I've always been a fan of Laurel & Hardy but there are a small number of movies that end in some form of physical distortion or other calamity. I've always found these endings disturbing and this movie is an example. I enjoy this movie up to the point where Ollie falls into the vat with the formula and comes out as a chimp. Forgive me but this ending always disturbs me. I know some will defend it as slapstick or physical comedy but its hard to watch the ending to this movie.
shareThe freak ending I always found disturbing is the finale of The Bohemian Girl. That's the one that concludes with Stan and Ollie being tortured: Stan is stretched on the rack, while Ollie is squashed in an Iron Maiden-type device. And in the final shot, we see the results. For me, that's about as funny as the ending of Tod Browning's Freaks.
Somehow, the ending of Dirty Work never bothered me. It always struck me as funny. It's too outlandish and cartoon-y to take seriously, for me anyway. I always got a kick out of seeing the monkey hop out of the tank, and then deliver his closing line, whereas the ending of The Bohemian Girl is painful and nightmarish.