The Final Film of Laurel and Hardy

<p> The remarkable story behind the planning development and marketing of Laurel and Hardy's ill-received final film <I>Atoll K</I> has been little explored. Details on the script development cast crew locations and even basic information on running times and release dates have been sketchy at best since the film's 1951 release.</p><p> This work reconstructs the circumstances surrounding this unusual international co-production (<I>Atoll K</I> was a French-Italian film with English-speaking stars). Through lost documents detailing the film's production and funding previously unreleased behind-the-scenes photos and a rare interview with French movie star Suzy Delair the author explores the continuous changes to the film's script during its chaotic production and the final marketing of the film's many different versions (<I>Atoll K</I> was also released as <I>Robinson Crusoeland</I> in the United Kingdom and as <I>Utopia</I> in the United States). Several appendices detail alternative sequences and cut scenes in various versions of the film and include French box-office reports from 1951 to 1952 as well as a complete filmography.</p>