Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Why do apes and monkeys bring out the worst in us when it comes to puns. I couldn't resist that tired title. I have to agree that when a gorilla was used in movies of the thirties and forties, they were men in shaggy suits with a glistening rubber (or plastic) chest. We can still buy or rent them for Halloween or costume parties. So, I have to admit, unfair as it may be, that when I see such a character, I can't take it seriously, like other real animals. In this one, our guys are part of a failed circus. When things fall apart, they are paid off with pieces of the big top, including the animals. Olllie gets a gorilla, the aforementioned Ethyl, and Stan gets the flea circus. Well, they need to stay someplace, so they end up at a motel where the gorilla is not allowed in. Also, a lion named MGM is on the loose. It turns out that the gorilla is smarter than the boys, with many a parry and thrust of mental acuity. It's all craziness, including the gorilla wearing a tutu and being mistaken for the landlord's wife.

I love Laurel and Hardy movies, so keep this in mind before you read this mediocre review. Don't just assume I can't stand their movies! Stan and Ollie are stuck with taking care of a guy in a cheap ape costume--though in the movie, the ape is SUPPOSED to be real. Okay. Well, to me it just looks like a guy in a cheap ape costume and I HATE when movies put people in crappy ape costumes. It never looks real and the plots, as in this film, are really corny and impossible to believe. In this case, it's a female ape (it really does NOT look like an orangutan, chimp OR gorilla) and it is in love with Stanley. Not only is this extremely contrived, but it's really nasty as well.The final verdict--stick with Laurel and Hardy, not "Laurel and Hardy and guy in crappy ape costume".

A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short. In lieu of salaries, a bankrupt circus gives its property away to its workers. Stan gets the flea circus - Ollie is given Ethel, THE CHIMP. The big simian takes an immediate dislike to Ollie, but becomes very fond of Stan. Deciding to sell Ethel to the zoo, the Boys look for a hotel to spend the night. Trying to do so with a great, hairy beast in tow is hard enough; an escaped lion and a volatile landlord only ensure that getting a good night's sleep will be almost impossible.A very funny little film, with genuine belly laughs. Watching Stan dance with Ethel is priceless. That's James Finlayson as the circus Ringmaster; Billy Gilbert plays the dyspeptic landlord.

The boys find themselves inheriting a chimp named Ethel in this classic comedy short that features a wonderful dance sequence with the chimp Ethel, wearing a tutu.