Bonnie Scotland

source: Bonnie Scotland

Laurel & Hardy show up in Scotland, where Stan thinks he's going to inherit; then it's off to India for some Northwest Frontier action. There's also June Lang and William Janney involved in a romantic subplot. Fortunately, that doesn't take up much time. It looks like a couple of the Boys' short subjects with enough of a plot to bring this up to a sprightly 80 minutes. Fine comic sequences are interspersed with the story to keep up my interest, and there's one of their lovely dance sequences. under the direction of James Horne, it's one of those movies that's so typical of them that it doesn't stand out in their corpus of work, and yet so enjoyable that I can look at it again and again.

"Bonnie Scotland" is well worth seeing for Laurel and Hardy as their scenes steal the film. The scenes involving the rather boring love subplot, weaken the film but that is certainly no fault of Stan and Ollie. I suppose the idea was to help sustain the comedy by having Laurel and Hardy exit the film for minutes at a time, then bring them back for more hilarity. In theory, there is nothing wrong with doing that. However, the subplot in "Bonnie Scotland" could have been better. Stan and Ollie travel all the way to Scotland for the reading of a will after they hear one of Stan's relatives has just deceased. When that doesn't go according to plan, they unwittingly become conscripted into the Foreign Legion. Upon which, all manner of mayhem occurs! I love the dance sequence when our hapless heroes are reduced to clearing up the litter. I think it is both creative as well as being funny. I was delighted to see regular comic foil, James Finlayson make an appearance as Stan and Ollie's drill sergeant! "Bonnie Scotland" wasn't made at the "Hal Roach" studios. Instead, the film was made at "M.G.M" as they had the distribution rights. The production values are rather better than usual but the comedy is still great. Stan and Ollie are on top form and the climax is a delight.

American petty crooks Ollie Hardy (Oliver Hardy) and Stanley MacLaurel (Stan Laurel) arrive in Scotland where Stanley expects to inherit his grandfather's fortune. Instead, most of it has been left to his cousin Lorna MacLaurel and held in trust until she reaches age 21. She is sent to live with Colonel Gregor McGregor in India who is to administer the trust. Due to a series of accidents, the comedy duo gets kicked out of the inn and mistakenly signs up for the British Army in India. Despite their iconic status, I rarely see Laurel and Hardy's movies. I mostly know their catch-phrase "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." in their repertoire. I like their physical humor but the banter is a little slow. Maybe it gets sharper as movies develop over time. They've been a duo for almost a decade starting from the silent era. It's interesting to finally watch one of this iconic pair's movies.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were comedic geniuses, individually and together, and their partnership was deservedly iconic and one of the best there was. They left behind a large body of work, a vast majority of it being entertaining to classic comedy, at their best they were hilarious and their best efforts were great examples of how to do comedy without being juvenile or distasteful. A vast majority of their output at this point was solid to classic (as said several times in previous reviews the only one really to not do much for me was '45 Minutes from Hollywood' which was right at the beginning pretty much), much of their early stuff was very interesting and fun to watch but it was around 1928 or so when the boys as a duo had found their mojo and had fully settled. While it is still worthwhile and a fun enough watch, 'Bonnie Scotland' to me was on the uneven side and a bit disappointing. Do consider it one of the weaker feature-length outings and that is not meant in a bad way necessarily. 'Bonnie Scotland's' story is pretty thin while also trying to do too much that it becomes messy and silly. It did feel like a short film at times stretched to feature length with some elements and scenes coming off better and being more necessary than others. The romantic subplot did nothing for me, it added very little, came over as bland, predictable and forced, it is a worry when it is a subplot that feels like extraneous padding yet features too much. Excepting a very amusing James Finlayson, who should have had more to do, the supporting cast don't have an awful lot of spark, especially when compared to the usual for a Laurel and Hardy outing, and for a Laurel and Hardy film 'Bonnie Scotland' is not one of their most visually appealing with the cheap and unauthentic scenery. However, Laurel and Hardy are absolutely spot on, their performances individually cannot be faulted and neither can their ever impeccable and deservedly iconic chemistry. Finlayson as said registers well in support. Laurel and Hardy's scenes are an absolute delight, with some great sly verbal wit and beautifully timed and not goofy slapstick, and it's with them where 'Bonnie Scotland' comes alive. The standout scenes for me were with the hotel room, talking about the mirage and the ending, all hilarious. It is more than competently directed and the photography is nicely done despite the scenery. In summary, worthwhile but uneven. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I don't understand why this has a 6.7 overall rating, yes, being a fan, I'm biased, but I'm first to admit that like so many L & H fans, where the lads are good, they're good, as they are here and when they're bad, they're bad. (As their 1940's departure from Hal Roach showed). The boys have escaped from prison in the USA and stow away on a boat to Scotland, as Stan's Scottish Grandfather has died and left him 'something' in the will. Unfortunately, it turns out to be just a set of bagpipes and some snuff! The bulk of the fortune goes to the relative's granddaughter, Lorna McLaurel of whom there's a tentative link with in the film other than blood (As Stan's association was of course a more delinquent relative). A lot more to this, but we'll get to the boys, whom always have some sub-plot in the films. Stranded now in Scotland and broke, they inadvertedly enter the army (as they would) and get posted to India. (Along with Lorna's love interest, lawyer's clerk, Alan - who thinks he's been shunned by Lorna but finds out he hasn't - enough of them!). Naturally the boys are inept, Stan missing step when marching, causing the whole regiment to be 'out-of-pace'. Good support from Jimmy Finlayson, (who I may add, apart from maybe lesser-known Scottish actors, is the only major Scot genuinely in it). Being India, there's going to be natives attacking the fort (original) and the boys inadvertedly thwarting them perhaps in some ways like Beau Hunks (Or Beau Chumps, depending which part of the English-speaking world you're in). All in all, rompy, fun, good gags (When Stan sees the McLaurel family Butler: 'Nice fella, he sure can 'buttle'!')And, of course, the 'absurd' visual gags that only they can do and have you in stitches with - Ollie taking the snuff, sneezing, falling in a river and having sneezed all the river dry! Don't miss this one!

