Very Cool!!!

Just what I expected

How sad is this?

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I think most fans - myself included - of Laurel & Hardy consider their earlier work (at the beginning of the 1930s) to be their best. The films they made later, like this one, suffered from being a bit too long-winded, and were always bogged down with slightly wearisome romantic sub-plots. Nonetheless, THE FLYING DEUCES is one of their most accessible feature-length productions, and a film that it's difficult to dislike.Much of the comedy here comes naturally and feels unforced. Watching the guys attempting to simply wash themselves in their room is a delight in itself. The plot makes sense, and when the pair are sent off to Africa to enlist with the Foreign Legion, the laughs don't stop coming. There's a fine song and dance routine, a lovely jail cell interlude (featuring James Finlayson, no less) and a classic chase-based climax. Little to dislike, really.

I love this Laurel and Hardy film. "The Flying Deuces" proves to be faster paced and less redundant than many of their other films. Not that I don't love Laurel and Hardy, but it's hard for me to find one of their feature films where I am completely entertained the whole way through. In this movie, Stan and Ollie join the foreign legion so Ollie can forget his girlfriend who has rejected him. Along the way, they get in trouble and end up being chased by the entire foreign legion. It's a typical L & H plot, but this one remains entertaining because of great gags such as the shark scene and of course the famous airplane crash at the end. Stan's dialogue is especially great in this film. I like their other features such as "Way Out West" and "Our Relations" but this is and has always been my favorite. Their shorts are better, but this is very enjoyable and worth watching multiple times.***1/2 out of ****

I saw Swiss Miss and The Flying Deuces back to back and in doing so spotted what was wrong with Swiss Miss. It didn't need that whole operetta subplot, it just needed Stan and Ollie. Then watching The Flying Deuces I was completely convinced I was right.What's wrong with The Flying Deuces is that it's made on the cheap as cost conscious Hal Roach always did it. But that's OK in a slapstick comedy, especially one that borders on the surreal.The boys are on holiday in Paris, but Stan thinks it's about time they return back to their jobs in the fish market in Des Moines. But Ollie thinks he's in love, unfortunately to Jean Parker who is married to Reginald Gardiner. Ollie is distraught on learning the news and wants to throw himself in the Seine and end his troubles and he wants Stan to share in the suicide as well. This sets up some very funny business and the selfsame Reginald Gardiner who doesn't know Ollie is sweet on Jean persuades them that the Foreign Legion is the place for them.Of course upon arriving in North Africa, the Legion proves a bit much to their delicate sensibilities. Especially stern commander Charles Middleton who plays it as he would Ming the Merciless. What's interesting in The Flying Deuces is that in most Laurel and Hardy films, dumb and dumber always flop no matter what they scheme. In this case they're still quite dumb, but the Legion is populated with a gang of 'tards that even they outwit. Especially old nemesis James Finlayson who plays a jailer.Of course it all does flop in the end for the boys. But Ollie mentions that he does have a wish and in the end he gets his wish. And at the end he and Stan have quite the reunion.And you'll have to see the very funny The Flying Deuces to know what I'm talking about.

An independently-produced effort while contractual disputes with Hal Roach were on-going,THE FLYING DEUCES is possibly the best non-Roach Laurel and Hardy vehicle,because at least Stan Laurel was allowed some say on the plot and script content.The original draft was apparently woefully unsuitable(as were virtually all their wartime Fox and MGM features),and the story itself is pretty thin(an obvious reworking of BEAU HUNKS)and the production rather cheap.What saves the picture from mediocrity are some familiar names in the supporting cast like Charles Middleton and (especially) James Finlayson from the Roach studios,with others like Richard Cramer,Arthur Housman,Eddie Borden and Sam Lufkin in much smaller parts.With such performers in support it does at least give it the feel of a Roach film,with the addition of their favourite cameraman Art Lloyd behind the scenes another plus factor.That said,the comic material itself is not of a particularly high standard,maybe because of the initial weakness of the original story and draft,and the amount of pancake makeup they both wear cannot disguise they were beginning to age somewhat after their Roach studios peak.Despite funny gags and individual scenes,THE FLYING DEUCES is rather patchy,and one yearns for rather more of Middleton's stentorian tones(their simply isn't enough of him in the film)than Ollie's simpering over Jean Parker.Her on-screen husband Reginald Gardiner starts off in amiable conversation with the boys persuading them to join the Foreign Legion,but he turns decidedly unsympathetic and hostile once they've enlisted,especially when he finds out that Ollie is in love with his wife.Much comic potential is not explored because unlike BEAU HUNKS(which was not perfect but shorter and rather better),there are few jokes about their tribulations in the Legion itself;the best scenes are some charming,if slightly irrelevant, musical interludes,involving Ollie singing 'Shine On Harvest Moon' while Stan performs a nifty soft-shoe shuffle,Stan playing 'The World Is Waiting For Sunrise' on his prison cell bed mattress(Ollie taps his feet amusingly during this number!),and some funny business with their best ever foil James Finlayson.The rest frankly is something of a disappointment,but we can be thankful at least that Laurel and Hardy are still in character here,which was not the case in their films from 1941 onwards,because of big film studio interference and reluctance to give Stan Laurel artistic control.THE FLYING DEUCES is certainly no classic,but is still fairly enjoyable and a decent L & H film thanks to producer Boris Morros' decision to give Stan a degree of creative freedom.Now why didn't the producers at Fox or MGM do that?