Silent Films: pre-team 1921-1927 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1927 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1928 Laurel and Hardy Silents 1929 Laurel and Hardy sound films (alphabetical order): A-Haunting We Will Go Air Raid Wardens Another Fine Mess Any Old Port! Atoll K (aka Utopia) Babes In Toyland Beau Hunks Be Big! Below Zero Berth Marks The Big Noise Block-Heads Blotto The Bohemian Girl Bonnie Scotland Brats The Bullfighters Busy Bodies Chickens Come Home - The Chimp A Chump At Oxford Come Clean County Hospital The Dancing Masters The Devil's Brother aka Fra Diavolo Dirty Work The Fixer Uppers The Flying Deuces Fra Diavolo aka The Devil's Brother Going Bye-Bye! Great Guns Helpmates Hog Wild The Hoose-Gow Jitterbugs Laughing Gravy The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case The Live Ghost Me And My Pal Men O'War The Midnight Patrol The Music Box Night Owls Nothing But Trouble Oliver The Eighth One Good Turn Our Relations Our Wife Pack Up Your Troubles Pardon Us Perfect Day Saps At Sea Scram! Sons of the Desert Swiss Miss Their First Mistake Them Thar Hills They Go Boom! Thicker Than Water Tit For Tat Towed In A Hole Twice Two Unaccustomed As We Are Utopia (aka Atoll K) Way Out West Specials: Cameos Cartoons For Love Or Mummy Laurel and Hardy Memories "Stan"

Beau Hunks Year: 1931 Directed by: James W. Horne Duration: 36m DVD Availability: Try sendit.com (region 2 only) Viewpoint: "Well, you certainly are a sorry-looking pair!" "We’re not sorry." "No, sir, we’re just discouraged." It seems to have become almost a trend to knock Hal Roach these days. Considering he had problems reigning in Stan during their later years, then many fans take Stan’s side without question, never considering the possibility that Roach may have been right on so many things. Bearing in mind the creative freedom that Roach allowed his stars, and considering how awful their films without him were, then isn’t it likely that maybe Roach knew what he was doing after all? Sure, he made mistakes – courting Mussolini’s son for film projects wasn’t the most sensible idea in the world – but was Swiss Miss really tarnished or made incomprehensible by him removing an unnecessary bomb subplot from it? It’s even been suggested that Roach had hardly any creative input into their films beyond single sentence ideas. Whatever the truth of the matter, his genuine love of creativity over the dollar can be attested here by Beau Hunks. Sold as a two-reeler, Roach was prepared to lose money on the film by admitting that it was good he couldn’t face editing it down, and so released it on four reels. Say what you like about Hal Roach – and personally I think he was wrong here by at least a reel – but you couldn’t say he didn’t love his art. If we’re being honest, then seeing a lot of racial stereotypes (their leader played by the director under the “comic” pseudonym Abul Kasim K Horne) stepping on nails and having Stan throw nails in another Arab’s eye isn’t all that funny, or comfortable. Mind you, an earlier conversation between Stan and Ollie (“Didn’t I just tell ya I was going to be married?” “Who to?” “Why, a woman, of course! Did you ever hear of anybody marrying a man?”) is a testament to the fact that they come from a decidedly different age. Yet apart from the ending, this film is far, far funnier than I remembered – hilarious, in fact. Stan is possibly the thickest he was ever portrayed, but whereas sometimes this level of protracted gag can pall – such as having them both completely unable to leave a room successfully – here it’s hysterical. Stan asking the head of the foreign legion to reschedule roll call as he finds it hard to get up in the mornings is priceless, too. Best of all though, is Ollie’s reaction to the head. (a wonderful Charles Middleton). Stan’s aware he’s got no social skills – Ollie thinks waggling his tie and calling him both “Admiral” and “Brigadier” is ingratiating himself. There’s also a good little running gag where the whole world has fallen for Jeannie-Weenie, who is, of course, Jean Harlow – then a famous star, but who had appeared with Stan and Ollie in the silents Liberty, Double Whoopee and Bacon Grabbers. Yeah, the band playing the KuKu theme is a little indulgent, but with the performance of the title quote, some inspired sight gags and the outstanding sight of Ollie demolishing his own piano, this has suddenly elevated itself well up my list of favourite Laurel and Hardy movies. The title, incidentally, has made no sense to me for years until I learned that the American Heritage Dictionary has “Hunk” defined as “a disagreeable and often miserly person.” Here in England a “hunk” is a muscular, sexually attractive man, something which… well… let’s just say it explains why it was renamed to Beau Chumps in the UK.