Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 30, 2010 14:11:22 GMT -5
1934 Ted Healy and the boys ran their contract with MGM up in 1934. While Healy decided to stay on with MGM, his Three Stooges decided it was time to part ways. The reason has been attributed to Healy’s alcoholism and abrasiveness. Healy would go on to considerable success without the trio backing him up. But while Healy would build a career, the trio, now named “The Three Stooges,” would build a legacy with what was yet to come. Immediately afterward, Moe, Larry, and Curly signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. The studio head, Harry Cohn, loved their act and had promised them consistent employment as long as he was in charge. However, while the boys were interested in taking their act to headline feature motion pictures (like fellow comedians Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers), Cohn insisted that their act was better suited for short subjects, with a film cameo on the side. He offered them a good salary of $600 a week and sent them to the short subject department, where they started getting to work on one of the most successful short subject careers in the business. Fugitive Lovers New York dancer Letty Morris (Madge Evans) has been refusing the advances of “Legs” Caffey (Nat Pendleton), a local gangster, and after she is literally drug off the stage by him, she decides to leave town for Hollywood and leave him behind. Legs, however, won’t see her leave so easily and sneaks on the bus and sits beside her.
As the bus travels beside a penitentiary, a shootout occurs. Prisoners are escaping! One of them is Paul Porter (Robert Montgomery), who manages to make it out alive. Further up the road, he halts the bus by blocking the road and steals a suit from the cargo of Withington (Ted Healy), a loudmouthed passenger with zero tact. Hiding in the cargo hold until the next stop, Paul sneaks on the bus and claims his name is Steve Blaine. Letty sits next to him in an attempt to escape Legs, but only succeeds in sending Legs into a jealous rage.
At the next stop, Legs discovers who Paul really is by seeing his prison jumpsuit sticking out of Withington’s luggage. Hearing Withington brag about a suit that matches exactly what Paul is wearing, he puts the clues together and tries to blackmail Paul into leaving the bus. But the cops swarming the area convince Paul he needs to stay on it.
Legs, still trying to get Paul off the bus, tries to work over Withington and attempts to get him to check his luggage. However, before he con, Withington is picked up by a group of buddies and decides to go drinking instead. Upon seeing that Withington has left the bus, and knowing it’s only a matter of time before he finds his suit missing and a prison jumpsuit in its place, Paul flees just before the police arrive to search the bus.
Upon the next stop, Letty finds that she doesn’t have enough money to get to Hollywood. However, getting close to Letty on the bus, Paul knows of her woes and follows her. Paul gives her the cash she needs to continue, however, Legs gets wind of Paul’s presence. Paul, aware of Legs, however calls the police and tells them that Legs is Paul. Upon being taken into custody, Legs prepares to sell out Paul, but upon looking into Letty’s sad eyes, he takes the fall for it.
The bus continues into an overnight stop that is covered in snow. Paul continues to follow Letty and tells her he’s going to make a getaway before he gets caught. Letty comes with him and they steal a bus to make their escape. However, they come across a snow covered bus filled with kids and risk their lives to help them survive. When help arrives, Paul is finally caught.
In prison, Paul is visited by Letty, a detective, and a child they saved, and is presented with a presidential pardon.
Moe, Larry, and Curly play passengers on the bus.
Fugitive Lovers has charming elements, but ultimately fails to live up to its own potential. The film is horribly acted, features some of the most shoddily overdone directing I’ve seen, and can’t seem to get the hang of balancing comedy and drama. Yet, it was fun to watch for about 40 minutes or so. For a while, it was an entertaining character movie about people interacting on a bus trip, one of them holding a dark secret. Movies like this get a lot better, but this movie had its own pep to make it work. After a while, too many absurd twists begin to fill the movie up and it just winds up preposterous. I didn’t believe for a second that Legs would take the fall for Paul, after being a horse’s ass the entire movie (let alone to get arrested and held in custody for God knows how long). And Paul following Letty around like a love sick puppy dog was just him begging to be caught. And the finale with ridiculous challenges for our protagonists piling up on their laps just became tedious. By the end I was wondering just what did Paul do to earn a life sentence in prison. The movie tries to portray him with a good heart, but they just wouldn’t hand a sentence like that out for a parking ticket. Or maybe I’m underestimating the power of Letty’s hypnotic puppy dog eyes, which seem to have the power of men doing her bidding. Maybe the final act of the film was all her doing. Ted Healy and the Stooges are separated, for the most part. They ride the bus in question, but have no interaction with each other. Healy is decent as a loud mouthed passenger that likes to converse with people and the Stooges get a lot of laughs as a musical group named the Three Julians. My favorite gag involves Moe suddenly waking up to a fear that he has lost his voice, so he stands up in a flash and gives a loud musical bellow that effectively wakes everyone up. After a while, the entire group exits the movie and the poor film is left by itself to collapse under its own weight. Our boys exited this bus at the right time. Notes:- Robert Montgomery was the father of Elizabeth Montgomery, who would later go on to international fame playing Samantha Stevens on the sitcom Bewitched. Elizabeth was actually born during the production of Fugitive Lovers. Robert would have his own primetime success, however, as creator and host of Robert Montgomery Presents throughout the 1950’s, spanning over 300 episodes in 8 years.
- Curly is credited as “Jerry Howard.”
Hollywood on Parade Ted Healy, Moe, Larry, Curly, Bonnie Bonnell, Jimmy Durante, Harry Revel, Mack Gordon, Ben Turpin, and others mingle at a night club.Exploitive Hollywood worship pieces hold very little interest for me, and Hollywood on Parade is no different. The film has no other purpose than to make its audience stare at the stars they admire and feel that Hollywood is heaven on Earth. The short tries to be humorous and give a smile, but seems to mistake disjointed nonsense for humor. Jimmy Durante suddenly shouting out “I gotta see a man about a dog!” isn’t funny. Even Healy, Bonnell, and the Stooges struggle to make their single gag work. Unfortunately, they’re only here to walk on the screen, slap each other a few times, and leave. This is probably one of the most pathetic appearances they’ve ever done. Highlight of the short is probably Harry Revel and Mack Gordon on stage singing “Did You Ever Hear a Dream Walking,” which is a soothing way to end the short. Ben Turpin gets a few laughs as a bartender, as well. Still, I have to say I was thankful when this long 5 minutes was over. Notes:- Hollywood on Parade is not a single short, but a series of shorts. The production number given to the short in question is B-9.
- Because the Hollywood on Parade series started in 1932, for a long while this short was mistaken for a 1932 short, and film historians had mistakenly labeled this short as Curly Howard’s first appearance on film. That has been corrected in recent years, and Curly’s first appearance is now confirmed to be Nertsery Rhymes.
Woman Haters Timmy (Moe), Jackie (Curly), and Jim (Larry) join the Woman Haters Club, where hurt men vow to not have anything to do with women as long as they shall live. However, a week later, Jim reveals to Timmy and Jackie that he has fallen in love with a girl named Mary (Marjorie White) and intends to get married. Angry at Jim, they make him promise not to go through with it. However, upon meeting Mary’s father and alluding to his plans of leaving Mary, her father threatens Jim and he is forced to get married anyway.
Mary and Jim take the train for their honeymoon, unaware that Timmy and Jackie followed them. Timmy and Jackie take Jim away from Mary and scold Jim for breaking the vow of the Woman Hater. Mary hears the entire conversation and becomes furious. She then begins to corner Timmy and Jackie any way she can and flirts with them, forcing them into breaking their vows as well.
Years later, however, Timmy and Jackie are still members of the Woman Haters Club. Jim shows up on their doorstep, ready to join again.Columbia Pictures’ first Three Stooges short is a very different offering from the trio. The short is done entirely in rhyme, and its musical nature kind of holds the Stooges back from going all out with their slapstick. That said Woman Haters is not a total loss. It’s a charming, lighthearted story. Its plot never really gets going, though, and it grinds to a halt usually so its main characters can deliver way too much dialogue in rhyme. Because of everyone speaking a mouthful in order to say so little, no reason is ever given as to why Timmy, Jacky, and Jim hate women so much. It’s doubtful that they really want to swear off the opposite sex when they keep hounding them throughout the short, as well. Marjorie White steals the show as Mary. She’s a charming lead, and it’s a pleasure to watch her outwit the Stooges. If there’s ever a reason to watch Woman Haters again, it’s for her alone. Notes:- Woman Haters is scripted entirely in rhyme. This is because it wasn’t ever really intended to launch a Three Stooges short subject series. Instead, it was apart of a separate short subject series called A Musical Novelty.
- In the opening title card, Curly’s name is misspelled as “Curley.” This title card would be kept until 1936.
- Unfortunately, the adorable Marjorie White was never really given a chance to build a career. A year after this short’s release, she was killed in a car accident at the young age of 31. Woman Haters was her last film.
- The man playing the head of the Woman Haters Club is Bud Jamison. Jamison would go on to become one of the Three Stooges most prominent supporting actors in the Columbia short subject series, co-starring in 50 shorts until his death in 1944.
- The conductor that Timmy and Jackie convert to the Woman Haters Club is played by Walter Brennan. Brennan went on to be one of the most popular character actors of the time. Brennan is the first actor to ever win three Academy Awards. He won them for 1936’s Come and Get It, 1938’s Kentucky, and 1940’s The Westerner. The only other actor who has also won three Academy Awards is Jack Nicholson.
The Big Idea Ted Healy, president and sole employee of Big Ideas Theatrical Productions, is working on the idea that will make him thousands of dollars! He tries to explain it to his wife (Muriel Evans) on the phone, but can’t seem to complete it, as he is interrupted constantly by people storming his office for various reasons.
After he hangs up on his wife, he begins bouncing ideas off of a maid (Bonnie Bonnell), but she proves to be a bigger distraction than a help. But his wife catches them together and thinks he’s cheating on her. So she takes a hammer and bops him on the head.
Moe, Larry, and Curly play musicians who constantly distract Ted.What’s The Big Idea? I don’t know. I just watched it and I can’t tell. The Big Idea has no idea. The Big Idea could so easily be a satire of Hollywood production and screenwriting, but goes the cheap and simple route. The short seems content on delivering sentence fragments and random gags. Ted Healy talks too fast without delivering a gag, and Bonnie Bonnell is simply horrible in what could have been a funny role. Even the Stooges are wasted in this short, and come in once every few minutes to play a musical instrument and squirt Healy in the face. It’s random gags like this that make up most of The Big Idea. The Stooges get a decent routine at the end of the short, but it can’t be saved at this point. In the meantime, it “treats” us to a tedious sequence of radio routine and a pretty, but monotonous musical number. Notes:- This is not only Bonnie Bonnell’s final appearance with Ted Healy and the Stooges, but her final appearance in film altogether. I guess none of the studios saw much potential in her. Can’t say I disagree.
- The radio program sketch was a deleted scene from 1933’s Going Hollywood. In the sketch, there is a brief glimpse of Amos ‘n’ Andy, a then popular radio sitcom about the lives of two black men. The radio series is infamous today for having all of roles played by white men.
- The musical sequence is from a deleted scene in 1933’s Dancing Lady (also co-staring Ted Healy and the Stooges).
- The Three Stooges are credited as “His Three Stooges” in the film, marking the only time in an MGM short they’ve been referred to as the Three Stooges. Underneath this billing, they are still credited as “Howard, Fine, & Howard.”
Hollywood Party When it begins to look as if Jimmy Durante’s latest Schnarzan picture will flop at the box office, the studio head decides what they need are wild lions for Durante to square off against in the next picture. As luck would have it, the Baron Munchausen (Jack Pearl) has returned from Africa with a couple of lions in tow!
In an effort to convince Munchausen that he should sell the lions to their studio, Jimmy throws a huge party in the Baron’s honor, and everyone in Hollywood is invited! There are many outrageous shenanigans and goings on at the party, but ultimately upon the Baron’s arrival, Jimmy loses the lions to another studio.
