Laurel & Hardy: Beau Hunks

In a vague parody of BEAU GESTE and MOROCCO, Laurel & Hardy join the Foreign Legion so that one of them can forget a lost love. When asked to name a favorite Laurel & Hardy film, BEAU HUNKS was invariably one of the two titles Hal Roach would cite. He enjoyed getting a star (Jean Harlow) “for free, ” and he liked experimenting with this longer running time of four reels, pushing towards feature length. “It kept getting funnier, ” Roach explained. In 1937, the picture was reissued by M-G-M, making nominal modifications in order to comply with a more strictly enforced Production Code. This is the only version extant today. Director James W. Horne performs a cameo. With the sneering, blood ‘n’ thunder Charles Middleton, still a few years away from supreme villainy as “Ming the Merciless” in FLASH GORDON serials.