Sons of the Desert
| Sons of the Desert | |
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theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | William A. Seiter |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Screenplay by | Byron Morgan |
| Story by | Frank Craven |
| Starring |
Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Charley Chase Mae Busch Dorothy Christy |
| Music by |
William Axt George M. Cohan Marvin Hatley Paul Marquardt O'Donnell-Heath Leroy Shield Frank Terry |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
| Edited by | Bert Jordan |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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64' 46" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Sons of the Desert is a 1933 American Pre-Code film starring Laurel and Hardy, and directed by William A. Seiter. It was first released in the United States on December 29, 1933 and is regarded as one of Laurel and Hardy's greatest films. In the United Kingdom, the film was originally released under the title Fraternally Yours.
In 2012, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The film begins at a meeting of the Sons of the Desert, a fraternal lodge (styled to resemble the Shriners) of which both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are members. The organization will be holding its annual convention in Chicago in a week and all members have to take an oath to attend. Stan is reluctant to take the oath, but Oliver goads him into it. Later, on the way home, Stan explains to Oliver his reluctance to take the oath; he is worried that his wife Betty will not let him go to the convention. Oliver tries to reassure Stan his wife has no choice but to let him go because he took a sacred oath. When they get home and Stan accidentally brings up the subject of the convention, however, it turns out Oliver's wife Lottie will not let him go as they had already arranged a mountain trip together (which Oliver had forgotten about). Oliver tries to cover his embarrassment by remarking to Stan that his wife is "only clowning", only for her to chuck a bowl at his head, followed by another one when he attempts to establish his authority as the boss of the house.
Unwilling to go back on the oath that he swore, but equally unwilling to provoke further wrath from his wife, Oliver feigns illness to get out of the trip with his wife. Stan arranges for a doctor (actually a veterinarian) to prescribe an ocean voyage to Honolulu, with their wives staying home (Oliver is well aware how much ocean voyages disagree with his wife). Stan and Ollie go to the convention, with their wives none the wiser. Of course, they have a close call while drinking with a fellow conventioneer when as a practical joke their friend "Charley" calls his sister in Los Angeles who turns out to be Mrs. Hardy! However, nothing comes of this. Having tempted fate by deceiving their wives, however, one can hardly be surprised when fate is indeed tempted. While Stan and Ollie are en route home from Chicago, their supposed ship arriving from Honolulu sinks in a typhoon and the wives head to the shipping company's offices to find out any news about the survivors. At the same time, an oblivious Stan and Ollie return home as though from Honolulu (complete with leis, pineapples and a rousing ukulele song) and are confused by the empty houses. While Stan reads the paper, Ollie spots the headline and reads it out to Stan, who humorously remarks on what a good thing it was they didn't go before promptly going into a tizzy when it finally sinks in.
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