Jimmy then intends to woo the wife of the competing studio’s president in an attempt to get her to let them use the lions. However, during this exchange, at the party downstairs, two party crashers (Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy) come in search of the Baron, claiming he bought the lions from them with a bad check. The two are chased out of the party into the yard, where they jump on top of the lion cage and release the two beasts, ensuring their getaway. Jimmy, unaware of this, is busy telling a story to the woman he is charming. This story is about how he killed a lion with his bare hands. The real lion sneaks up on Jimmy, but Jimmy jumps him, still into his story. The two wrestle down the stairs…
Jimmy is woken up by his wife. It was all a dream. And they are late for a big party.
Ted Healy, Moe, Larry, and Curly appear uncredited as autograph hounds trying to meet celebrities.What it lacks in plot it makes up for in entertainment, Hollywood Party is a lot of fun to watch even if I doubt I’ll remember it tomorrow morning. The film plays out almost as a sketch comedy, with Jimmy Durante’s plot playing the string that hooks random segments of party guests together. The funniest moments go to Jack Pearl, who is reprising his radio personality of Baron Munchausen. “This is the son of King Kong! His name…is Ping Pong!” Laurel and Hardy get some strong laughs for their climatic bout with Lupe Velez. Ted Healy and the Stooges have a terrific scene in which a group of professors deduce their place on the evolutionary ladder. Mickey Mouse’s cameo is gold, along with The Hot Chocolate Soldiers animated segment that follows. By the end of its runtime, Hollywood Party runs very tired. It’s a little sad, since it’s barely an hour long, but it has enough steam to keep its wacky situations going for such a short period. Notes:- This is the final film appearance the Three Stooges ever made with Ted Healy. Their contract was up with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the group decided to go their separate ways. The Stooges new endeavor for short subject features was already up and running at Columbia and the first of which, Woman Haters, had already been released.
- Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were popular comedians of the silent era, and two of the few that successfully made the transition to sound films. To this day, they still remain quite popular among fans of classic comedy.
- Mickey Mouse is a popular cartoon character created by Walt Disney. The success Mickey Mouse cartoon series is often held responsible for the building of Walt Disney Studios which soon became the top animation studio in the business. Mickey’s appearance in Hollywood Party is a bit of an oddity, since Hollywood Party is an MGM feature and was in competition with Disney. In addition to Mickey’s appearance, Disney also agreed to supply an animated sequence. This sequence is the delightful The Hot Chocolate Soldiers (which is reminiscent of Disney's Silly Symphonies series). The sequence was made in color, as opposed to the rest of the film, which was in black and white.
- For more information on Jimmy Durante and Jack Pearl (and his Baron Munchausen character), see the entry for 1933’s Meet the Baron.
Punch Drunks Boxing manager Moe is eating at a restaurant with his top fighters. Their waiter is the soft-spoken Curly, who wouldn’t hurt a fly. However, when a hired violinist named Larry starts playing “Pop Goes the Weasel,” Curly goes nuts, and starts punching out all of Moe’s top fighters. Impressed by the lad, Moe instantly takes this future champ under his wing and Larry along for the ride.
Curly becomes K.O. Stradivarius, an overnight boxing sensation!
Curly works his way up to the heavyweight title, and is now up against the current champion, Killer Killduff (Al Hill). As soon as the fight starts, Curly is knocked out of the ring and lands on Larry, breaking his violin. Desperate for a new source of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” Moe sends Larry off to find something that will help before Curly gets killed. After a search of the entire town, Larry finds an election campaign truck playing the song. Hijacking the truck, Larry crashes it into the side of the building holding the fight. Upon hearing the music, Curly goes crazy again and wins the fight!One of the Stooges earliest Columbia shorts proves to be a bar to which all of their shorts must be judged. Punch Drunks is a blast of relentless energy and brilliantly executed slapstick. The short quickly establishes the Stooge formula: Moe the leader, Larry and Curly the followers. Once they come together great things will happen. In the case of Punch Drunks, Moe barks orders to comical effect and Larry and Curly best follow them. Larry’s desperate search for “Pop Goes the Weasel” at the end of the short is a prime example, as he runs wildly around town looking for a tune he might never find, but does so because it’s Moe’s order. Curly demonstrates some great slapstick in the boxing ring while getting a beatdown by Killer Killduff. I split my sides laughing when Curly tries to escape the ring screaming “Timeout! TIMEOUT!” The comedy isn’t limited to the Stooges, either. There’s a great run-on gag in the final fight in which a child throws candy at the round bell, much to the timekeeper’s annoyance. The childlike disintegration of a grown man to in so little time couldn’t have been done more beautifully. Punch Drunks is a true Stooge classic. I still hold it up as one of their very best. Notes:- Moe came up with the story for Punch Drunks and personally sold the idea to Columbia. Because of the strength of the idea, the short was immediately put into production and the Stooges started working regularly in the short subject division. This is the only short in which Moe, Larry, and Curly (as “Jerry Howard”) were ever credited as writers on. The group did script work on just about every short they did, but if they were credited for it, they would have had to have been paid more. Instead of putting up the dough, Columbia made sure the Stooges never received script credit again.
- The original title to the short was A Symphony of Punches. The eventual title, Punch Drunks, was a play on the term “punch drunk,” which describes a boxer who’s been hit so many times he has trouble standing up.
- Larry puts his skills as a violinist to good use in this short. That’s really him playing, and it wouldn’t be the last time he’d play it in the Stooge series either. One of the songs Larry plays (during the “Stroke!” scene) is “Let’s Fall in Love!” This song would be sung by Muriel Landers and Joe Besser in the 1958 Stooges short Sweet and Hot.
- The song that was originally to be used to send Curly into a rage was “Stars and Stripes Forever.” However the studio did not want to pay royalty fees for its usage. “Pop Goes the Weasel” was selected for its public domain status.
- Curly has gone into a fighting rage in three other shorts, all for different reasons. These are 1935’s Horses’ Collars, 1937’s Grips, Grunts, and Groans, and 1938’s Tassels in the Air. The theme of “Pop Goes the Weasel” driving a Stooge mad was later revisited in 1963’s The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, but with Joe DeRita instead of Curly.
- During the climatic fight between Curly and Killer Killduff, stock footage was used for the crowds. Two men can be caught flipping the bird in the footage.
- A Three Stooges video game in 1987 had a boxing level based upon this short.
- In 2002, Punch Drunks was selected for film preservation by the Library of Congress.
Men in Black Dr. Howard (Moe), Dr. Fine (Larry), and Dr. Howard (Curly) finally graduate medical school. Not because they passed, but because they’ve been there so long that the school just wanted them gone.
“For duty and humanity!”
Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, and Dr. Howard get called on multiple cases, ranging from a little woman sick in bed (“Little Billy” Rhodes) to an insane man (Billy Gilbert) and even the head of the hospital swallowing the combination to his safe (Dell Henderson).One of the Stooges most popular shorts, Men in Black is one I’ve never particularly been impressed with. There’s really not much to it. Somebody just found the occupation that the Stooges could do the most damage in and watched the chaos ensue. Laughs are present (“Will I get better?” “Well I’m truly sorry, but I’m afraid you are.”), but most of the short is nutty without bringing a chuckle. A nurse portrayed by Jeannie Roberts is an example. Her squeaky voice and punchline delivery is serviceable for the short, but leave much to be desired. The cases the Stooges run off to are more bizarre than all-out humorous. Men in Black puts a smile on my face, but I can’t say much else about it. Notes:- Men in Black is the only Stooges short to be nominated for an Academy Award for best short subject. It lost to a musical called La Cucaracha, released by R.K.O. Pictures.
- The title is a spoof of the Clarke Gable film Men in White, which was released the same year.
- A Three Stooges video game in 1987 had a hospital level based on this short.
- Columbia Pictures would later use the title Men in Black for a 1997 science fiction film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, based on a comic series with the same title.
- The line “Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard” became infused in pop culture after the release of this short, and has been referenced in multiple mediums since.
The Captain Hates the Sea Captain Helquist (Walter Connolly) hates the sea, hates his ship, hates his crew, and hates his passengers most of all.
The latest group of people getting on his nerves includes an alcoholic screenwriter (John Gilbert), a Spanish revolution general, and two fugitives eluding a private detective.
Moe, Larry, and Curly play musicians at dinner service.The Captain Hates the Sea is a piece of character interaction over plot. Throughout the movie I struggled to find a story but ended up empty handed. The film thrives on dialogue scenes where the characters of a cruise ship talking animatedly or hiding their misdeeds. By the end of the cruise, none of them seem any different than when they started. There are worse crimes a movie can make, but I’d like to argue that when I give an hour and a half of my life to a movie, I expect something to happen. The only points that garnered any interest at all were the tragic end to a likable Spanish soldier’s story and the attempted suicide by a depressed woman. Both of which end rather abruptly and are quickly lost among the rest of the film’s too many characters. The Three Stooges are only in two scenes and are for decoration only. Their brief role is to play musical instruments at a party: Moe on saxophone, Larry on piano, and Curly on bass. The only one that gets a line is Larry. I find myself very indifferent to The Captain Hates the Sea. It doesn’t do anything wrong to warrant hatred, but it doesn’t really do anything all that well either. It’s just kind of a time waster for those who like character pieces. It might annoy those who like character development, though. Notes:- John Gilbert was one of the most popular leading men of silent films. However during his tenure at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he frequently clashed with MGM head Louis B. Mayer and was the subject of alcoholism. Once films began taking off with sound, Mayer started tampering with Gilbert’s recordings and spread untrue rumors about his voice being unsuitable for talking pictures, effectively ruining his career. Gilbert attempted to bounce back, however a lifetime of alcohol took effect on Gilbert’s health and he died of a heart attack in 1936. The Captain Hates the Sea was his final film. Ironically he played an alcoholic that was trying to quit drinking.
- The Captain Hates the Sea went far over budget due to the alcohol consumption of the cast and many nights of wild parties. Columbia head Harry Cohn sent a cable to director Lewis Milestone which read “Hurry up! The cost is staggering!” Milestone replied “So is the cast!”
- The music that the Three Stooges are playing in their first scene was reused in the 1935 short Horses’ Collars.
- The exterior footage of the ship, San Capeador, was reused in the 1949 short Dunked in the Deep.
Three Little Pigskins Moe, Larry, and Curly are beggars who wind up working for a local college promoting their football games. Dressed up in football uniforms, the trio parade across town with signs. They run across a lovely girl (Phyllis Crane) who happens to be in league with gangster Joe Stack (Walter Long), who just happens to be looking for football players to ensure a victory for an upcoming game. Due to the uniforms they are wearing and the college they are advertising, the girl mistakes the Stooges for “The Three Horsemen,” a trio of college football players that have made a big name for themselves. She invites them up to her place, where they meet her two beautiful friends (Lucille Ball and Gertie Green) and the boys immediately begin wooing.
Not long after, Joe returns with his two buddies (Dutch Hendrian and Roger Moore…no not that Roger Moore) to find the Stooges making the moves on their girls. They chase the Stooges around the building, until one of the girls explains to them that they are the Three Horsemen. Joe then makes the boys a proposition, and with the promise of money and their lives, the Stooges agree.
Once on the field, the Stooges inexperience at football becomes apparent, and they blow the opening quarter. Fed up with their nonsense, Joe and his thugs chase them off the field.One of the best of the earliest Stooge shorts, in my opinion. Three Little Pigskins offers up a lot of bangs for your buck. The short starts off promisingly enough, with the Stooges begging for change and playing Don Juan with three dames. Seeing the Stooges romance is always a treat. The short goes from good to great when the trio hits the football field, and display their unique sports abilities. I howled in laughter at Larry’s attempt to “block” a kick. The group’s cluelessness of what to do once they get the ball had me in stitches. A great effort, all around. And knowing there will be much more of these in the future just makes my mouth water. Notes:- Does one of those cute blondes look familiar? That’s future comedy superstar Lucille Ball, pre-red hair dye. She would go on to have one of the top rated television shows of the 1950’s, I Love Lucy, which she starred in alongside her then-husband Desi Arnaz. Ball had had a very successful career afterwards, starring in various motion pictures and would return to television in two more popular sitcoms, The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy! When asked about her experience with the Three Stooges, she replied “The only thing I learned from the Three Stooges was how to duck.” She then added “I still got wet!”
