Comedy Double Feature: Sons of the Desert (1933) & Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

SERIES PREMIERE!

Sons of the Desert

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy turn in one of the most memorable performances of their long partnership in Sons of the Desert, which follows the pair as they conspire to attend an annual convention despite Ollie’s wife’s refusal to let him go. After Ollie obtains a doctor’s letter from a veterinarian saying he needs a tropical vacation for his nerves, the friends attend the Sons of the Desert convention in Chicago instead. Their cover is almost blown when one of their new friends turns out to be Ollie’s brother-in-law, but after that narrow escape, they believe they pulled their plan off. They return home, only to find that the cruise that they were supposed to be on rain afoul of a typhoon and they have to spin a tale of survival and “ship-hiking” to return home. They may have once again dodged their wives’ wrath, if only the women hadn’t seen them marching in the convention parade on a newsreel.

Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase

75th ANNIVERSARY!

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man

Adding a comic spin to the Universal Studios classic monster movies, the Abbott and Costello Meet… series is considered among their best work. The Invisible Man is the second in the series and is a reworking of a script of an actual sequel to The Invisible Man to include the duo after the success of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. After getting PI licenses, Bud Alexander (Abbott) and Lou Francis (Costello) are hired by boxer Tommy Nelson (Arthur Franz) to clear his name after being framed for his manager’s murder after not throwing a fight. To evade the police, Nelson injects himself with invisibility serum and attempts to help the boys investigate with varying degrees of success. They pose as a new boxer and manager on the scene to expose the fixed fights and prove Nelson’s innocence, but they are racing against time before their cover is blown and the serum either wears off or drives Nelson mad.

Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild