The Flying Deuces (Restored Edition)
by A. Edward Sutherland
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Middleton, Jean Parker, Oliver Hardy, Reginald Gardiner, Stan LaurelDirector: A. Edward Sutherland
Brand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 65 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 3662
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- FLYING DEUCES, THE (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of The Flying Deuces (Restored Edition)
Movie Review: One of their best non-Roach films
Summary: 5 Stars
While everyone seems to agree that L&H did their greatest most representative work for Hal Roach Studios, there are some films here and there from other studios which are just as strong, great, and funny. This is one of them, and in spite of a mixed reputation among fans, is often cited as the best non-Roach film, period. The plot starts out simply enough; Stan and Ollie are vacationing in France, about to return to the United States, but Ollie is in love with Georgette. He is heartbroken when he finds out she loves another man (later he finds out she's actually married, and to his Foreign Legion commanding officer no less), and decides to bump himself off. Naturally he makes Stan commit suicide too, but after a number of typical false starts, they're finally saved when Georgette's husband comes by (he overheard them arguing) and recommends joining the Foreign Legion as a surefire way of forgetting all about women. The boys take him up on his advice, but after causing a lot of trouble and a quick discovery that they're just not cut out for the service, they pack up their things and leave. Their superiors are furious to discover the note they left, and have them arrested when they finally catch up to them. When they tunnel their way out, there's an avalanche and they're forced to start digging up instead, right into the wine cellar in Georgette's house. More comedic mayhem ensues as they start running away again, and they end up in a plane they can't even fly properly, culminating in one of their strangest endings ever.
Also included are a bunch of interesting rarities--two short silent newsreels showcasing their 1932 visit to Edinburgh, Scotland and Tynemouth, England, a brief 1943 PSA short narrated by Pete Smith, 'Tree in a Test Tube' (their only appearance in color besides the short surviving fragment of the 1930 feature 'The Rogue Song'), a gallery of posters, stills, and PR materials, an introduction by Serge Bromberg (director and co-founder of Lobster Films), a star-studded (but not very good) 1931 short they made a brief cameo in, 'The Stolen Jools' (just about everyone under contract to MGM at the time makes an appearance here, along with some guest stars from other studios!), and their 1954 appearance on 'This Is Your Life.' It's well-known in the fan community that they weren't really pleased about appearing on the program, and it really shows in how quiet they are and how ill at ease and embarrassed they look. Stan in particular wasn't happy about being surprised like this, since he always liked to have material prepared before giving a performance. Additionally, most of the guests who came on didn't really have much of a connection to them; it was nice to see people like Ollie's first sweetheart, the woman who was in his performance troupe when he was living in Florida, and director Leo McCarey, but most of them didn't have a big connection to them like, say, Charley Hall, Billy Gilbert, Hal Roach, Sr., Anita Garvin, or Tiny Sanford, all people who were still alive at the time. It could have been a great loving tribute to them, but instead falls really flat.
Although fan reaction to 'The Flying Deuces' is mixed, I really like it, though perhaps wouldn't rate it quite as high as a feature like 'A Chump at Oxford' or 'Pack Up Your Troubles.' And even though they weren't at Hal Roach for this picture, their longtime foil Jimmy Finlayson also appears here, and he's as great and funny as always. Unlike most of their other non-Roach films, here they still have control over their characters, aren't relegated to lesser roles, and had a great script. As for picture quality, I'm reviewing the Kino release, which has very good image quality. It's too bad the reviews for all of the releases of this are being mixed together. I didn't see anything wrong with the prints, certainly not enough to give this a lower rating. Whatever happened to the days when fans didn't throw a fit just because something didn't always have crystal-clear picture-perfect image quality? It seems as though the invention of the DVD has really raised people's expectations, and now we hear complaints about less than 100% perfect or remastered images when such prints would have been considered just fine instead of horrid or unwatchable in the era of the VHS.
Summary of The Flying Deuces (Restored Edition)
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