- Three Little Pigskins was described by Moe Howard himself as a “humdinger of cuts and bruises.” Larry had lost a tooth in a scene where he’s punched by a gangster, and Curly had broken his leg riding down a dumbwaiter. Later in the short, there was seemingly harmless stunt scene the entire group just flat out refused to do: getting tackled while posing for a photographer. The football players used were real college football players and they all towered above each of the comic trio. Fearing that their short stature would prove more harmful than not, they begged for stuntmen. After much arguing with the short’s director, Raymond McCarey, stunt men were finally brought in. Finally the scene was shot, and two of the three stunt doubles were severely injured with broken limbs, as well as all four actors playing the photographers. The only actor spared was the stunt man playing Curly, and that was because of the extra padding he used to replicate the Stooges stomach. According to Moe, “McCarey was speechless and sat in his director’s chair with his head in his hands.”
- The title of the short is a pun on the children’s story The Three Little Pigs. The word “pig” was exchanged for “pigskin,” which is a nickname for a football.
- The phrase Larry says in Pig Latin is “What are you doing tonight?” The phrase Lucille Ball says in Pig Latin is obviously “No.”
- The Stooges football uniform numbers are H2O2 (Moe), ½ (Larry), and ? (Curly). Moe’s uniform number is actually the periodic code for Hydrogen Peroxide, a chemical used as a disinfectant, antiseptic, and oxidizer.
- In the final shot of this short, Curly’s shirt is backwards.
Moe Howard appeared in the following shortsJail Birds of Paradise (Short Subject) Curly Howard appeared in the following shorts and filmsRoast Beef and Movies (Short Subject) Jail Birds of Paradise (Short Subject) Operator 13 (Feature Film) Shemp Howard appeared in the following shortsHow’d Ya Like That? (Short Subject) Henry the Ache (Short Subject) The Wrong Wrong Trail (Short Subject) Mushrooms (Short Subject) The Knife of the Party (Short Subject) Pugs and Kisses (Short Subject) Everybody Likes Music (Short Subject) Very Close Veins (Short Subject) Pure Feud (Short Subject) Corn on the Cop (Short Subject) Ramblin’ Round Radio Show (Short Subject) I Scream (Short Subject) Art Trouble (Short Subject) My Mummy’s Arms (Short Subject) Daredevil O’Dare (Short Subject) Smoked Hams (Short Subject) So You Won’t T-T-T-Talk (Short Subject) Dizzy and Daffy (Short Subject) A Peach of a Pair (Short Subject) Ted Healy appeared in the following filmsLazy River (Feature Film) Operator 13 (Feature Film) Paris Interlude (Feature Film) Death on the Diamond (Feature Film) The Band Plays On (Feature Film) Forsaking All Others (Feature Film)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Dec 30, 2010 14:45:42 GMT -5
Sorry about the Captain Hates the Sea pic. Our board has a nasty habit of cutting links that are too long.
I'll try and get a better pic up tonight.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 4, 2011 14:40:14 GMT -5
1935 By 1935, the Three Stooges were already popular, as theater attendees would come time and time again just to see the short and laugh their heads off. Realizing he had a rare comedy act that outshone the feature presentations (akin to Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and Mickey Mouse), Columbia president Harry Cohn formulated an ingenious idea of using the boys’ popularity to the advantage of some of the company’s struggling divisions. Cohn attached the Stooges to “B-pictures,” films made on the cheap to make a quick dollar or two at theater. By setting the Three Stooges with these films, the package on the whole looked more appealing to theaters, assuring that they would show the film at their theater. The star power of the Three Stooges would then work their magic and customers would pay the full price for 20 solid minutes of laughter and stay for the show afterward, for better or for worse. The plan worked, and the Stooges only continued to rise in popularity. The quality of the feature films they had the misfortune of being billed with had no effect on how much the audience enjoyed their shenanigans. The Stooges were already proving to be some of the biggest names of comedy on the market. Unfortunately, despite their success, Cohn did everything in his power to belittle it and keep the Stooges in their place. Cohn wanted to keep the boys exactly where they were so they could churn a healthy profit for the studio. When points came where it was time to renegotiate their contract, Cohn always manipulated them into signing the exact same one over and over again, with the claim that “Short subjects are in decline.” This statement wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but the boys were hot, and Cohn new exactly how hot they were. In the midst of their success, Moe and his wife Helen had their second and last child, their only son Paul. Horses’ Collars Moe, Larry, and Curly are investigators in the old west. Their assignment is to recover an I.O.U. from Double Deal Decker (Fred Kohler) and save the ranch of the lovely Nell (Dorothy Kent). However, Curly’s fear of mice might prove a liability.
The Stooges meet Nell at a saloon where Decker just happens to be at. Assuring her that everything will be alright, the Stooges then set into action. They steal Decker’s wallet, thinking they will find the I.O.U., but are caught in the process. Decker attempts to string them up by their necks; however Curly sees a mouse and is sent into a blind rage. Curly becomes a one man army, and punches out everyone in the saloon, saving Moe and Larry in the process.
The Stooges then make their way to Decker’s hideout where Curly breaks into Decker’s safe and finds the I.O.U. They are caught again, but Curly sees a mouse again, causing him to once again go crazy. Curly knocks out Decker and his thugs, saving the day.I’m not all that big a fan of westerns, but the Stooges will get me to watch anything. Horses’ Collars is a really good short, and one worth watching more than once. Curly’s nutty rage attacks whenever he sees a mouse (“His father was a rat!” explains Moe) highlight the entire short, as he often saves the day by taking on multiple thugs at once. The finale is in particular a big kick, when Curly gets caught up in a Decker’s jacket and starts spinning in circles, trailing Decker with him. The dancing scene where the Stooges frisk everyone they bump into is a hoot, and who can forget the classic bar line “It’s a Tin Roof! It’s on the house!” There’s a lot of fun to be had in Horses’ Collars for all Stooge fans. Notes:- This is the first Three Stooges western. The Stooges would revisit the old west several times throughout their career, right down to the end with their cameo in the 1963 Rat Pack film 4 for Texas and their final theatrical feature The Outlaws is Coming!
- Horses’ Collars is the second short in which an outside force drives Curly crazy, in this case a mouse. The only thing that will calm him down is being fed cheese. See also 1934’s Punch Drunks, 1937’s Grips, Grunts, and Groans, and 1938’s Tassels in the Air.
- In a minor continuity error, when Double Deal Decker shoots two men trying to walk out on paying for their drinks, the bartender changes Decker’s scorecard from 115 to 117. But when the Stooges order their drinks, it’s back at 115.
Restless Knights On his deathbed, the dying father (Walter Brennan) of a medieval Moe, Larry, and Curly reveals that they are descendants of royal blood. He dubs them the Duke of Durham (Larry), the Count of Fife (Moe), and the Baron of Greymatter (Curly) and informs them of a plot to kidnap and kill the queen (Geneva Mitchell).
Convincing the queen that they must be her bodyguards, and she agrees. However, the Stooges let their guard down when they agree to wrestle for the entertainment of the queen. While the Stooges are knocking each other around, the queen is kidnapped by Prince Boris (George Baxter), and they are blamed for it.
The Stooges are taken to be executed, but manage to escape. They search the castle and find the queen has been taken into the wine cellar. Curly lures the guards out one by one and Moe and Larry knock them out cold. However they accidentally knock out the queen as well!Restless Knights starts off well then kind of has its ups and downs. It’s a very uneven short. It could have been great, but it feels undercooked. I like the Stooges antics in the wrestling ring. It’s not the best their slapstick has to offer, but it’s a mild serving. The attempted execution scene is a ball too (the apple bit is a nice touch). And the legendary battle cry… “All for one!” “One for all!” “Every man for himself!” Unfortunately, that gag is driven into the ground, which Curly saying something different every time. It was hilarious the first time, not so much afterwards. The short also suffers some laughless clusters, and it starts to bog down. The ending is very anticlimactic and lacks any resolution at all. In fact, when you think about it, it’s kind of a sour end, with the heroes knocked out somewhere in the castle and the main villain roaming free to take them prisoner all over again. The short is just too much of a could-have-been for me. If they had waited until this script was ready, it could have been one of the greats. Notes:- The quote “All for one and one for all!” comes from the popular novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
- The title is a play on the phrase “restless nights,” which describes insomnia.
Pop Goes the Easel Beggars Moe, Larry, and Curly are in search of a job. They come across a little shop with three brooms in front of it. Moe gets the bright idea that if the storeowner sees them sweep in front of the shop, he’ll offer them a job. They take the brooms and begin sweeping; however the shopkeeper thinks they’re stealing the brooms. He calls a corner policeman and he chases the Stooges into an art school.
Inside, the Stooges hide out with the students, and try and make art themselves. Ultimately they wreck up the joint in a climatic clay fight.A strong offering from the Stooges, Pop Goes the Easel could use some refinement, but winds up satisfying. The opening on the street is classic, as the Stooges beg for food and work. “Mister, I haven’t tasted food in three days!” “Well don’t worry, it still tastes the same.” The art school scenes are a lot of fun, though I can’t help but wish we got a little more action with a paintbrush from the group. Something a little less stick figure and a little more of what the Stooges might try and pass off as art. We get a small taste of that late in the short in which the Stooges blindly place clay on a canvas, and stand in awe at the fact that they actually made something. Larry tries to improve it, only to wind up tossing clay everywhere. I think this portion of the short suffers because the cop jumps in every once in a while and starts chasing our boys. It seems like an unnecessary subplot at this point in the short. Although, I do like the boys in drag; especially Curly’s introduction of Moe… “And this is my mother!” Good solid short, but not a great one. But the boys are still just getting started. Notes:- The short is opened with the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” which is played in the same tune that was playing on the radio and the campaign truck at the end of 1934’s Punch Drunks.
- The two girls playing hop scotch are Moe and Larry’s real life daughters, Joan Howard and Phyllis Fine.
- Curly says in Pig Latin “Nix on the cracking. It’s the cop!”
- The clay fight is a precursor to the Stooges trademark pie fight. An actual pie fight wouldn’t happen for another year.
Uncivil Warriors In the American Civil War, the Union army needs critical information for the upcoming battle with the Confederates. They call in Operators 12 (Larry), 14 (Moe), and 15 (Curly) to infiltrate the Confederate camp as three soldiers that they have recently captured: Lieutenant Duck (Larry), Captain Dodge (Moe), and Major Hyde (Curly).
The infiltration is a success, and 12, 14, and 15 make pals with the Confederate Colonel Buttz (Bud Jamison). However, there are rumors that spies are within the camp, and 12, 14, and 15 do everything in their power to keep the news from reaching the Colonel.
It becomes unavoidable when Major Filbert (Ted Lorch) comes to the camp and tells the Colonel himself that there are spies amongst them, and he suspects Duck, Dodge, and Hyde. Filbert casually questions them in hopes that they might slip. 12, 14, and 15 try to hold their story together, and 12 and 15 even leave and come back disguised as Dodge’s father and wife in order to help keep the ploy alive. However when Filbert questions the whereabouts of Dodge’s child, 14 goes in search of one he can claim as his own, coming back with a black child.
Having completely blown their cover, 12, 14, and 15 attempt to escape by hiding in a tree trunk. The Confederates follow them but the Union army opens fire. They must fire back, and they unveil their cannon, which they disguised as a tree trunk (and 12, 14, and 15 happen to be hiding in). They open fire, effectively sending 12, 14, and 15 back into the Union camp.
Uncivil Warriors is a lot of fun, and one of the better shorts that came out of the trio in 1935. There’s a lot to laugh at here, as the Stooges go to absurd lengths to hide their identities. Curly is in top form throughout the short, and gives the short such memorable highlights such as his burning of the information they’ve received by lighting a cigarette and dressing up in drag disguised as Moe’s wife. The short drags a little toward the middle during an overlong gag in which the Stooges eat a cake accidentally made out of a pillow, and start coughing up feathers. It has its moments, but it probably should have ended about a minute earlier than it did. The Civil War setting suits our boys very well and they’ll definitely rock the house every time they’re in soldier uniform. I gotta give this one high marks. It’s too much fun. Notes:- The title is a pun on the Civil War.
