12 used & new from $63.25

See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Get a $13.50 Amazon.com Gift Card

Share with Friends

Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital)

See larger image

See all product images
See all 3 customer images

Share your own customer images

Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital) (1933)

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy Director: James Parrott, Lloyd French Rating: Unrated Format: DVD

3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

5 new from $149.99 7 used from $63.25

Amazon Video On Demand Special Offer
Purchase any DVD or Blu-ray and receive $5 towards select TV shows at Amazon Video On Demand. Here's how (restrictions apply).

› See more product promotions

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Buy a Blu-ray Player and Save on Blu-ray Movies. For a limited time, save $10 on as many as 20 select movies and TV shows on Blu-ray when you buy a Sony BDP S360 Blu-ray player. Hurry, offer ends November 21. See more.

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	50% buy the item featured on this page: Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital) 3.9 out of 5 stars (89)
	19% buy Laurel and Hardy Classic Shorts (Volume 1) 4.7 out of 5 stars (6)
	14% buy TCM Archives - The Laurel and Hardy Collection (The Devil's Brother / Bonnie Scotland) 3.8 out of 5 stars (31) $24.99
	10% buy Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 2 (A Haunting we Will Go / Dancing Masters / Bullfighters) 4.3 out of 5 stars (16) $25.49

Explore similar items

Product Details

Actors: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy
Directors: James Parrott, Lloyd French, William A. Seiter
Writers: Arthur J. Jefferson, Byron Morgan, Eddie Welch, Frank Craven, Glenn Tryon
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Release Date: August 19, 2003
Run Time: 170 minutes

Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00009YXEW
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,259 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

For more information about "Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For one-stop convenience, you can't beat this handy compilation of Laurel & Hardy classics. Although it's modestly priced and packaged, this DVD packs plenty of extras along with Stan & Ollie's finest feature and several of the comedy duo's best-loved "talkie" shorts. Sons of the Desert (1933) is the crown jewel in any L&H collection, and with Charley Chase as their stellar comedy costar, the boys reached the pinnacle of their unique partnership, playing a pair of Fez-wearing "Sons of the Desert" sneaking off to a convention in Chicago, but their wives discover the ruse with hilarious results. For L&H fans, it simply doesn't get any better than this, although 1932's "The Music Box" shares equal status--and a 1932 Oscar® for Best Comedy Short--in the L&H pantheon. The remaining shorts on the disc ("Another Fine Mess," "Busy Bodies," and "County Hospital") were produced during the prime of Stan & Ollie's sound-era success (1930-33), each boasting their own timeless bits and flawless routines. Abundant laughs are virtually guaranteed.

Most of the bonus material pays tribute to legendary comedy producer Hal Roach, who first partnered Stan & Ollie in 1926. A film-clip tribute includes interviews with comedy greats like Mel Brooks and Steve Allen, and on-screen articles explore Roach's career in greater detail. A "then and now" photo tour provides an historic tour of Roach Studio locations in Culver City, California, and text biographies are provided for Roach, Laurel, and Hardy. In addition to the films themselves (which never looked or sounded better), these extras make this Laurel & Hardy DVD a perfect choice for old and new fans alike. --Jeff Shannon

From the Back Cover

Five original black and white films collected on one DVD. Films are:

Sons of the Desert - The boys sneak off to a convention, telling their wives that Ollie requires a restful cruise to Hawaii to recuperate…but all is not peaceful when the suspicious wives discover the ship sank.

The Music Box - The Laurel & Hardy Moving Company struggles to deliver a piano to a house at the top of an insurmountable staircase. Winner of a 1932 Oscar ® for Best Comedy Short.

Another Fine Mess - Stan and Ollie hide from the police in the seemingly safe confines of a deserted mansion, that is until some tenants show up! Ollie must pretend to be the owner while Stan becomes both the butler and the maid!

Busy Bodies - Being employed as carpenters, Stanley and Oliver stumble through a hilarious parade of self-inflicted mishaps, only to retreat hastily...and drive their car into a band saw.

County Hospital - Oliver is peacefully recovering from a broken leg, when Stan decides to bring him a present of hard-boiled eggs and nuts. That's not all he delivers, however, and proceeds to almost destroy the place and the people in it.

