Beau Hunks (1931)

Truly Dreadful Film

A Masterpiece!

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"Beau Hunks" is a Laurel and Hardy film from almost 85 years ago. Wow.. how time flies. It is not silent anymore, but still in black-and-white. Hardy's sweetheart leaves him, so the two end up with the military and they cause lots of mayhem there too as well. In the end they are in the desert and running into enemy forces. The leader of these is actually played by the film's director James W. Horne. He worked with the most famous comedy duo in history many times and this is probably not his best work. I have to say the script is just not good enough for almost 40 minutes runtime. IIt's certainly a case of quantity over quality and there aren't enough jokes in here in my opinion. Enough funny jokes, that is. The film loses itself occasionally in action that involves other characters than the two funny guys. I don't think this is among Stan and Ollie's best works sadly. Not recommended.

If as another reviewer says that Beau Hunks was Hal Roach's personal favorite of the many Laurel&Hardy shorts he produced, it certainly is a very good choice. Roach must have liked it because he expanded it later on in the decade to a full length feature film, Flying Deuces.Poor Ollie is pining over his lost love because his Jeanie Weanie is getting married so to forget his troubles he joins the Foreign Legion, dragging along poor Stanley behind him. Of course as it turns out Jeanie Weanie is Jean Harlow who's sent these loving autographed pictures all over the world as we see when they settle into the barracks of the Foreign Legion.The film is a satire of Beau Geste and of The Desert Song which only two years earlier had come to the screen. The enemy are the Riffraffs and a deadly bunch they are. Of course they haven't come up against Laurel and Hardy.Two best bits in the film are the boys getting lost in a sand storm on the desert and then actually arriving at the fort ahead of the rest of the troop. Second is when Laurel the dunce is asked by Hardy why he's not carrying any equipment for the march and he innocently replies that he packed his stuff with Ollie's. This is Stanley's innocence at its finest.One thing that is eerie about Beau Hunks is that the marriage Jean Harlow was to have the following year was to Paul Bern and we all know what a tragedy that turned out to be. She might have been better off marrying Ollie or one of the other Legionaires.Beau Hunks is a choice sample of Stan and Ollie's comedy which is absolutely eternal.

Okay, I know "tweener" isn't really a word, but it's the best way to describe this film. Unlike most of the Laurel and Hardy comedies that run from 18 to 20 minutes, this one is an odd-ball that is 37 minutes long--in between the length of their shorts and the full-length films they made. Now this COULD have been a problem, as in some of the longer Laurel and Hardy films, greater length meant less laughs and a lot of padding. However, this time it all worked out well and it's a very good and worthwhile outing.The film begins with Ollie pining over the loss of his girlfriend. He's so upset that he decides he AND Stanley should join the Foreign Legion in order to forget (something Stan usually has no trouble doing). Once there, Ollie finds that MOST of the men are there to forget,...the exact SAME girl!!! This quickly erases her from his mind, but for some odd reason the commandant doesn't understand and let them just go home (this is sarcasm, by the way). In fact, they are constantly in trouble because of their efforts to escape and only in the end do they redeem themselves.By the way, if the film sounds a tad familiar, it's because the movie is a lot like their full-length film FLYING DEUCES. However, DEUCES is not a particularly well-made film and most of the jokes aren't that funny (particularly the reincarnation one at the end). Plus, DEUCES is about 20 minutes longer. Sometimes less IS more! Finally, if you look at the photo of Ollie's ex-sweetie, you might notice who this is. It's an early photo of Jean Harlow--they way she looked when she was under contract to Hal Roach and before her drastic makeover circa 1932.

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short.Suffering from a failed love affair, Ollie drags Stan off to join the French Foreign Legion. Once in the desert, their merry mix ups cause much mayhem. The BEAU HUNKS are soon sent to relieve an isolated fort, but arrive just in time to endure a fierce Arab attack...A bit longer & more elaborate than most of the Boys' short subjects. Stan & Ollie were excellent at this kind of farce; they provide lots of laughs as they try to act like competent Legionaries. As an added treat, Ollie gets to sing 'I Love You' in that wonderfully nostalgic high tenor voice of his.