- The Stooges are Operators 12, 14, and 15. Their superior asks them “What happened to Operator 13?” Operator 13 is the title of a film staring former Stooge boss Ted Healy, which he made during their tenure at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and also had a Civil War setting. Curly had a cameo as a confederate soldier, but most of his scenes were cut following the split between Healy and the Stooges. Curly must have some sour grapes about the ordeal, because he gleefully informs the general in this short that Operator 13 “swam across the river and died of Potomac poisoning.”
Pardon My Scotch Moe, Larry, and Curly are handymen installing a door at a drugstore. However, the owner of the store, Mr. Jones (Al Thompson), is running out of alcohol in a time of Prohibition. Knowing that he will lose his business without his illegal alcohol supply, he leaves the Stooges in charge while he tries to find a new source of hooch.
A customer (George Gray) walks in and asks them for “some of the prescription stuff,” the Stooges are forced to go into the backroom and mix their own drink. Their creation is the Breath O’ Heather, a powerful scotch that knocks the customer’s socks off! The customer sells the idea to his bootlegger boss and tells the Stooges that they could make millions marketing it. With the promise of a cash flow, the Stooges agree.
The scotch makes its debut at a high-class social party, which the Stooges promptly make their lower class mannerisms known. However, with the promise of the best scotch on the market, the Stooges are allowed to stay. However, once they try and tap their keg, it blows up.Another good short that falls short of greatness, Pardon My Scotch taps that ever so wonderful idea of the Stooges breaking the law to make easy money. Bootleggers during prohibition is a great occupation for the boys, unfortunately they couldn’t seem to make it work well enough for them. On the bright side, Pardon My Scotch is a right shade better than the much later beer bootlegger short, 1946’s Beer Barrel Polecats. The mixture scenes are definitely a triumph, as when the Stooges get creative, it brings out explosive results. The opening handyman scene is terrific, as the Stooges can’t figure out which side is the right, as they each point in different directions as they look directly at each other. The dinner party at the end drags on, causing the short to come to an unfortunate early halt. The rest of it is grand, though. Notes:- Moe suffered a serious injury on the set of Pardon My Scotch. In the scene where a table that Moe is standing on collapses, Moe broke two ribs in the fall. After the fall Moe stood up finished the scene with a double slap and passed out after director Del Lord said “cut.” Moe was taken to the hospital afterward and the filmed sequence is featured in the actual short.
- The Italian tenor is played by Billy Gilbert. Gilbert was discovered by Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame in 1929, and was introduced to short film director Hal Roach (creator of Our Gang, later known as The Little Rascals). Gilbert was steadily employed as a comedic writer and director of short subjects, even doing some work with Laurel and Hardy themselves. Soon he became a comedic supporting player in films and even played the voice of Sneezy in Walt Disney’s first motion picture Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (he would also play Willie the Giant in a later piece of Disney animation, Mickey and the Beanstalk). As if working for Walt Disney, Laurel and Hardy, Hal Roach, and the Three Stooges weren’t enough during his steady career, he also played Herring, the mister of war in Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.
- One of the Three Stooges most often featured socialite faces was Symona Boniface, who debuted with the trio in this short. Symona was gifted at playing snobby “Well, I never…” characters and proved herself to be a terrific foil for the team. She would play this type of character until her last Stooge appearance in 1949’s Vagabond Loafers. She had died the following year. However, footage of her performances was used off and on throughout re-edited shorts in the 1950’s, proving how timeless her routines with the boys were.
- Prohibition plays an important role in the short. In reality, Prohibition was repealed four months before the short was filmed.
- Pardon My Scotch is the first short to use the tune “Listen to the Mockingbird” as the theme song for the Three Stooges. It would be used until 1939, when it was replaced by “Three Blind Mice,” which would be the Stooges theme for the rest of their run.
- This short features Curly stabbing two rolls with two forks and making them dance like two feet. This is a gag made famous by the comic legend Charlie Chaplin. Moe’s retaliation, by stabbing two roles with two forks and acting them as fingers to poke Curly in the eyes, is his own spin on the idea.
- The title is a pun on the phrase “Pardon my French,” which is commonly used by people who want to excuse themselves after using swear words.
Hoi Polloi Professor Nichols (Robert Graves) wagers his colleague (Harry Holman) $10,000 that he can take any lower class men and turn them into gentlemen in a week. Moments later they come across Moe, Larry, and Curly; three garbage men that accidentally assault the two professors with tin cans. The professors threaten to call the police, unless the trio agrees to be Nichols’ guinea pigs. The Stooges reluctantly agree.
The Stooges spend days training on how to function in high society, each failing one test after another. Finally the big day arrives when the Stooges are introduced into high society. Nichols throws a party for the occasion and the Stooges are the guests of honor. Try as they may, the Stooges turn the party into a fiasco, turning all of the guests into Stooges themselves.A popular short among fans, but one that falls a bit flat to me. It seems to me that Hoi Polloi was created with the finale in mind, but no first and second act to proceed it. The short feels like it’s rushing to get to the payoff, and very little in the first half of the short is expanded upon enough to actually be funny. The Stooges are the subject to a gentlemen crash course and don’t even seem to try and pass, sending Professor Nichols into a hissy fit. This goes on for several minutes until its 10 minute finale with the Stooges at a party. This party is the highlight of the short, with quite a few rich gags that get a lot of belly laughs. The scene where Curly has a spring attached to his pants is an unquestionable classic. These gags are more detailed, and it’s obvious that more effort went into this sequence than the rest of the short. It ends on a foul note where all of the party guests do their best (not very good) Three Stooges imitations. After a false start, a great climax, and a weak ending, I’m left with the taste of an uneven short on my tongue. Notes:- The idea for Hoi Polloi came from Moe Howard’s wife, Helen. The studio loved the idea, but only offered her a screen credit or being paid for the screen idea, one or the other. She took the money.
Three Little Beers Moe, Larry, and Curly are delivery men for the Panther Pilsner Brewing Company when a flyer for the company’s annual golf tournament is handed to them. First prize is $100.
The Stooges make their way to a golf course thinking it is the tournament with the cash prize. Thinking golf is a cinch, they storm the golf course and start tearing it up. The course management and fellow golfers become so furious they chase them off.A personal favorite of mine, Three Little Beers puts the Stooges in one of the easiest sports to screw up, golf. No matter the outcome, a Three Stooges short on the subject couldn’t possibly have been as painfully unfunny as Caddyshack. ::crickets chirp:: O.K., maybe that’s just me. The Stooges antics on the golf course are tremendous. Their uncertainty of what the rules actually are, the Stooges immediately decide that anything goes and start shooting balls in each direction. “It fell in the hole!” (dismayed) “Just my luck.” The chase scene is a gas, ensuring those who watch the short will be left with a laugh coming out of their gut. There’s nothing more to ask for. Notes:- The title is a pun on the children’s stories Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.
- The name of the brewing company is Panther Pilsner. This is a reference to a phrase used to describe poor quality beer, “panther piss.”
Shemp Howard appeared in the following shorts and filmsHis First Flame (Short Subject) Why Pay Rent (Short Subject) Serves You Right (Short Subject) On the Wagon (Short Subject) The Officer’s Mess (Short Subject) Convention Girl (Feature Film) Ted Healy appeared in the following shorts and filmsThe Winning Ticket (Feature Film) Casino Murder Case (Feature Film) Reckless (Feature Film) Murder in the Fleet (Feature Film) Mad Love (Feature Film) Here Comes the Band (Feature Film) It’s in the Air (Feature Film) La Fiesta de Santa Barbra (Short Subject)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 11, 2011 15:29:45 GMT -5
1936Ants in the Pantry The Lightning Bug Pest Control Company hasn’t had a customer in months. Rather than go out of business, the manager A. Mouser (Harrison Greene) decides that they must infest the houses themselves and show up to exterminate the pests.
His three exterminators (Moe, Larry, and Curly) are sent out on the job and sneak into an upper class house and plant ants, mice, and moths at a high society party. Later they show up on the doorstep with rat poison, bug killer, and a bag full of cats and the homeowners welcome them in desperation. They ask the Stooges to exterminate the pests, but do so in discretion, so the other guests don’t find out about the infestation.
Since discretion is not the Stooges specialty, the quickly make a mess of things. However, the other party guests mistake them for entertainers and declare them a rousing success. So enthralled with the trio they are, that they invite them on a fox hunt. However, Curly, who has developed a bit of a cold, captures a skunk instead of a fox.The cat’s out of the bag, Ants in the Pantry is 20 minutes of non-stop funny. The gags work well around the clock. The Stooges are well-casted in a profession they can do a lot of damage in. Better still it’s a profession where they’re given permission by their boss to act irresponsible. When the Stooges are unleashed without any restraint, something amazing is bound to happen. The party scenes are fantastic. Gotta love that sack o’ cats they’re lugging around. I was floored when they dump it into the piano. Their attempts at acting inconspicuous are enthralling and ingenious. Moe hitting on a maid is a highlight; attempting to steal a kiss only to hit Curly instead (“I’m poisoned!”). Larry running around with a hammer chasing mice is one of the golden moments in comedy. It’s a much better showcase of the Stooges functioning in the upper class than Hoi Polloi or Pardon My Scotch. Unfortunately the short didn’t seem to find itself an ending. The climatic fox hunt is out of left field, and is a bit too much build for a single gag. Why does Curly suddenly have a cold? One that was absent during the rest of the short, at that. In spite of it’s climatic foul up, there’s enough here to claim Ants in the Pantry is one of the best Three Stooges shorts, if not the best. We’re still early in their career, though. Notes:- The title is a play on the phrase “ants in the pants,” describing itching of the legs.
- Speaking of, Moe claims he actually did have ants in the pants during filming. Real ants. Moe had a container of red ants in his pocket that had broken, sending them all over his body. Throughout the scene they were filming, Moe was scratching and slapping himself, causing director Preston Black to shout “Great Moe! Keep up that squirming!” Moe recalled that “It was very funny…to everyone but me.”
- The voice of the cats in the piano is none other than Clarence Nash, who originated the voice of Donald Duck, and had played the foul-tempered fowl solely from the 1930’s through the 1980’s.
- At one point A. Mouser’s secretary assumes the Stooges are talking politics because one of them exclaimed “Let’s have a new deal!” Our boys were really playing cards, but in reality the New Deal was a series of economic programs passed in response to the Great Depression by Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1938, which helped banks, railroads, and farms gain economic recovery and built labor unions for workers. To this day political analysts praise and criticize the New Deal, some saying that it rescued capitalism from a dark time and others saying it prolonged the Great Depression more than it helped it.
Movie Maniacs Moe, Larry, and Curly arrive in Hollywood ready to revolutionize the business of motion pictures. However, they find that Hollywood is a hard business to get into when the guards won’t even let them through the gate. Finally sneaking in, they find their way into Carnation Studio’s head office where they are mistaken for three executives that were expected that very afternoon.
Moe, mistaken for head executive Mr. Smith, is given complete creative control of a current romance production and the trio storms the stage and accidentally ruins the production. The chaos caused by the group results in the director (Harry Semels) and actors (Mildred Harris and Kenneth Harlan) to quit, and Moe is forced to complete the production himself with Larry as his handsome leading man and Curly as his ravishing leading lady.
