Our great thanks to the idiots at Fox HomeVideo for providing no information on this product.

Essentially, there are no extras -apart from 2 trailers- to be had on this UK release. Thanks Fox! I trust this is the same condition as the second volume of these later films.

Picture quality is ok. Though I do tire of these regional omissions- all in all quite sloppy.

These are not our Stan and Olie at their best- but worth a look if the price is cheap enough.

Fox has released all six of its Laurel & Hardy features on DVD, in two three-disc sets. This is the first collection of three: GREAT GUNS (1941), JITTERBUGS (1943), and THE BIG NOISE (1944). These are among the team's later works, and Laurel & Hardy collectors and completists should welcome this boxed set.

GREAT GUNS is Fox's topical answer to Abbott & Costello's hit "Buck Privates," with awkward rookies Stan and Ollie in the army. The script is rather weak, but there are some choice moments (you'll howl when Laurel hides a live crow down Hardy's trousers during inspection). Watch for Alan Ladd in a bit part.

JITTERBUGS is an engaging comedy with music, with Stan and Ollie as zoot-suited bandleaders who get mixed up with swindlers, and who right the wrong by adopting disguises for a sting operation. Vivian Blaine sings three songs, radio actor Bob Bailey is fine as the stingmaster, and Stan and Ollie are in good form (and fun to watch when they're in disguise). This is the glossiest Laurel & Hardy movie from this period, with a notable supporting cast.

THE BIG NOISE is a matter of taste. Some viewers regard it as merely a humdrum rehash of old routines, while others enjoy it as a virtual textbook of tried-and-true Laurel & Hardy material. Either way, it's loaded with vintage gags. Stan and Ollie are janitors-turned-detectives, who safeguard a gadget-crazy inventor and his new high explosive. Watch for young Robert Blake as a mischievous brat. First-time viewers should enjoy it; if you know Laurel & Hardy you'll certainly recognize the jokes: an upper-berth scene with drunken Jack Norton is a highlight.

The American release includes bonus material, and hopefully the European release is identical. On the American DVDs there are vintage coming-attractions trailers, audio commentaries by author Randy Skretvedt, and REVENGE OF THE SONS OF THE DESERT, Alexander Marshall's award-winning featurette about the international Laurel & Hardy society (founded by L & H biographer John McCabe).

All three films derive from Fox's 35mm vault materials; THE BIG NOISE looks especially good. Laurel & Hardy admirers should enjoy having these.