DVD also contains tributes, biographies and photo features.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Laurel & Hardy II (Way Out West / Block-Heads / Chickens Come Home)

DVD ~ Stan Laurel

3.8 out of 5 stars (33)

Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 2 (A Haunting we Will Go / Dancing Masters / Bullfighters)

DVD ~ Stan Laurel

4.3 out of 5 stars (16) $25.49

Laurel & Hardy - Air Raid Wardens / Nothing but Trouble

DVD ~ Stan Laurel

3.4 out of 5 stars (18) $13.49

Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1 (Great Guns / Jitterbugs / The Big Noise)

DVD ~ Stan Laurel

3.7 out of 5 stars (32) $25.49

TCM Archives - The Laurel and Hardy Collection (The Devil's Brother / Bonnie Scotland)

DVD ~ Stan Laurel

3.8 out of 5 stars (31) $24.99

› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

laurel and hardy(19)

classic movie(10)

comedy movie(6)

silver screen classics(6)

comedy(4)

boxed sets(3)

classics(2)

classic comedy(1)

comedy classic(1)

Agree with these tags?

Customer Reviews

89 Reviews

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

189 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT the great restoration DVD sold in Europe!, August 25, 2003

By	Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

First let me say that these films are the BEST that Laurel & Hardy ever did, they are ***** films! I was excited to get this DVD, finally we were going to see the great restoration work that was done in Europe and sold on DVD there.

I have seen their DVDs, and this is NOT the restored version!

Problem 1) Over compression causes digital artifacting that makes SONS OF THE DESERT look like VHS at times. The transfer is the old grainy U.S. TV tape.

Problem 2) THE MUSIC BOX is compressed from a damaged video tape, there are wrinkles that appear as the boys are unloading the piano.

Problem 3) COUNTY HOSPITAL is a grainy copy from the Film Classics re-issue negative. The European DVD is authored from the original MGM issue negative. Leo the lion roars a greating to you to let you know that Europeans are about to see a fine transfer. In the U.S., our DVD only has the soundtrack of the roars over the grainy re-issue titles.

Problem 4) BUSY BODIES, while it does have the nice original MGM titles, is grainier than the European restored release.

On a slightly positive note, ANOTHER FINE MESS did not undergo restoration in Europe, so their version looks as grainy as ours. It does have the original title section with the two girls reciting the credits.

There is a fair documetary that used grainy clips from other shorts not on this collection (giving us a preview of how bad the future DVDs might be) and some nice stills showing you some locations as they look today.

Hopefully Artisan & Hallmark will re-master this DVD so that those without access to the European DVDs can enjoy these five classic movies the way they were meant to be seen: sharp without artifacting, on two discs.

Comment Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

154 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars When you care to send the very best....., September 19, 2003

By	Laughing Gravy (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This 2-disc set should've been a slam dunk. Some of the best-loved comedies of all time, the greatest comedy duo in the history of movies, and new digital technology to make it all seem like new. In Germany, two dozen DVDs of Laurel & Hardy sound and silent masterpieces have been restored, remastered, and released to great success. Hallmark (current owners of the Hal Roach films) had no interest in releasing them stateside, but apparently the entreaties of classic comedy lovers made them cough up this release. So what did we get? Barely adequate transfers from 20-year-old video (not digital) masters. Inserted "fade outs" where the extra commercials went for TV showings. Re-release credits instead of the often brilliant original opening credits. In short, Hallmark/Artisan used the least amount of effort, time and expense possible to release these films to the home market. This release should rival the much-talked-about Charlie Chaplin reissue of a couple of months ago, instead it was tossed onto the market with no care or thought. Shame on them.

So, L&H fans are faced with a dilemma: purchase the disc and hope Hallmark does better next time, or ignore it and get an all-region player to buy the German discs. My advice? Shop at amazon.de.

Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed. Purists will hate the feature but the shorts are fine, August 25, 2003

By	Scott MacGillivray (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

Artisan presents its first Laurel & Hardy DVD, containing vintage material produced in the 1930s by Hal Roach. Laurel & Hardy fans have been waiting for this release, and this writer's reaction is mixed.