However, the studio heads soon discover that the real executives’ flight has been delayed, and try and kick the Stooges out. The boys run away taking refuge in a lion’s cage. Upon discovering they’re not alone, they escape the studio with a lion chasing after them.After Three Little Beers and Ants in the Pantry, I expected any short that followed to be an immense disappointment. Fortunately Movie Maniacs is the group’s third home run in a row. Movie Maniacs is a riotous satire of the filmmaking biz, something that the trio previously failed to do with Ted Healy in The Big Idea. There are some tremendous gags as the Stooges go through a wakeup routine in a boxcar filled with furniture. Larry presses Moe’s pants with paint and Curly flips flapjacks all over the place. The gags don’t quit when the trio gets into showbiz, and their inane ideas of adding action to romance send a director into a furious rage. One of the best moments in the film is in a Whose Line is it Anyway? tradition in which Larry and Curly stand behind the leading actors and slip their arms into the scene, and block out arm movements. It’s one of the most well executed scenes the trio has ever done. There’s not a false step in this short, which is a rare thing. Usually even the best of the Three Stooges shorts suffer from a point where it lags. Not the case with Movie Maniacs, which is a consistent riot from start to finish. Notes:- There are several reverences to Hollywood celebrities in this short, including the Stooges’ Dancing Lady costar Clark Gable. One of his most popular films, Mutiny on the Bounty, is referenced with Curly’s line “Mutiny on the Boxcar, eh!”
- Another celebrity referenced is John Barrymore, whom Curly claims he is getting to look more and more like everyday. Barrymore was one of the most popular leading men during the 1920’s and 30’s, having starred in many classic films including the earliest adaptations of Moby Dick. John Barrymore is also the grandfather of Drew Barrymore, a popular actress of current Hollywood.
- An actual Hollywood star was featured in the short, Mildred Harris, who plays the starlet in the film the Stooges try to direct. Mildred started of as a child actor at age 11 in silent films, before slowly graduating into leading lady as she matured. She is probably best known to film historians as one of Charlie Chaplin’s many wives. They even had a child together, but the child died shortly after birth. Their relationship crumbled, with Chaplin stating she was “not his intellectual equal,” and the two broke up. She continued acting afterwards, and had two other husbands in the aftermath. In the 1992 biopic Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr., she was portrayed by Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich.
- Kenneth Harlan, who played Mildred Harris’s leading man in Movie Maniacs, was also had an impressive resume under his belt, starring in many silent films and graduating to talkies. He was often the romantic lead (as seen here) or a man of adventure. Like Mildred, Mr. Harlan had a very challenging love life. He was married eight times within the span of 47 years. The longest marriage was 12 years to Helen Spetner, who he was married to while filming Movie Maniacs.
- The scene in which the Three Stooges demonstrate kissing techniques on three lovely extras is often cut from syndicated versions of the short on television. The reason behind this is when the Three Stooges were originally televised for children, the scene was thought to be too risqué for younger audiences.
- The original ending of the short had the Stooges setting fire to the set and fleeing the scene.
Half Shot Shooters Moe, Larry, and Curly are veterans of World War I, and as soon as the war is over, they give their abusive sergeant (Stanley Blystone) his comeuppance. After being awarded for being wounded in battle (by sergeant MacGillicuddy himself), they rub their medals in his face and smack him around, knowing they’ll never have to answer to him again.
Flash forward to 1935 and the Stooges are poor citizens of the Great Depression. Desperate for a meal, they try and steal a chicken from a dining man (Vernon Dent), but are chased into an army recruitment center. Thinking they can get a job in the office, they accidentally sign up for the Army again! And they answer, once again, to sergeant MacGillicuddy!
MacGillicuddy does his best to make the Stooges lives a living hell and puts them through much abusive training. However, MacGillicuddy becomes fed up with the trio when they accidentally sink an admiral’s ship during cannon practice. At his last straw, MacGillicuddy aims the cannon at the Stooges and fires.Half Shot Shooters has the promise of a good Stooges misadventure, but misfires with the poorly created character of sergeant MacGillicuddy. The idea behind MacGillicuddy has a lot of promise (someone angered so much by the Stooges that he vows to pay them back for his pain), but he is realized with absolutely zero playfulness and he ends up being a jerk who just beats the Stooges instead of joining their act. His abuse isn’t fun. It’s flat out hard to watch. The short reaches its heights when MacGillicuddy is off-screen and the Stooges just act like themselves. The Stooges antics at stealing a chicken and playing with a cannon highlight the short. But for the most part, Half Shot Shooters is a short that I daresay I probably don’t want to watch again. There’s very little here that’s pleasing and its violence is so mean-spirited that I daresay those who criticize Stooge violence would probably be proven right with this short alone. Luckily, I’ll always give my boys another chance. Notes:- The dining man who the Three Stooges try to steal a roasted chicken from is played by Vernon Dent, marking his Stooges debut. Dent co-starred in 56 Three Stooges shorts, the most of any Three Stooges supporting player. Dent retired from acting in 1954 after suffering blindness as a result of diabetes. However, during his career he starred in over 400 films.
- The title references the 1930 film Half Shot at Sunrise.
Disorder in the Court Gail Tempest (Suzanne Kaaren) is on trial for the murder of Kirk Robbin, and Moe, Larry, and Curly are the key witnesses who can prove their innocence. However, their shenanigans prove to be an annoyance to the courtroom.
Curly takes the stand and tells his version of the story. When nobody can understand what he is saying, he instead acts the scene out with Moe and Larry to violent results.
But as the defense (Bud Jamison) desperately tries to prove Gail’s innocence in spite of their testimony, a parrot continually squawks “Find the letter!” Moe discovers there is a letter tied to the parrot’s foot. Moe releases the bird on the court room causing Curly to chase it around with a mallet and finally get it down with a water hose.
Moe gets the note and reads it aloud, a confession by Buck Wing on the murder of Kirk Robbin. Gail is free!This is probably my favorite Three Stooges short. I admit that countless public domain releases have burnt me out on it, but I still have to recognize it as a stellar addition to the Three Stooges legacy. The Stooges are grand here. Basically they’ve been cast as chaos in a situation where order is vital. The boys have no business being in a court of law, but their testimony is necessary to the case of proving Gail’s innocence. Bud Jamison is fantastic as the defense attorney, he proves himself to be a terrific straight man to the Stooges. Every minute that Curly is on the stand is golden, especially when Bud is questioning him. “Would you please speak English and drop the vernacular.” “Vernacular? That’s a Derby!” The idea of the note tied to the parrot’s foot proving Gail’s innocence is a little hard to swallow, considering if Buck Wing wanted to get away with it scott free, why did he confess? But I don’t look for award winning screenplays in the Three Stooges and it’s something to overlook. I’ve watched Disorder in the Court a bit too many times to be considered healthy. Yet, I still have to recognize it as a Stooges masterwork. I love it. Notes:- During a copyright renewal of the Three Stooges shorts Columbia overlooked four shorts, thus sending them into public domain. Disorder in the Court was one of them, and the only short featuring Curly (the other three taken from the Shemp era). Most non-Columbia/Sony Three Stooges videos and DVDs contain Disorder in the Court as a result.
- A segment of this short is devoted to defendant Gail stripping down and dancing for the court. It comes as no surprise to learn that Suzanne Kaaren, who plays Gail, is an accomplished dancer and was even one of the original Rockettes.
- After 14 shorts with a title card that misspelled Curly’s name, the Stooges are finally treated to a brand new title card which spells his name correctly.
- The title of the short is an obvious play on the judge’s cry “Order in the court!”
- Moe and Curly’s (and Shemp’s) parents, Sol and Jenny Horwitz, are sitting in the public audience as extras.
- Curly’s hilarious swearing in sequence (“Take off your hat! Raise your right hand!”) was actually taken from the 1931 Buster Keaton film Sidewalks of New York. The film was directed by Jules White, long time producer and director of the Three Stooges shorts. His son, Jack White, directed this short under his usual pseudonym of Preston Black.
- The name “Kirk Robbin” is derived from the nursery rhyme Who Killed Cock Robin? The rhyme is about various animals accounting the death of a robin, with a sparrow who professing his guilt using his little bow and arrow. The short makes a direct reference to this with Buck Wing’s confession note, “Who killed Kirk Robbin? I killed Kirk Robbin! And not with my little bow and arrow too!”
- The name “Buck Wing” is named after a vaudeville dance number, buck-and-wing.
- Larry whips out his violin again for this short. Even Moe and Larry show off some musical skills and Moe plays a harmonica and Curly plays bass and spoons.
A Pain in the Pullman Moe, Larry, and Curly are the comedy act the Three Stooges. While rehearsing their act, they manage to annoy self proclaimed heartthrob of millions, Paul Pain (James C. Morton), who is staying in the apartment down the hall. Pain, however, is leaving on a train in an hour and will never have to deal with the group ever again.
Meanwhile, Moe, Larry, and Curly take a phone call from talent agents Goldstein, Goldberg, Goldblatt, and O’Brien, telling them they have a job if they can board a train within an hour. The same train Pain is on! Taking their pet monkey, Joe, they ditch their landlady without paying their rent and hot tail it to the train station.
On board the train, the Stooges mistake Pain’s room for their own, and help themselves to his food and champagne. Once discovered by Pain, the train conductor Johnson (Bud Jamison) is called in to kick them out. Johnson informs the Stooges to go straight to bed. However the Stooges have trouble climbing into their own bunk and disturb countless passengers in the process.
Meanwhile, Joe the monkey escapes and makes his way to Pain’s room, sending Pain into a rage. Johnson tries to find the monkey and get rid of it, but Curly attempts to hide Joe in his shirt. However, Joe soon reveals himself and pulls the emergency stop cord in the process. After the chaos that followed, the Stooges are kicked off the train.
A Pain in the Pullman is a fantastic Stooge short with plenty of laughs to spare. The short starts off a bit on the slow side with the Stooges rehearsing their routine to the annoyance of their neighbor, but as soon as they get on the train, the short is about as funny as anything they’ve ever done. The antics on trying to get into their bunk alone are classic material. “Hey! Wake up and go to sleep!” The pompous Paul Pain proves to be a grand villain to the Three Stooges. A self-proclaimed important man who feels the entire world should bow at his feet finds himself at the mercy of three dimwitted schmucks who neither know nor care who he is. Pain’s constant bossing around of train conductor Johnson makes sure that you’re always eager to see the Stooges humiliate him even further. The short drags a pit in places, but the whole is grand. Notes:- That’s real crab shell the boys are eating in the crab scene. Moe Howard’s dislike for shellfish made the film very difficult to shoot, for he wouldn’t even let it touch his tongue. Even after the prop men made a fake crab leg for Moe to chew on, he still had issues with eating it. Moe’s uneasiness about the scene is unfortunately obvious in the final film. Meanwhile, while Curly chewed away at the shell he was given, he cut the sides of his mouth in the process.
- At 19 minutes and 46 seconds, A Pain in the Pullman is the longest Three Stooges short.
- A Pain in the Pullman is the first time the Three Stooges are actually referred to as “The Three Stooges” in dialogue.
- The title of the short is a play on the phrase “Pain in the neck,” describing an obnoxious person. The use of the word “Pullman” is used to describe the train setting.
- A Pain in the Pullman is actually a remake of a 1932 Pitts and Todd short called Show Business. The short was directed by Three Stooges collaborator Jules White, whose son, Jack White (under the pseudonym Preston Black) directed A Pain in the Pullman.
- Interestingly enough, the name of the Three Stooges pet monkey in this short is Joe. After the death of both Curly and Shemp, Moe and Larry went through a series of partners named Joe: Joe Palma, Joe Besser, and Joe De Rita.
False Alarms Moe, Larry, and Curly are firemen, and lazy ones at that. After missing yet another fire alarm, the fire captain (Stanley Blystone) threatens to fire them.
While the boys are still on shift, Curly sneaks out to meet their blind dates for the evening: Maisy, Mimi, and Minnie (June Gittelson). Though, tired of waiting for the other two, they pull a fire alarm to get Moe and Larry to get there sooner.
