Laurel and Hardy play two hapless would-be bandits who team up as servants of the notorious Fra Diavlo (Dennis King), whose career is schmoozing with the upper class with intentions to rob them blind. But the kindly Stan and Ollie decide to foil his plans and try to capture him and perhaps reap a handsome reward. When the comedy duo are on screen, they deliver amusement and don't disappoint their fans. But how much one will enjoy this musical/comedy depends on their tolerance for Operettas of this time. In my case, they make me want to stab myself with a kitchen knife, and I have never liked when Laurel and Hardy's comical antics are put on hold so we can suffer through more singing, courtesy of Mr. King as he tries to woo Thelma Todd. When Stan and Ollie themselves are not center stage, the film becomes a burden, with cringe-inducing crooning so awful that it makes the songs in Abbott and Costello's 1940s films sound like catchy Rock 'N Roll. **1/2 out of ****

Two of the funniest scenes in a movie. One where Laurel keeps drinking all the wine he's supposed to be putting in a vat. Soon he's sloshed and starts making a smack noise with his mouth, that gets funnier every time he does it. Soon after, they're both sitting at a table in a restaurant and Laurel can't stop laughing. Ollie tries to make him stop but he is quickly consumed by laughter as well and they are ramping up the laughter with every past moment they reminisce. You can't help yourself from laughing and I was laughing hard.Everything else about this movie is damn good too. The support acting is ahead of it's time and the music is well placed, novel and catchy. And the main female lead is very easy to look at. Check it out, won't we?

I confess that I am hardly an afficionado of Laurel and Hardy, having seen very little of their work, but from what little I had seen of them, I somehow expected this movie to be funnier than it was. Instead, it was a reasonably well thought out story about a thief in 18th century Italy who is trying to steal the money of a wealthy count, and who enlists the help of Stan and Ollie, much to his chagrin in the end.There's not as much of the slapstick as I would have expected in a Laurel and Hardy movie, which to me was a disappointment. It's what I would want to see when I watch "the boys." There are some mildly amusing moments (Stan's games of "kneesy, earsy, nosey" and "fingers wiggling" come to mind - and they're very difficult to do!) and Stan puts on a good acting job when it comes to being drunk, but somehow it just didn't work for me. It isn't bad. It has some good supporting performances from Dennis King as Diavolo and Thelma Todd as lady Pamela. It's a pleasant diversion and it will give you a few chuckles. It just isn't what I had hoped it might be.4/10

Two hapless misfits find themselves working for Fra Diavolo (THE DEVIL'S BROTHER), the notorious singing bandit of the early 18th century.Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy are at the top of their form - high praise indeed - in this lavish, but rather obscure, rendition of Daniel-François Auber's popular operetta. Laurel's frightened squeak & Ollie's pout of wounded dignity are on display, as is the easy camaraderie and genuine affection of these two gentle souls. Here they are simply allowed to do what they did best: amuse. One hilarious sequence follows another: Stan attempting to hang Ollie (really!); their slapstick endeavor to capture the bandit; the Boys helpless in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Director Hal Roach understood their comedic style better than anyone, and he lets them make the most of their time before the cameras. Their every moment captured on film is precious; each minute they are missing so that subplots may develop is decried as an intolerable waste.In the title role, British opera star Dennis King monopolizes much of the screen time. A good deal of his vocalizing is unintelligible, but he plays the charming rogue well. However, it is important to notice that despite his charm, he is one of the most dangerous villains the Boys encounter in any of their films. Beneath the thin veneer of civility, he is little more than a murderous, thieving rapscallion. He has nothing but his handsome face & dulcet tones to separate him from a Karloff or a Lugosi.Peppery James Finlayson & lovely, tragic Thelma Todd play silly, vain aristocrats who have more jewels than common sense. Both of these wonderful performers were always welcome in roles large or small - his bristling mustache and popping eyes & her classic beauty so often the focal point of great humor. But here they have very little contact with the Boys and so much of their comedic talent is rather dissipated in mildly adulterous scenes with the Bandit Chief. Pity...There is a subplot involving the Innkeeper's daughter and her forbidden love of a young military officer, but fortunately it is not allowed to intrude too much. Henry Armetta as the Innkeeper, however, is given some very funny moments as he tries without success to duplicate Stan's intricate hand games.