness now, for Auld Lang Syne.
Exalted Exhausted Ruler: [the song concludes, and the Exalted Ruler calls the meeting to order as he hits the podium with a gavel] Brothers, Sons of the Desert, we are all familiar with the business of this special meeting. This Oasis must meet the situation with determination.

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Alternate Versions

The opening MGM lion has been removed from all available prints.

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Connections

Remake of His Doctor's Orders (1914)

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Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
(1788) (uncredited)
Traditional Scottish 17th century music
Lyrics by Robert Burns
Sung a cappella by the Sons of the Desert

User Reviews

Tee hee

Stan and Ollie are part of a Freemason's lodge and take an oath to go to their annual convention in Chicago. No one has ever broken this oath in the zillion year history of the Sons of the Desert Lodge so they'd better now screw up.

Only Stan and Ollie are both dominated by their wives who won't allow them to do anything with-out strict approval first. So they concoct a plan that involves pretending to go to Hawaii for a relaxing cruise but really going off to the windy city.

Too bad the ship sinks on the way their and they have fake being rescued (much quicker than everyone else) when they come back from the convention. Loads of hectic hiding and digging out of deep trouble follow.

Much funnier than I've made it sound. Honest!