Moe and Larry, however, have accidentally locked themselves in a bathroom when the fire alarm goes off, ensuring that they are late once again. Fearing for their job, they break the door down, steal the captain’s car, and take a short cut to ensure that they arrive before the fire truck. They find Curly waiting there with Maisy, Mimi, and Minnie, and the girls hop into the car and they take it for a joyride. However, after crashing the car and trying to pull it off of the curb, the car bursts to life and starts driving by itself, spreading havoc across the block. After the car crashes into the fire department and finally blows up in the back of a semi truck, fire trucks begin chasing the Stooges who drive off in the truck that’s on fire.Starting off with some decent bits and a promising occupation for some Stooge mayhem, False Alarms finds itself pretty much belly up and desperate for a gag about 5 minutes in. The stuff in the fire station ranges between mediocre and excellent, and the short becomes a bit frustrating in these scenes, as it obviously has potential but it’s not living up to it. Scenes like Moe pulling Larry back up the fire pole by the hair are instant classics, but long tedious sequences such as the boys in the shower with their fire coats on just simply stop the short dead. The final straw for the short is the Stooges blind date, which Curly is left all by himself for a while exchanging dialogue with three women who are too loud, obnoxious, and not very funny. When Moe and Larry enter the picture, the short briefly springs to life with non-stop chaos, but its explosive finale only confirms that the short was a dud. The reckless car driving and public panic almost seems like an allegory for how disjointed the entire short is. It’s a shame. The Stooges as firemen has potential to set the boys on fire, but False Alarms is a false alarm. Notes:- The fire captain says to the Stooges “If this were the army I’d have to shot at sunrise!” (“But you couldn’t do that captain! We don’t get up that early!”) The actor playing the captain is Stanley Blystone, who played the Stooges superior officer, sergeant MacGillicuddy, in Half Shot Shooters.
- The Stooges are at one point referred to as “Those three missing links!” Three Missing Links was the title of a 1938 Three Stooges short.
Whoops, I’m an Indian! In the old west, Moe, Larry, and Curly get caught cheating at gambling and are chased into the woods by lawmen and angry gamblers. Hiding out with nature, the boys hunt and fish to survive until the mob catches up to them.
They hide out in the cabin of a gruff Frenchmen named Pierre (Bud Jamison), and disguise themselves as Indians. When Pierre returns, he threatens them and chases them out.
Pierre then goes to a saloon to get drunk. They boys, still in Indian wigs, walk in as well. Recognizing them as the Indians who broke into his cabin, he threatens them again, but takes a liking to Curly, who he mistakes as an Indian girl. Pierre gets the sheriff to marry him and Curly and Pierre takes his blushing bride to a room upstairs for the honeymoon. However, Curly’s wig slips off and Pierre discovers he is not a woman. Pierre chases Curly out of the room and Curly escapes with Moe and Larry…into a jail cell!I must say I really like this one. Whoops, I’m an Indian! loses a lot of its gusto when the trio disguise themselves as Indians, but everything up until that point is wildly enjoyable. The scenes with the Stooges trying to fish are brilliant comedy. I laughed like a madman at Moe constantly throwing fish back to catch bigger ones (“So you’re the big brother, eh? Go fetch your old man!”). Curly walking to the middle of a lake with a shotgun was comedy gold! Pierre is well played by Bud Jamison, but when the short starts to focus more on him, it begins to fumble. I began to miss my Three Stooges shenanigans which opened the short. But those shenanigans alone make Whoops, I’m an Indian! a Stooge short to be reckoned with. Notes:- The title is a reference to a song titled “I’m an Indian.” The song told the story of a Yiddish girl marrying an Indian chief.
- Moe’s Indian make-up has a Tic-Tac-Toe board printed on his face. Larry’s has the letters H and O on his cheeks and the number 2 on his forehead, spelling out H2O, the periodic symbol for water.
Slippery Silks Moe, Larry, and Curly’s Uncle Pete has passed away, leaving his fashion dress shop, Madame de France, without an owner. The trio is his only heirs, unfortunately they cannot be located.
The boys are actually woodworkers who have been hired by Mr. Morgan (Vernon Dent) to duplicate a $50,000 Chinese cabinet on loan from the museum. After Larry and Curly almost drop the cabinet, Moe sets it on a wood saw and scolds them to be more careful. Not paying attention to the cabinet, Moe accidentally saws it in half. The boys try and glue it back together but are discovered by Morgan who chases them out into the streets in a rage. Once out in the open, they are discovered by the investigators who want to inform them they have just inherited Madame de France!
The boys quickly get to work running the joint and are instantly hired to put on a fashion show with new dress designs for none other than Morgan’s wife (Symona Boniface)! The Stooges put together some wacky dress designs made up like dressers and cabinets. They instantly become a big hit and Mrs. Morgan wants them to design a dress especially for her. However, Mr. Morgan, looking for his wife, busts in on the fitting and instantly recognizes the Stooges.
Morgan chases the Stooges back out into the fashion show and they start fighting. The erupting chaos results in a climatic pastry fight.
Slippery Silks is one of those shorts which is just kind of something to watch. It’s provides constant amusement but never a solid laugh. Other than a Three Stooges marathon, I don’t think there’s any reason for me to watch this one ever again. The opening with the Stooges as woodworkers is promising, but somewhat obvious and the boys never really spark. When they become fashion designers, I expected them to take off flying, but they never do. The boy’s designs are fun and the fact that their silly dresses are a hit is amusing, these goings-on just never get nutty enough. I like that Chinese cabinet the boys effectively destroyed in the opening, though. Maybe I can get Moe, Larry, and Curly to make me a replica… Notes:- While the clay fight in Pop Goes the Easel was a pre-cursor to the Three Stooges trademark pie fights, what could be considered the first actual pie fight happens in Slippery Silks. In actuality, most of the pastries thrown were cream puffs, but one pie gets thrown for good measure.
- According to Moe Howard’s autobiography, over 150 pastries were thrown while filming this short.
Shemp Howard appeared in the following shortsWhile the Cat’s Away (Short Subject) For the Love of Pete (Short Subject) Absorbing Junior (Short Subject) Here’s How (Short Subject) Punch and Beauty (Short Subject) The Choke’s On You (Short Subject) The Blonde Bomber (Short Subject) Ted Healy appeared in the following filmsSpeed (Feature Film) San Francisco (Feature Film) Sing, Baby, Sing (Feature Film) The Longest Night (Feature Film) Mad Holiday (Feature Film)
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Post by Justin T on Jan 11, 2011 18:25:30 GMT -5
You are doing a great job with this Torgo. Keep at it.
Of the shorts you have covered so far, these are my favorites.
Punch Drunks Three Little Pigskins Uncivil Warriors Three Little Beers Ants in the Pantry Movie Maniacs Disorder in the Court.
I also agree that Disorder has been overexposed due to it being public domain, but it's still great.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Jan 11, 2011 18:56:52 GMT -5
As a bit of an embarrassing confession, my introduction to the Three Stooges was a friend's Nintendo game that I played (which, in spite of what some might say, is a decent video game). So, when I wanted to know about this trio's works, my dad would rent VHS tapes that contained three shorts each for me to watch. Some shorts were great, and some were kind of downers.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Jan 19, 2011 17:11:47 GMT -5
1937 Curly, always the sucker for a pretty face, found himself hearing wedding bells again, this time to Elaine Ackerman. The marriage was his first which lasted beyond the year’s end making it Curly’s most successful marriage at the time. But while Curly’s summer wedding brought joy to the Stooges earlier in the year, as did the birth of Larry's second child, Johnny, former employer Ted Healy would be the cause of a major shock to the group. Life in showbiz was very kind to Ted after he and the Stooges went their separate ways. Healy had started playing supporting roles in motion pictures for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox (formed out of Fox Film Corporation, which distributed Soup to Nuts). Healy had even taken a second wife, Betty Hickman, and she had given birth to Ted’s first child. Ted, who adored children, was always envious of Moe and Larry, who had married and had children, always wanting one of his own. He had even thrown Christmas parties for underprivileged children and spent his own money on toys for them. Ted was excited about this turn of events in his life and visited his old friend Moe at his house, claiming he was going to make him “the richest kid in the world.” Two days after Ted visited Moe, tragedy struck. On December 21st, 1937, Ted Healy had died at the age of 41, after a bar fight at a local tavern. The story, as was told to Moe by friend Henry Taylor, was that an intoxicated Ted had intervened in a dispute between three college boys and started calling them vile names. He took them outside where he wanted to fight them one at a time, but all three of them had jumped him at once, knocked him to the ground, and started kicking him in the head, ribs, and stomach. Healy was taken home by actor Joe Frisco, where Healy died later that night from a head concussion. Conflicting reports say that Healy’s assaulters were in fact actor Wallace Beery, future James Bond film series producer Albert R. Broccoli, and Broccoli’s cousin, gangster Pat DiCicco. This version of the story was published in the book The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine by E.J. Fleming, stating that the college boy story was fed to the press to cover up their involvement. Wallace Beery had even left the country immediately after the death of Healy, somewhat supporting this claim. Other sources say Healy simply died of a heart attack, and his death had nothing to do with a bar fight. Moe, Larry, and Curly were in New York City boarding a train heading to Boston at the time they learned of Ted Healy’s death. Before they left, Moe called Columbia sales department head Rube Jackter to confirm their benefit performance at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. Jackter told Moe that the editor of The New York Times wished to speak to him. Moe called the paper up and was greeted with “Is this Moe?” Moe confirmed that it was, and the man at the other end asked “Would you like to make a statement on the death of Ted Healy?” Moe was stunned. He dropped the phone, threw his hands over his head, and began to weep. Larry and Curly dropped by the phone booth to tell him the train was ready to leave when they saw him on the ground crying. Larry and Curly boarded the train with Moe, and once there, he told them that Ted had died. Healy was a compulsive spender and gambler, and died penniless. MGM’s staff held a fundraiser just so Healy could have a funeral. Most of the cost was covered by vaudeville producer Brian Foy. Grips, Grunts, and Groans Moe, Larry and Curly are vagrants who are being chased by off their boxcar by railroad workers. The trio ducks into the Hangover Athletic Club and claim they’re looking for jobs. They get hired on as sparing partners, and professional wrestler Ivan Bustoff (Harrison Green) instantly takes a liking to the boys.
Bustoff takes the boys out for food and drinks. However, Bustoff’s managers (Casey Colombo and Blackie Whiteford) aren’t happy with their prize fighter getting boozed up right before the championship fight. They make an arrangement with Moe, Larry, and Curly to get Bustoff to the championship sober for $100. The boys take the challenge, but it’s too late and Bustoff has already passed out.
When their attempts at reviving Bustoff prove futile (those dumbbells and locker that fell on his head didn’t help matters), they enlist Curly to disguise himself as Bustoff and get into the ring. Curly reluctantly agrees, but as it turns out isn’t a very good wrestler. Moe has a trick up his sleeve, though: Wild Hyacinth perfume. One whiff of the scent sends Curly into a blind rage, and he wins the match.
However, Moe and Larry are unable to calm Curly down in time and Curly goes berserk on the public, causing the riot squad to be called in.It’s obvious that Grips, Grunts, and Groans is an attempt to recreate the far superior Punch Drunks. If I were to say something in Grips, Grunts, and Groans’ defense, it’s that it has a spark of it’s own to distinguish it from its predecessor. Like most sequences of sports in a Three Stooges short, they highlight this short more than anything else. The Stooges physical comedy adapts very well to the physical nature of sports in general. Curly’s spar with Kid Pinky is a delight. “Your shoe’s untied!” “Haha! The joke’s on you! It isn’t untied!” The climatic bout is energetic and a lot of fun. It’s probably an equal to the climatic fight in Punch Drunks, though I’m hesitant in saying that since Punch Drunks did most other things so much better. Outside of the sports, the short has some good gags. Bustoff is a bit loud for my tastes, but watching him take shots mercilessly throughout the short was a genuine pleasure. The Stooges squeeze some of their best lines out in the short as well. “Would you gentlemen like desert?” “Yeah, another turkey!” I can fault Grips, Grunts, and Groans for being a retread of familiar material, but I can’t fault it for not being as good as Punch Drunks. Grips, Grunts, and Groans isn’t a classic, but it works well enough on it’s own for me not to care which came first. Notes:- The third of four Three Stooges shorts where something random drives Curly crazy, in this case Wild Hyacinth perfume. The only thing that can control him is tickling his feet. See also: Punch Drunks, Horses’ Collars, and Tassels in the Air.
