This was part of a 3-DVD box-set, and it came with the Laurel and Hardy shorts Mud & Sand, Just Ramblin' Along, Oranges and Lemons, and the Three Stooges ones Brideless Groom and Sing a Song of Six Pants; it also came with another feature, Flying Deuces. The disc this was on came with The Tree in a Test Tube & Malice in the Palace. I haven't watched an awful lot of the duo, and other than the aforementioned ones, it has been years since I did. Not sure why this has such a low rating; it is genuinely funny and clever at its best(honestly, few of the light, goofy and, at times, cartoon-style slapstick gags fall flat), and it seldom, if ever, drags, for the 82 minute running time. It makes fun of politeness, taxes, and other everyday subjects, in spite of the unusual plot of a deceased eccentric uncle(always popular) leaving them an island. Inbetween clumsiness, knocking stuff over, falling, and other natural occurrences that are not presented as if they hurt, weepy Laurel(who looks so old and worn here) and dominating Hardy also explore social issues and government. Is that a good thing? Well, a lot of the way, the treatment of it is great. I don't think they quite keep up the quality all the way, though. Near the end(when this gets "big", with "action", as expected), this gets somewhat unrealistic, employs a sort of deus ex machina, and the conclusion has darkness to it. The FX are decent. Editing and cinematography are fine. A nice amount of laughs, and not boring. I recommend this to big fans of the two. 6/10

The movie is not halve as bad as people want to make you believe it is.What is the reason why so many people hate this movie? Is it because it's Laurel & Hardy's last one together and it's not their best? Or is it because of the lack of Laurel & Hardy regulars? Or because it's not made by the Hal Roach studios or 20th Century Fox? Definitely true that this movie is not a successful attempt to revive Laurel & Hardy and bring them to the '50's. It's also definitely true that the movie is far from their best but honestly, the movie still entertains well, making this movie also far from their worst. Not the most worthy 'goodbye' movie imaginable but an entertaining and suiting goodbye nevertheless. Both of them retired from movies after completing this one.The movie still features some great slapstick moments and the chemistry between Laurel & Hardy is obviously still very much present. It also makes this movie better than most of their movies together from the '40's. Quite a surprise that the slapstick humor still works out as great as it does, considering that the days of slapstick comedy had been over, ever since the '30's.The story is perhaps not as entertaining as it could had been and it features too many sidekicks and characters, with as a result that the movie looses its focus on the boys at times. A shame, because they are still the ones that really carry and make the movie.Sad to see in what poor form Stan Laurel was at the time of making this movie. He really looked ill and old, which he also of course was. He was well over 60 years old already. But after a surgery he fully recovered and still lived for another 15 years, before dying in 1965, 8 years after his good friend Oliver Hardy.An entertaining, though not perfect goodbye to the boys, Laurel & Hardy and the end of 3 decades of fun, humorous, quality slapstick entertainment of movies that are still being watched and loved by people all over the world.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

"Atoll K" aka "Utopia" is one of Hollywood's saddest swan songs. Filmed in France in 1950 and released the following year after a five-year layoff, Laurel & Hardy are in bad shape physically. However, they aren't in nearly as bad a shape as the script.This movie is one of the un-funniest "comedies" I've seen & that's a real shame.It's painful to see this legendary team, the funniest duo in the history of motion pictures, the twosome that made "The Devil's Brother"(1933), "The Music Box," (1932),"Pack Up Your Troubles" (also 1932), "Babes In Toyland" (1934), "Bonnie Scotland" (1935), "Flying Deuces" (1939) and so many more gut-wrenching, laugh-til-you-choke classic comedies, in a film such as this.Fighters and ballplayers do it all the time: they stay in the game one season or one fight too many. In this case, while it's morbidly fascinating to see Laurel & Hardy at this late stage in their legendary careers, they, too, stuck around for just one too many.

I love Laurel & Hardy. God knows how many times they pulled me out of a depression or an illness and I will always love them. You might imagine how painful it is to see an obviously ill Stan Laurel and a grossly overweight Ollie struggle through this last of their movies. The plot is silly, but possible, in earlier days it might have been funnier. All through the movie I kept fixating on Stan who really looked sick, and how Ollie had aged and blown up and wondered why these two national treasures were persuaded to make this movie. If you are a rabid L&H fan, see it, but it will depress you.