Dreadfully Boring

A Disappointing Continuation

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

The duo's last filmic fling. What amazes is to learn that Ollie survived for another 7 years, and Stan for a full 15. Judging by his horrifyingly emaciated appearance, it would be difficult to give Stan more than another couple of weeks. Ollie looks as if he is about to keel over from avoirdupois.The generous reviews here are touching in their obvious affection for Laurel and Hardy, and their long history together, but the fact is that this film is a mess and not a fine or nice one. Some of the slapstick is positively vicious, and their relatively reasonably tolerant relationship seems to have passed its sell-by date. The plot is bloated, complicated and totally uncomic.The only sensible and merciful advice would be to avoid watching this ending of the trail.

Stan and Ollie's farewell falls far short of the boys in their prime, it's true, but the film is nowhere near as bad as its reputation suggests. From what I'd heard about it I almost didn't want to watch this film – in much the same way as you want to remember a loved one hale and hearty rather than eaten away by cancer – but I braved it anyway. The print is atrocious with blurry visuals and poor sound, but even the poor picture doesn't disguise how ill and gaunt poor Stan Laurel looks. Apparently he had dysentery and prostate problems during filming, which accounts for his appearance. Ironically, Oliver Hardy, who would be the first of the duo to pass away, looks the better of the two, although it's plain to see that he'd piled on a few pounds since their heyday.The film's storyline is fairly ordinary fluff about the boys travelling to a deserted island Stan has inherited and establishing a utopian society that works perfectly until the population count increases beyond single figures. There are a few glimpses of the old style from the boys but any enjoyment is tempered by the knowledge that you're watching ageing men trying to recapture something that they no longer possess. The rest of the cast are French, and the dialogue they speak is dubbed into English, which makes it visibly difficult for Laurel and Hardy to play off them they way they used to with familiar faces of old.This film probably isn't one you'd want in your collection if you're a Laurel & Hardy fan, but neither is it one that should necessarily be avoided at all costs.

This was Laurel and Hardy's last film and, of all their features, the one with probably the worst reputation. I can give it the left-handed compliment of saying, "It is not as bad as you have heard it is." The boys are caught in a storm at sea but are saved when a submerged island rises up under their boat. Along with a few other misfits, they establish a cooperative society. Then, the outside world shows up, discovers uranium on the island and the rush is on. What is unique is the level of satire that is present in the movie's last third, even though it is genial rather than sharp. Laurel looks thin and old (he was, in fact, quite ill during filming), but gamely takes his pratfalls. There is plenty of the usual shtick between Stan and Ollie. I find it funny no matter how many times I've seen it so I laughed several times. For L&H fans.

I love Laurel & Hardy. God knows how many times they pulled me out of a depression or an illness and I will always love them. You might imagine how painful it is to see an obviously ill Stan Laurel and a grossly overweight Ollie struggle through this last of their movies. The plot is silly, but possible, in earlier days it might have been funnier. All through the movie I kept fixating on Stan who really looked sick, and how Ollie had aged and blown up and wondered why these two national treasures were persuaded to make this movie. If you are a rabid L&H fan, see it, but it will depress you.