- The Stooges stunt doubles can clearly be seen in the scene where they trip over a baby carriage.
Dizzy Doctors Moe, Larry, and Curly are being pressured by their wives to get jobs, and are sent to respond to an ad for Brighto salesmen. The Stooges, being the only ones who applied, get the job and hit the streets to sell the product. However, they forgot to ask just what it is they’re selling. They assume it’s some sort of cleaner, and use it to buff shoes, clean stains, and polish cars. Yet, they’re only successful in burning holes and taking off paint. Avoiding their infuriated customers, they head back to their boss (Frank Mills) claiming his polish is terrible. He informs them that Brighto is actually medicine.
The Stooges hit the streets again and make their way to a hospital, the place where they know people need medicine. They go from room to room trying to cure patients and then try to sell it directly to the hospital head (Vernon Dent), who turns out to be the man whose car paint job was ruined by Brighto. He and security chase them out of the building and the Stooges make their way home, where they hop back in bed and fall asleep.Dizzy Doctors is a fun short to watch. Not among the Stooges’ best, but one that stands as an entertaining effort. I love the scenes of the Stooges attempting to sell their product by merely running around on the street and yelling “BRIGHTO! BRIGHTO! BRIGHTO!” Their ignorance as to what their product actually is brings a genuine chuckle as they try and figure it out by doing everything they can think of with it. The short becomes a bit of a little brother to Men in Black when they hit the hospital, trying to cure what ails everyone with their supposed miracle cure. Going from room to room and offering their supposed medical expertise. The short ends on a high note when the Stooges make a spectacular exit on a dolly with a bed sheet as a sail. The effect is definitely a Stooge highlight of their career. Notes:- The name of the hospital is the Los Arms Hospital. The same name was used for the hospital in 1934’s Men in Black.
- One of the most prominent thugs the Stooges ever faced, Cy Schindell was a former middleweight boxer turned bit part player. During his service of the Marine Corps in the 1940’s, however, Schindell developed jungle rot, which turned into terminal cancer. Schindell knew he was dying, and fought his illness just so he could work to make enough money to financially support his family after his death, which he would succumb to in 1948. Outside of his work with the Three Stooges, Schindell is notable as a bouncer in the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life.
3 Dumb Clucks Moe, Larry, and Curly’s father Popsie (Curly Howard) has struck it rich, divorced their mother, and intends to wed a beautiful gold digger. Their mother enlists them to win him back for her. They’ve just got to do the simple task of breaking out of prison first!
Meanwhile, Popsie’s bride-to-be, Daisy (Lucille Lund), tries to convince Popsie to shave off his sideburns for the wedding. Reluctantly he agrees.
Later, the Stooges, fresh out of the joint, pay Popsie a visit and try and talk some sense into him. Popsie won’t hear of it and gets rid of them by giving them some cash to spend to buy new clothes for the wedding. Not being ones to refuse a handout, they accept the money.
However, out on the street, Daisy runs into the boys and mistakes Curly for a clean-shaven Popsie. Seeing a golden opportunity to keep Daisy from marrying their father, the Stooges play along, intending to get Daisy wed to Curly instead.
Once at the penthouse, the Stooges overhear two men (Eddie Laughton and Harry Tenbrook) talking about killing Popsie off right after the wedding so Daisy will inherit all of his money, a scheme which Daisy is in on. Curly tries and back out of the wedding, but Daisy’s thugs force him into it. Once the ceremony ends, the trio tries to escape, only to have the two men chase after them. Popsie shows up himself, and confuses the matter even further. The Stooges are chased on top of a flagpole, which the two thugs knock over sending them plummeting to the streets. They land right on top of Popsie, breaking their fall. They then proceed to drag him back to mother.A wildly entertaining Three Stooges short, if I do say so myself. 3 Dumb Clucks is a great effort from the boys. I loved Curly’s double role as both Curly and Popsie. Late in the short, the two get into a grand chase scene where each appear from different sides of the set, ensuring the villains are thoroughly confused. Curly’s bit on trying on hats was a fun sequence as well. Moe and Larry mostly play second fiddle to Curly this time around. Their biggest scenes come early on during the jail break scene, where they use stashed away power tools to break through the wall. Moe gets a great gag here as he gives the power cord to the drill to a guard, claiming it’s a part of his electric razor and he wants a shave. I confess bothering to set the Stooges up in prison only to have no one seem to miss them once they’re gone is a bit disappointing. I imagine there should have been some sort of manhunt going down, but the Stooges wander around free without a worry. Lots of funny here. This is one that I can watch again and again. Notes:- Jerry Howard does double duty as not only his onscreen persona Curly but the Three Stooges father, “Popsie.” It is one of very few times Curly has appeared on film out of his normal Stooge character.
- Not only is the title a reference of the 1936 musical Three Smart Girls, but the plot of the short is a direct parody of the film.
- Curly suffered a severe injury on the set. In the scene where he (as Popsie) is thrown down an elevator shaft, the bottom of the shaft was padded to cushion Curly’s fall, however a 2x4 was left exposed. When Curly landed, his head hit the 2x4 and tore his scalp open. Instead of sending him to the hospital, Columbia sent in the studio physician to stitch the wound, glue hair over it, and give him painkillers so he could continue working. The patch on his head can be seen in the scene where Curly is trying on hats.
Back to the Woods Moe, Larry, and Curly are three prisoners of Merrie Olde England in the mid 1700’s. They are sentenced to go to the American colonies and fight the native savage.
Once there, the boys romance the governor’s daughters (Harley Wood and Ethelreda Leopold, third actress is unknown), only to be caught by the governor himself (Vernon Dent). They hand him a note of instructions which simply read “Giveth them the works.” The Stooges are sent hunting for food.
Out in the woods, the boys mistake a bunch of Indian headdresses for turkeys and open fire. The Indians chase them across the woods and take Larry prisoner. Moe and Curly disguise themselves as Indians and rescue Larry, and make their escape in a canoe.What Back to the Woods lacks in coherent plot it makes up for in solid laughs, and that’s what the Three Stooges are all about. The story is lightweight, and is little more than a flimsy excuse to put the Stooges in costumes and have them get chased around by Indians. It’s forgivable, since short subjects are meant for amusement and not compelling story, though after the plot driven effort of 3 Dumb Clucks, Back to the Woods feels a bit shallow. Still the setting is fun, and the boys make the most of running around in it. The laughs are steady and consistent throughout the entire short. The trial at the beginning is a delight, and I enjoyed the boys dance routine to a music box. Curly does a great physical gag late in the short where he knocks down an Indian by dropping to his hands and kicking his legs up like a horse. The effect is done very well. The climatic rescue of Larry is a blast. Back to the Woods probably isn’t my favorite Three Stooges short, but it’s one I’ll gladly revisit time and time again. Notes:- Back to the Woods features the first use of recycled footage in a Three Stooges short: the ending shot of the boys in a canoe rocketing across the river. Recycled footage would eventually become a much larger part of Three Stooges shorts, reusing up to major scenes and almost entire shorts.
- When Larry mentions the W.P.A., he says it stands for the Willing Pilgrims Association. This is a riff on the real W.P.A., the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program of the 1930’s.
- At one point Curly describes a horserace between two horses named Whopper and Rosemont. These were real, popular racehorses at the time.
- The daughters’ names of Faith, Hope, and Charity were in reference to pilgrims William and Mary Brewster, who named their sons and daughters Love, Wrestling, Patience, and Fear.
Goofs and Saddles The United States Cavalry calls upon the aid of Buffalow Billious (Curly) and his men, Wild Bill Hicup (Moe) and Just Plain Bill (Larry), to stop notorious cattle rustler Longhorn Pete (Stanley Blystone).
Buffalow sneaks into the Longhorn Saloon, where Pete is playing a poker game and has just happened to have shot his three partners for cheating. He enlists Buffalow, Hicup, and Bill to replace them. During the game, Buffalow writes an intelligence report and attaches it to the leg of a pigeon which he sends to the Cavalry. The pigeon flies back, however, because he is the pet of Longhorn Pete. Pete reads the letter and discovers his fellow players are Buffalow Billious and his comrades.
Buffalow, Hicup, and Bill are chased out of the saloon out into a cabin in the woods, where they are cornered. Buffalow, however, discovers a bunch of bullets and a meat grinder. Feeding the bullets into the meat grinder, Buffalow creates a homemade machine gun which subdues Pete and his gang just in time for them to be captured by the Cavalry.
Goofs and Saddles has quite a bit in common with the previous short, Back to the Woods. Both shorts feature a frontier setting (albeit different centuries) and are primarily gag driven. Goofs and Saddles has a bit more story to it than Back to the Woods, but its gags aren’t as strong. It’s fun to see the Stooges playing “professionals” in any setting, as they often stumble through their work, getting the job done by accident. The poker game is a highlight, as the boys attempt to cheat in the game. Moe and Curly each have two aces and attempt to pass cards to each other, only they each hand each other their own aces! Their Cavalry shtick is a lot of fun in Goofs and Saddles. I got to admit, the boys look good in those long haired wigs and mustaches. It’s a bit startling when they appear without them halfway though. I thought it would be something fun and different had they worn them throughout the entire short, but maybe that’s just me. The gags get stronger as the short goes on. The climatic chase is grand and Curly with the meat grinder is classic stuff. It’s enough to make Goofs and Saddles a good short well worth checking out. Notes:- The title is a play on the western Hoofs and Saddles.
- The names of Curly and Moe in this short reference two Wild West figures, Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickock. Larry’s name is a reference to Just Plain Bill, a popular radio series at the time.
- This short features the smallest slap count of any of the Three Stooges shorts. Moe only slaps Larry once, and smacks Curly on the head.
Cash and Carry Prospectors Moe, Larry, and Curly return home to their house in the city dump. However, they find that two people have moved in, a boy named Jimmy (Sonny Bupp) and his older sister (Harley Wood). The Stooges tell them to scram, but change their minds once they see that little Jimmy is crippled. They allow the siblings to take the house and set off to find some tires for their car in the dump.
However, Curly unearths a can full of $62. Believing they’ve hit the jackpot, the Stooges search the dump franticly for more money, only to discover that the money belongs to Jimmy and his sister, and the two were saving up $500 for Jimmy’s leg operation. They return the money to their rightful owners, but get the idea that if Jimmy were to put his money in the bank, the interest will swell the money to $500. Jimmy and his sister trust the money with the Stooges who set off to find a bank what will balloon the money in no time.
However, the Stooges meet a group of swindlers (Nick Copeland and Lew Davis) who tell them they have a deal that can make them thousands (“That aint enough. We gotta make $500.”) They sell them a map for the money in the can and drop them off at old house. The Stooges begin tearing the house apart until Curly discovers a concrete wall beneath the place. Blasting their way though, the Stooges wind up in the United States Treasury! The boys begin gathering money when they are caught by security guards.
The Stooges make their case to the President of the United States himself (Al Richardson), who promises to arrange for Jimmy’s leg operation and lets the Stooges off the hook.This is one of the first shorts in which the Stooges show any genuine compassion for someone other than themselves. As such, Cash and Carry is one that I heeded very little attention to when I was a child, opting for their more slapstick efforts. In my adulthood, it’s one of my all time favorites. The story has a lot of heart, as the Stooges handle the money of two poor folks whom they just met. Unfortunately, in a true Jack and the Beanstalk fashion, they end up spending it on the promise they’ll make more money. It seems like a sinful deed, but the boys heart is in the right place as they always have little Jimmy and his leg operation in mind as they do this. As silly as the plot is, it kind of warms me up inside. Patient fans will have to wait until the second half for some physical comedy, but if you do, it’s well worth it. As the boys tear up an abandoned house in search of treasure, we see some of the finest cartoonish violence they’ve ever done. The collapse of the wall on top of Moe, alone, is one of the more hilarious and exciting things they’ve ever done. The ending finds the perfect balance of paying off the Stooges hunt for treasure and conclusion to the story of Jimmy. This is a swell short that I want to watch over and over again. Notes:- Jimmy is played by Sonny Bupp. Bupp is notable for having played Charles Foster Kane III four years later in Orson Welles’ legendary Citizen Kane. He also co-starred in then-actor/future-President Ronald Reagan’s first feature film, Love is in the Air, and two Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts, Our Gang Follies of 1936 and Men in Fright.