Just rewatched this Laurel & Hardy feature on DVD. It has Stan & Ollie going to Scotland to claim an inheritance for Stan but it's not what they think. I'll stop there and just say that while the boys have plenty of funny scenes, the sequences involving the juvenile leads of William Janney and June Lang are for the birds and rarely involve the comedy team, in fact, Ms. Lang has no scenes with them and never even met them! No wonder Ms. Lang and Janney have no final romantic clinch here. Enough about them and let's just also note the welcome support turns by Daphne Pollard and especially James Finlayson, always a welcome sight in these L & H pictures. So on that note, Bonnie Scotland is still a worthy movie for fans of the boys. P.S. I'd also recommend the commentary track provided by Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann that accompanies this DVD especially when they talk about the guy who provided the special effects here, Roy Seawright.

The boys travel to Scotland because Stanley has been named in the will of a rich relative. When they get there, they find they have inherited a set of bagpipes and a snuff box. Now they are broke and forced to find a way to survive. After a hilarious scene in their hotel room, as they try to cook a fish, they are cast into the street. They mistakenly volunteer for the British army and are sent to India. The British imperialists are running the country. We are treated to racism, as the self-centered Scots are running the country. There are series of fun scenes, particularly those involving Jimmy Finlayson. There is also a hilarious scene where the other soldiers explain what a mirage is. The down side of the story has to do with a silly romance between a young heiress and her simple boyfriend. Not a bad offering for our guys.

Similar to the way Hollywood spoils almost all comedy films in 2006, the lesson ought to be that spending money isn't what laughs are all about. BONNIE Scotland begins in Scotland but takes a swift plot turn and has the boys soon enough in the Scottish Army in India. Both Scotland and India are no doubt either sunny southern California or inside the Hal Roach studio; but both locations are convincing. All this calls for a pretty big cast for a Laurel & Hardy movie and I'll bet this one cost maybe triple their usual budget. Big problem though: They forgot to include much humor anywhere in the 80 minute running time. Here's the point: Their later film WAY OUT WEST I score a 10, not a 5. That film was entertaining for the whole movie, tenaciously funny; yet the entire action takes place (first) on a trail somewhere out of town (second) in front of a saloon (third) inside the saloon (fourth) outside the stable; a very limited scope yet the film is a comic masterpiece. Money CAN buy you love, but it can't buy laughs.

Stan and Ollie travel all the way to Bonnie Scotland to collect on an inheritance left by Stan MacLaurel's late grandfather. Both he and his cousin June Lang are provided, but she's not of age and she's under the firm guardianship of Colonel Vernon Steele and his scheming Mrs., Anne Grey. William Janney, the clerk in lawyer David Torrence's office is in love with June Lang, but she's spirited off to India during the British Raj. Never mind, Stan and Ollie and poor young Janney also find their way there as the scene of the plot shifts from Bonnie Scotland to India with the Highlanders. It's all a pretty thin plot, but good enough to hang some of Stan and Ollie's best screen moments on. One of my all time favorites is when Ollie has an encounter with a snuff box which was half of Laurel's inheritance the other half being a set of bagpipes. Another is when Stan and Ollie try to use the bedsprings in their hotel to grill some fish and nearly burn poor Mary Gordon's establishment down. After the boys go into the Indian Army they become the bane of the existence of their old nemesis, Sergeant James Finlayson. In the end Janney, Finlayson, and the boys provide a hilarious ending to a tribal rebellion. Films like Lives of a Bengal Lancer and Charge of the Light Brigade about the British Raj take one good beating from producer Hal Roach and his intrepid and incomparable stars. For fans of Stan and Ollie the world over.