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The Flying Deuces (Restored Edition)

The Flying Deuces (Restored Edition)

List Price: $24.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Laurel & Hardy join the French Foreign Legion for fun
Review: "The Flying Deuces" gets its name from the final sequence where Laurel & Hardy escape from a firing squad in an airplane. The boys get in this predicament because Ollie is jilted by his girl friend (Jean Parker) and wants to commit suicide. Despite Stan's more than willing help the attempt fails and the boys end up joining the French Foreign Legion instead. Needless to say, Stan and Ollie are not very good soldiers, hence the appointment with the firing squad. The comedy routines in the film are okay, but there is nothing special. The best moments are the more musical ones, especially a nice soft-shoe routine and Stan playing a prison bedspring like a harp. This 1939 seven-reeler was directed by Edward Sutehrland for RKO and co-stars Charles Middleton, james Finlayson, Reginald Gardiner, Jean Del Val and Clem Wilenchick. One of the writers receiving screenplay credit for "The Flying Deuces" was Harry Langdon, the great silent comic who was just a notch below the celebrated triumvirate of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: Another downright funny Stan Laurel-Oliver Hardy classic that will keep you laughing so hard you'll barely be able to watch the show. Ollie, heartbroken, drags Stan with him to the French Foreign Legion, where it quickly becomes clear that they weren't meant to be soldiers. Hardy ends up making a horse of himself. Funny scene: the boys try to fly an airplane (with predictable results).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Note that this item from Kino is the RESTORED EDITION
Review: Just an FYI: I notice a lot of reviews from earlier editions of "Flying Deuces" are turning up here... I just want to reiterate that THIS new version from Kino is RESTORED-- you won't see a better print of this movie unless one turns up after this is released. Ignore the reviews here that mention "Madacy," "Platinum," "Good Times," etc. ... this is the NEW Kino RESTORED version, and you're gonna' love it! :)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Foreign Legion comedy is a typical Laurel & Hardy outing
Review: Mr. Hardy, disappointed in romance, joins the French Foreign Legion, and takes Mr. Laurel with him! A reworking of an older, similar comedy (BEAU HUNKS), this has more action and a faster pace. Highlights include Stan trying to console Ollie as clumsily as possible, a song-and-dance routine featuring "Shine On, Harvest Moon," and a wild airplane ride. If you like Laurel & Hardy, you'll like this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally, an excelleent print of this film!
Review: There are many versions of "Flying Deueces" on the market since it is a public domain film. They range from atrocious to just okay. Finally, Kino does all U.S. Laurel & Hardy fans a service by releasing a stunning print first released a few months ago on DVD by a French company. I highly recommend it!

The film itself is fast-moving and highly amusing, as you'd expect from Laurel & Hardy. It has an interesting history-- the team did it away from their home studio in the midst of contract negotiations, and Hardy met his future wife while shooting-- she was a script girl on the set. It's one of my favorites. Also included are two Laurel & Hardy rarities: "The Stolen Jools," which was an all-star short featuring Laurel & Hardy as well as Edward G. Robsinson, Buster Keaton, the Our Gang ("Little Rascals") kids, Wallace Beary, Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and more. The other rarity is "Tree in a Test Tube," one of only 2 films the team made in color (the other being the lost feature, "The Rogue Song"). This was a wartime short done for the government about the importance of wood.

With so little Laurel & Hardy available on DVD in the US, this is a welcome addition. Pick it up if you're looking for laughs, smiles and a bit of cinema history! :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good mixture of pathos and humor
Review: This is one of those films that you will enjoy seeing as a child, but will understand better as an adult.

The airplane and soldier gags are quite hilarious. But there are interesting moments of pathos. For some reason, I was always touched by the scene where Hardy tells Laurel that without him, "People will wonder what you are" and Laurel begins to cry. The finale with Ollie as a reincarnated horse also strikes a note of whimsy, as well as Stan's dancing to Ollie's cheerful rendition to "Shine On Harvest Moon."

The Three Stooges give us belly laughs, but Laurel and Hardy have a more human quality that makes us smile.


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