The main feature here is nowhere near L&H at their best; it sees them in a period of transition, looking for a wider appeal via pointless musical numbers, pointless romance and pointless interaction with animals. `I've seen the seven wonders of the world and yet / I can't get over the Alps!' They don't write `em like that any more. The boys' personae and routines are becoming more childish, leaving behind the bleak realistic world of their Depression films.
Nevertheless I like it, full as it is of endearing oddments like the St Bernard `rescue' scene and Ollie's tuba-accompanied serenade `Let Me Call You Sweetheart' (the chimp & piano set piece, though, is frankly tedious). If you're a fan, you'll enjoy it.

The shorts are nothing wonderful either - in fact `Flying Elephants' is not really a Laurel & Hardy film at all, but a prehistoric oddity filled with seductive flappers in cavegirl costume. At this price, though, you can't really grumble.

Firstly, this is my first review of one of these DVDs. I have quite a few from this 21-disc collection released by Universal in 2004, and I'd like to begin this review by saying that they represent excellent value for money, providing anything between 3 and 9 films on each DVD, along with a well-made booklet detailing various aspects of production of each film.

Swiss Miss, the main feature on this DVD, is the only film I've seen of Laurel & Hardy's to have a noted supporting cast. The composer was in two of the Marx Brother's films as a villain (A Night at the Opera, and Go West, both of which I highly recommend), and the valet to the composer had a similar role in some of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' films.

The film itself is about a composer trying to distance himself from his wife so he can work and the wife's efforts (with help from two unwitting individuals) to try and bring new life to her relationship with her husband, all the while causing the local chef and Ollie to think she is madly in love with them, leading to some comic rivalry! The film, while not having such a strong story as say, Way Out West, does feature some brilliant set-pieces! Stan trying to steal booze from a St Bernard is priceless, and when they try to carry a piano across a rickety old rope-bridge only to be confronted by an escaped ape, the results are hilarious!

The other two films on this disc are along the animal theme developed by the presence of the chimp in Swiss Miss. The first of these two short subjects is simply called The Chimp, and features the same guy in the same suit as in Swiss Miss. This film is along the same theme as that developed in Laughing Gravy and other films, about the boys needing a room for the night and trying to sneak an animal in past their landlord. In this case, the animal is a chimp named Ethel. Comedy comes as the landlord suspects his wife is cheating on him, and his wife also happens to be called Ethel! There are some fantastic visual and verbal jokes in this one too.

The third and final film is another short subject, this time a silent movie, called Flying Elephants. It's set in prehistoric times (unusual, as most of their films are set at the time they were made) with both the men trying to win the heart of the same lady, one by showing he's a better hunter/provider, the other by more caveman-type means. I'll be honest, this one wasn't as good for me as the first two, but it still had its moments.

Overall, this is an excellent collection of films from Laurel & Hardy, and well worth having in your collection if you're just a casual comedy fan or looking to build up your collection of Laurel & Hardy films.