Beau Hunks (1931)

Not quite a short and not quite a feature, still, whenever Laurel and Hardy get together it will be a fun time. The last time I saw this picture was probably over fifty years ago and it still seemed familiar. I guess the boys have that kind of effect on their fans from the old days.And to think, it was a picture of Jean Harlow that sent Stan and Ollie off to join the Foreign Legion. The forlorn Ollie will come to learn that she broke the hearts of nearly everyone else that wound up in the desert, while Stan remains clueless as ever through virtually every escapade.But you know, I couldn't help thinking that the picture probably couldn't even be made today considering how militant the PC police have gotten. Early on, when Ollie is happily explaining to Stan that he's getting married, Stan's question about who it might be gets twisted and tangled and Ollie responds - "Did you ever hear of anybody marrying a man?" Well....And then there's the entire business of the Foreign Legion fighting the Arab Riffraff (I know it was Riffians, but Riffraff sounds better); when the Arab leader invokes Mohammed one can only imagine modern day progressives decrying the racist element of the story line. I guess for all those folks, Ollie's sentiment that "This is no time for levity" would seem appropriate. For all the rest of us though, and I'll speak for all Laurel and Hardy fans here, this is exactly the time for levity.Oh yeah, can't forget - this is the picture that revealed Oliver Hardy's middle name - it was Nobel!

"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.

Although "Beau Geste" had already been madewith Ronald Coleman in 1926, "Beau Hunks" is not just a funny play on words.Unlike today, being called a hunk was not a compliment. In those days, "Hunk," "Hunky," or "Bohunk" was a pejorative term for an Eastern European --- (It's a conflation of "Bohemian" and "Hungarian.) The general connotation of the term was that of a stupid, not necessarily clean, undesirable immigrant. So to call someone a Bohunk was quite an insult.It's a pity that the extremely stupid guidelines require ten lines of text, when I could have said everything in five. Are they perhaps taken from the IRS tech-writing standards for tax laws?

In 1980 I had the good fortune to be invited to the home of legendary motion picture producer HAL E. ROACH. I was there to show him a few films I made, hoping for some good advice. We talked about many things, including Laurel & Hardy.I then asked Mr. Roach what his all-time favorite Laurel & Hardy film was. After a thoughtful pause, he replied: "BEAU HUNKS."In 1939 BEAU HUNKS was remade as FLYING DEUCES (not by Roach) during a temporary lapse in the boys' contracts. The story must have been a favorite of theirs as well. BEAU HUNKS is an odd length (37 minutes), not too long and not too short. A classic which stands alone as one of Laurel & Hardy's most inspired films. No spoilers in this review, but if you are an L&H fan, seek out Hal Roach's personal favorite and you'll be glad you did!