An excellent documentary about The Sons of the Desert. Sandy Marshall attended the 1986 S.O.D. convention in Philadelphia (actually Valley Forge, PA) and created this film. I was fortunate enough to be the registrar for the convention, since I was a bored member (that's right!) of the Two Tars Tent (Philadelphia chapter) of the Sons at the time. You can see me in the film in several shots, including giving a toast to Mae Bush and Charlie Hall at one of the banquets.
There are stars galore in the film, including Lois Laurel (Stan's daughter), Rosina Lawrence, Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl), Dorothy DeBorba (Our Gang's Little Echo), The Nighthawks Orchestra, and many others.
The film captures the half-assed dignity of the Sons conventions, right down to the cocktails. I was pleased to see that it was finally released on DVD, included in the Laurel and Hardy Collection, Vol. 1, along with three movies; Great Guns, Jitterbugs, and The Big Noise. They are not the best movies from the boys, but I guess it is just another purple moment, not teaming their best film, Sons of the Desert, with a documentary ABOUT The Sons of the Desert! Buy the collection and then buy another collection including Sons of the Desert. You can't have too many L&H films!
