THE FLYING DEUCES

The Laurel & Hardy film with the most covers on video cassette

Perhaps the most prolific video release of all of Laurel and Hardy's films was the 1939 classic THE FLYING DEUCES. By now, any fan of The Boys is familiar with the story of a smitten Ollie proposing to the beautiful French waitress Georgette (played by Jean Parker). When Ollie finds out that Georgette has someone else, he decides on suicide, and of course insists that Stan accompany him. As they attempt to commit the deed they meet an officer from the French Foreign Legion (Reginald Gardner) who convinces Stan and Ollie that a better alternative would be to join the legion and "forget". Once enlisted, the Boys quickly discover that this life isn't all it's cracked up to be, when they learn from the commandant (Charles Middleton) that they will be serving for 3 cents a day. The rest is, as they say, history as some of the team's most classic comedy ensues. One of the oustanding moments of the film is Babe's crooning "Shine On, Harvest Moon." Even the familiar face of James Finlayson appears as a Jailer.

Since the film's initial release on video cassette in the early eighties, it has been brought out by many different distributers with over three dozen different cover designs. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's final film UTOPIA, also known as ATOLL K, would run a close second in this catagory of the most video cover designs, however the top honor is definitely won by THE FLYING DEUCES. Above and below are just a few examples of some of the various covers released over the years.