SONS OF THE DESERT (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933), a Hal Roach feature presentation directed by William A. Seiter, starring the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is not a foreign legion story set in the Sahara desert as the title might imply, but a domestic comedy with "Sons of the Desert" the name of a fraternity lodge brothers organization where Stan and Ollie are members, Oasis 13, Los Angeles, California.
As the story goes, Stan and Ollie (Laurel and Hardy), best friends ("two peas in a pod") and next door neighbors, both married (with their front doors reading "Mr. and Mrs. Stan Laurel" and "Oliver Hardy and Wife"), are introduced as late arrivals to the "Sons of the Desert" fraternity meeting where the exhausted ruler announces the club's 87th annual convention to take place in Chicago, where all members are expected to attend. After the swearing-in ceremony and singing of "We Are the Sons of the Desert," guilt-ridden Stanley tells Ollie he's afraid to ask his wife, Betty, if he could go. Oliver, strong-willed on the outside, fearfully henpecked on the inside, insists Stanley let Betty know that he's "king of his castle." Easier said than done considering Mrs. Laurel (Dorothy Christie) is an avid duck hunter who never misses her target with her rifle. As for Oliver's spouse, Lottie (Mae Busch), whom he affectionately calls "sugar," she's caring to her husband's needs, but at the same time, is quick-tempered and domineering. After learning about the convention, she makes it clear to Oliver that she has her heart set on going to the mountains and is not permitted to attend. Since Betty has granted Stanley permission to go, Oliver comes up with a scheme pretending to have a nervous breakdown, and with Stanley's help, hires an animal doctor, Horace Merrick (Lucien Littlefield) to make a house call, examine Ollie (like a dog) and suggest an ocean voyage rest cure to Honolulu. Since Lottie doesn't like the ocean and claims to be a poor sailor, it is suggested Stan "accompany" him. The plan works, and the boys go to the convention, having the time of their lives. They even get to meet up with a loud-mouth club member named Charlie Chase, who turns out to be Mrs. Hardy's long-lost brother. On the very day the boys are to return home, the wives receive news that the Honolulu steamship has sunk. Unable to acquire the names of the survivors, the girls wait it out by attending a picture show at a local theater. While there, they watch a newsreel presentation of the "Sons of the Desert" convention with Stan and Ollie in full view marching in the parade, mugging their faces into the camera. How will the boys be able to explain this now that the wives are fully aware they've been tricked? With this being a favorite among Laurel and Hardy devotees, it seems natural the film's title be adopted for the Laurel and Hardy fan club. Movies such as this were probably an inspiration to future TV shows, particularly "The Honeymooners" starring Jackie Gleason (fat) and Art Carney (skinny) as Laurel and Hardy counter-parts. With numerous battle of the sexes comedies featuring henpecked husbands being common place either in short subjects or feature length films, even when knowing how this will all turn out, viewers familiar with this formula will still want to see the results, and find out whether the boys will fess up to the truth or face the consequences from their wives. As with Gleason and Carney caricatures in "The Honeymooners," the overweight is over confident, full of ideas that backfires on him, and married to a woman who's one step ahead of him, while Laurel, the thin one with a cry of a child, is weak yet sensible, and highly influenced by his friend, married to a loving spouse who knows the wrong he does is not of his own choosing. While deceiving and lying are never solutions to anything, Stan sums it up best with his own philosophy, "Honesty is the best politics."
The current success of SONS OF THE DESERT relies on its fine script, witty dialogue and clever gags, sometimes violent, thrown in. Mae Busch as Hardy's wife is as fine casting as Kathleen Howard is for W.C. Fields in three notable films. Busch's Lottie has a vicious laugh (HA!) added to her hot temper, leading to the result of smashing a vase over her husband's head and everything else that goes with it. While spouse abuse doesn't wear well with today's society as comedy, this was common practice with the Laurel and Hardy formula. Dorothy Christy as Mrs. Laurel, is charming, but makes herself clear at one point with her stern sounding voice in telling Lottie, "Stanley would never lie to me. I'd hate to think of what might happen, if he, ev-err DID!" With many classic scenes too numerous to mention, the film does take time for a brief musical number, "Honolulu Baby" sung by a male vocalist, with overhead camera shot of dancing Hawaiian girls doing formations in the Busby Berkeley tradition.
Distributed on video cassette from various companies during the early days of home video (1980s), SONS OF THE DESERT played on various cable networks throughout the years: The Comedy Channel (late 1980s) , American Movie Classics (1994-96) and finally Turner Classic Movies (where it premiered April 1st, 2005). It continues to be a perennial favorite Laurel and Hardy film. In spite of its age, the film still holds up today, and at 67 minutes, plays like an extended comedy short. If not their best comedy, SONS OF THE DESERT definitely ranks their best in the domestic sense. (***)
