Sons of the Desert (1933): William Seiter’s Pre-Code Comedy, Starring Laurel and Hardy

Sons of the Desert is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy.

Sons of the Desert
Sons of the Desert (1933 window card).jpg

Theatrical release window card

Directed by William A. Seiter, it was released on December 29, 1933.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are at a California meeting of the Sons of the Desert, a fraternal lodge of which they are members. The organization will hold its national convention in Chicago in a week and all members must take an oath to attend.

Stan is reluctant for fear that his wife Betty won’t allow the trip, but pledges after being cajoled by Oliver. During the cab ride home, Oliver tries to reassure Stan that Betty will have no other choice than to let him go, because he has taken a sacred oath.

But Oliver’s wife, Lottie, puts up stiff resistance. She has planned a trip with her husband to the mountains, and resorts to violence when Oliver dismisses her plan. Reluctant to go back on the oath he swore, but also unwilling to provoke more wrath from his wife, Oliver feigns illness to get out of the mountains trip. Stan arranges for a doctor, actually a veterinarian, to advise an ocean voyage to Honolulu while their wives stay home. Stan and Oliver instead go to Chicago, with their wives none the wiser.

In the UK, 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.

Directed by William A. Seiter
Written by Frank Craven, Byron Morgan (continuity)
Produced by Hal Roach
Cinematography Kenneth Peach
Edited by Bert Jordan
Music by Marvin Hatley

Production: Hal Roach Studios

Distributed by MGM

Release date: December 29, 1933 (US)

Running time: 64 minutes

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