UCLA FESTIVAL OF PRESERVATION TOUR

Sons of the Desert + Berth Marks at The Cinematheque

Sons of the Desert

NEW, RESTORED 35mm PRINT! “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” Laurel and Hardy’s fourth feature-length comedy is one of their finest and funniest films. The pair play henpecked husbands who devise an elaborate ruse to deceive their disapproving wives and sneak off to Chicago for the annual convention of their fraternal lodge, the eponymous (and ridiculous) Sons of the Desert. Hilarity and disaster ensue, of course. Celebrated silent comic Charley Chase co-stars as an obnoxious conventioneer. The movie was a major box-office hit. In 2012, it was named to the U.S. Library of Congress’s registry of culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films. Preservation funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation.

Run Time: 65 Minutes

— preceded by —

Berth Marks

NEW, RESTORED 35mm PRINT! In their second-ever talkie, Laurel and Hardy wreak havoc during an overnight train journey. Paulette Goddard appears. UCLA’s restoration returns the short to its original, integral 1929 version, unavailable since the film was remixed for (and marred by) a 1936 reissue. Preservation funded by The Packard Humanities Institute.

Run Time: 19 Minutes