"Sons of the Desert" is a genuine comedy classic, with Stan and Ollie sneaking off to a lodge convention without telling their wives. But beware the DVD's claim of "digitally remastered" -- this version was broadcast on TV's "Laurel & Hardy Show" in pre-digital 1986. The film is incomplete, with edited scenes (the "wax fruit" and "convention" are shortened), overdubbed background music, and frequent fade-outs for commercial breaks. The editing is good, so casual fans and general audiences will enjoy the feature, but dyed-in-the-wool Laurel & Hardy admirers will resent all the tampering.

The DVD's featurettes and short subjects have better picture quality, and appear to be taken from excellent 35mm and 16mm prints. "Another Fine Mess" (vagrants Stan and Ollie pose as butler and householder to escape the police) is the 1990s restoration that aired on the AMC cable network; it has the original Hal Roach titles and is superior to older video and TV editions. "The Music Box" (the team's Oscar-winner where the boys move a piano up a long flight of steps) and "Busy Bodies" (Stan and Ollie in a carpentry shop) are also fine presentations. "County Hospital" (visitor Stan ruins patient Ollie's hospital stay) is taken from a 1940s "Film Classics" reissue print but the quality is equally good.

This writer noticed a very occasional light scratch or stray debris in the image, but the flaws are minor and should not detract from your enjoyment unless you are a perfectionist. The menus and bonus features use some clever optical effects.

Too bad Artisan hadn't consulted a better print of "Sons of the Desert," or paid more attention to the transfer, but it's great to have this choice material on DVD at all. Here's hoping Artisan will continue its Laurel & Hardy series.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 89 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars GET REGION 2!!!!!
There's no need to rehash the problems associated with this Hallmark disc, I agree with all of them. Read more

Published 2 months ago by larryj1

5.0 out of 5 stars I received a bootleg copy with washed-out faces.
Movie is 5-stars.
I believe I received a bootleg, pirated, copy of the Lions-Gate / Hallmark version, because the faces were washed-out, which is caused by making a copy,... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Reliable Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Funny
We have alot of laughs watching these old films. They are SO Studip you have to laugh.

Published 17 months ago by J. Robinson

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great but good L&H set
Despite a lot of customer reviews that say this L&H set is not technically strong, I found this to be a worthwhile purchase. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Donald Edwards

5.0 out of 5 stars classic comedy
My mom used to bring home these laurel & hardy movies from work when we were kids....
we would make popcorn over the fireplace and laugh til we choked.... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Tamara L. Bohringer

5.0 out of 5 stars oldies but goodies
I grew up watching Laurel and Hardy, and know I watch them with my 6 yr old grandson, who thinks they are so funny. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Nicky Nays

2.0 out of 5 stars Laurel and Hardy are funny...when you can watch them...
The clips are great in this DVD, but unfortunately this DVD had some serious glitches - maybe a knock-off? Read more

Published on October 27, 2007 by Andrew Jonathan Eremic

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect
The two "Laurel & Hardy" DVD sets make a perfect pair, & give you the best of their films. A must for anyone who has always enjoyed L&H, & for the probably too many people who... Read more

Published on September 21, 2007 by Richard Siegel

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
A classic fun show to watch!Laurel & Hardy (Sons of the Desert/The Music Box/Another Fine Mess/Busy Bodies/County Hospital)

Published on July 4, 2007 by Dennis P. Gentile

5.0 out of 5 stars Laurel & Hardy
Being an avid fan of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy down through the years, I really appreciated the Digitally Remastered versions of "Sons Of The Desert", "The Music Box", "Another... Read more

Published on May 14, 2007 by C. Armstrong

› See all 89 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
These prices are insane!	0	February 2009

› See all discussions...

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
classic movie CLASSIC MOVIE CHATLINE (A place for casual conversation)	6937	29 seconds ago
classic movie SATURDAY POLL: Our week's movie viewing (What did you see, what did you like?)	1805	1 minute ago
classic movie ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Screening Films from Hollywood's Golden Age	5022	2 minutes ago
classic movie Director cameos	79	52 minutes ago
classic movie the restaurant at the end of the universe	2498	5 hours ago
comedy Have You Written A Funny Book - Come Tell Us About It	37	6 hours ago
classic movie Clumsy DVD box claims Wizard of Oz actor/title character, Frank Morgan, was on TV's Mash!READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	1248	7 hours ago
comedy Can you come up with a Porno title?	151	12 hours ago