- Comedian Andy Clyde adapted this story later for his short subject films A Minor Affair and Two April Fools.
Playing the Ponies Moe, Larry, and Curly own a restaurant named the Flounder Inn, however business isn’t good. One day, two swindlers (Nick Copeland and Lew Davis) enter the restaurant looking to get rid of their loser of a racing horse, Thunderbolt. Eager to get in on the horse racing racket, they swap the restaurant for the horse, but not before Curly pockets a load of hot peppers he mistakes for peanuts.
The Stooges find Thunderbolt at the track and discover he’s in such bad shape that even Curly can beat him around the track. The hungry Curly reaches into his pocket for his “peanuts,” but Thunderbolt eats them out of his hand. With his mouth on fire, Thunderbolt gallops away at record speed. This gives the boys an idea.
The day of the big race comes, and jockey Larry fuels Thunderbolt on the peppers. However the horse spins in circles and won’t run. Moe and Curly grab a bucket of water and hop on a motorcycle, driving around the track with it, causing Thunderbolt to chase them. The horse builds up so much momentum that he wins the race!Simple plot and good laughs, Playing the Ponies is a lot of fun. Curly’s antics in the kitchen at the beginning of the short start us off with a bang, with Moe and Larry acting as waiters covering up the lousy food. “Excuse me, is this pork or veal?” “What did you order?” “Veal.” “It’s veal!” The race scenes are consistently amusing, especially Curly running around the track faster than the horse. The use of chili peppers as a secret weapon is wild, and gives the short gas. It’s a good short, but not a great one. I was constantly entertained, and that’s good enough for me. Notes:- The two conmen in Playing the Ponies are played by Nick Copeland and Lew Davis, who played the conmen in the previous short, Cash and Carry.
- “Playing the Ponies” is a slang term for betting on racehorses.
The Sitter Downers It's springtime and Moe, Larry, and Curly are madly in love with Corabell (Betty Mack), Florabell (June Gittelson), and Dorabell (Marcia Healy). Today is the day they intend to pop the question, but the blushing brides-to-be insist they ask their father (James C. Morton) for their hands first. He rejects the Stooges, but they won’t take no for an answer.
The Stooges go on a sit-down strike until their father says yes. During the days that pass, they gain the support of the nation, and various free stuff from the people they’ve inspired. Finally, unable to take the Stooges in his house any longer, father lets them get married, and the Stooges prepare to go on their honeymoon.
But the honeymoon can’t start until they get a house. Acquiring a vacant lot and a load of lumber, the brides force the boys to build them a house before the honeymoon begins. Of course, contractors they aren’t. The boys do their best, but the house ends up being a disaster that falls apart after 30 seconds.One of the most overrated Stooges shorts, The Sitter Downers is as big a structural disaster as the house the boys built in the climax. The pacing of the short is a chore, as the promising concept of the Stooges on a sit down strike is completely wasted. After all, who would want the Three Stooges refusing to leave their house? After the concept is introduced, the strike ends in 2 minutes, letting very little mayhem ensue, and almost no laughs. The overlong climax gives the short what little energy it has, as the boys spend two thirds of the short building a house. The gags are good, but it seems like a separate short altogether. The premise of the short should have been the strike and the ball is dropped big time. Had this sequence been saved for a better short, it might have developed something spectacular. Instead, The Sitter Downers is a bore. Its premise is a waste and its highlights come too little, too late. I do love the Stooges’ “car,” however. So much that I find myself tempted to make one of my own. Notes:- Dorabell is played by Marcia Healy, who is the sister of the Stooges former partner Ted Healy.
Shemp Howard appeared in the following shorts and filmsKick Me Again (Short Subject) Taking the Count (Short Subject) Hollywood Round-Up[/b] (Feature Film) Headin’ East (Feature Film) Ted Healy appeared in the following filmsMan of the People (Feature Film) Good Old Soak (Feature Film) Varsity Show (Feature Film)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 24, 2011 11:35:13 GMT -5
I apologize for my hiatus. While I have wright-ups for for every short and film in the Curly era, I decided to take a break before Shemp to recharge my batteries. I might have a new installment up by Saturday, so expect more Stoogey goodness in the near future.
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Post by Justin T on Feb 25, 2011 12:37:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the update Torgo, was wondering when you were going to post another entry. Looking foward to it.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 26, 2011 1:35:09 GMT -5
My passion for the Stooges will never die. This I promise you. Started with Shemp, and my grove is back on. I think separating him from Curly was a good idea, as it not only provided me with a breather, it allowed me to adjust to the replacement of my favorite Stooge.
Though I always did feel a lot of Shemp's earliest shorts were among his best. Brideless Groom, All Gummed Up, Hold that Lion, Sing a Song of Six Pants, Shivering Sherlocks...great laughs, all of them.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Feb 26, 2011 15:31:58 GMT -5
1938Termites of 1938 After her husband (Richard Fiske) goes fishing on the eve of a high-society party, Muriel van Twitchett (Bess Flowers) is left without a male escort for the big occasion. She is recommended the Acme Escort Bureau by a friend, which will send Ivy League escorts to accompany her to her party. Upon asking her maid to dial the number for her, the maid misunderstands and dials the Acme Exterminating Company instead. Moe, Larry, and Curly answer her and come to her house thinking it’s a job.
Once there, the Stooges are wined and dined. However, their table manners cause much of a stir among the guests.
When Moe discovers mice in the house, he decides it’s time to get busy. The Stooges drill holes in the walls and tear the house apart. When Muriel’s husband returns home and discovers the house wrecked, he chases the trio out of the house.Termites of 1938 is a short that often jumps back and forth over the line between good and mediocre. However, the wonderfully zany plot is enough to push it to a passing grade. The setup is a bit woefully slow, and Moe’s idea of building a better mousetrap isn’t that entertaining. Once the short gets to the party, it hits the gas. There are a lot of smiles at the Stooges table manners, which the socialites uncertainly try to mimic. Like the similar Ants in the Pantry, the short is at its high when the Stooges are bluffing their way through the party whilst looking for rodents. Termites of 1938 isn’t as strong an offering, but it’s pleasant enough. Notes:- Bess Flowers is cited to be the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood, having starred in over 700 films in 41 years! In addition to working with the Three Stooges, she has also starred onscreen for comic legends Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy. She has been featured in no less than five Best Picture Academy Award Winners: The Frank Capra classics It Happened One Night (1934) and You Can’t Take It With You (1938), All About Eve (1950), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). However, in all five of them she had appeared uncredited.
- The title is a parody on the film Gold Diggers of 1937.
- The first short in which Curly drops to the ground and spins in a circle. This comic move is known as the “coffee grinder.”
- The short was reworked as a non-Three Stooges short called Society Mugs, with starred former-and-future-Stooge Shemp Howard.
Wee Wee Monsieur Starving artists Moe, Larry, and Curly are living in Paris, France. 8 months overdue on the rent, the Stooges are chased out of their apartment by their landlord. Thinking the French Foreign Legion will give them a lift home to America, the boys walk into a recruitment facility. However, they accidentally sign up for the Legion.
Their first job is to protect Captain Gorgonzola, a task they mess up rather quickly as he is kidnapped in mere moments. The Stooges are assigned to rescue him from the country of Tsimiss. Disguised as a group of Santa Clauses, they infiltrate the palace keeping the captain captive, and then take the guise of harem girls.
The Stooges get a hold of Captain Gorgonzola and escape into a lion cage. The lion chases them, but the boys manage to subdue the lion and make him pull a carriage back to base.Starts off a little too routinely but gets stronger as it goes along, Wee Wee Monsieur is about as middle of the road as Stooge shorts get. The landlord bit has been done to death in similar Stooge shorts and other various comedies, and this is definitely not one of the strongest offerings. The trick of having the Stooges join a military group has also been done before and since, and much better too. The short starts to shine a little bit when the Stooges are on duty, and head off to rescue Captain Gorgonzola. The use of Santa Claus as a disguise is a genuine classic and is the cause of some great gags. “Oh, you hit Santa Claus! Just for that, no toys!” The escape is fun, as is the bit with the lion. But the short is just a little too little and nothing special. Note:- The title references the French phrase meaning “Yes, sir.” However, the correct spelling is “Oui Oui,” not “Wee Wee.”
Start Cheering Film star Ted Crosley’s (Charles Starette) films for Empire Pictures are a sensation! However fed up with his life as a superstar, Ted decides to quit showbusiness and give college a shot, a choice that leaves the studio and Crosley’s manager Sam (Walter Connolly) completely stunned.
Ted attends Midland University, however his stay isn’t as quiet as he had hoped. Ted’s manager hires his aid Willie (Jimmy Durante) to go undercover in the school and attempt to get Ted kicked off campus. Each attempt fails, however, as the dean of the school is determined to keep Ted there, as a way of increasing the school’s popularity and thus ensuring that he isn’t voted out of his job by the school board.
However, Ted finds some peace in the dean’s daughter, Jean (Joan Perry), who he begins to fall for. However, when Sam and Willie convince a college fraternity to play a prank on Ted, he thinks Jean is in on it. Losing the only good thing he has at this school, Ted leaves for New York.
Prior to this, Sam has made arrangements for Ted to make a radio broadcast from the school, but upon learning that Ted has fled campus, he and Willie chase after him. Catching Ted’s train, they convince him that Jean had no part in the prank and that he must make it back for the broadcast. They race back to the school where Ted performs for the radio and declares his love for Joan.
Moe, Larry, and Curly have brief cameos as school coach assistants/firemen/police officers.Jimmy Durante was always a pleasant presence in the early work of the Three Stooges, with Start Cheering their final collaboration together for 25 years. After the wonderful Meet the Baron and the delightful Hollywood Party, I find myself both ready and saddened for the final Jimmy Durante starring feature with the Stooges on cameo. Start Cheering proves to be one of the better films of the Stooges early years. It’s a simple comedy that gets a little too chaotic by its end, but ends up being a pleaser in its entirety. Jimmy Durante provides a lot of strong laughs, including an early scene in which Durante has an argument over the telephone with himself and several scenes later on in which he tries to answer college level questions and failing miserably. There’s one interesting gag early on with a college student named Shorty, who spends a good two minutes with the camera on him while he’s eating cigarettes and matches, even a matchbook. Obviously this is some sort of trick, but the camera stays focused on him the entire time with no cuts. I admit being very impressed and amused by it. The film runs a bit long with musical scenes added to it, all of which aren’t impressive or that entertaining. The film also becomes a bit confused by its end as the characters who are supposedly the film’s antagonists succeed at alienating the poor main character, who just wants a normal life. They seem to get exactly what they want without repercussion. The ending tries it’s best to keep spirits up though, trying to come up with a happy medium between the desires of all points of view in the film, even though the payoff seems bittersweet. The Stooges have two small scenes in the picture. In the first they rehash the “Point to the right!” bit used in Pardon My Scotch. The second is a hilarious new bit in which they play firemen/police officers investigating a boy sneaking around in the girl’s dormitory. “I guess they changed the rules.” “It’s about time!” I declare Start Cheering worth watching. More intelligent comedies are out there, but it has its fair share of laughs to make the experience worthwhile. Notes:- Charles Starette became popular from 1940-1952 in Columbia’s western series The Durango Kid. In 13 years, 62 Durango Kid features were made, all starring Starette.
- For more on Jimmy Durante, see 1933’s Meet the Baron.
Tassels in the Air Moe, Larry, and Curly are janitors at an office building. But their constant bumbling provides annoyance to resident interior designer Omay. The Stooges break for lunch where they discuss the fine art of Pig Latin with Curly, but a mishap with the signs outside leads Mrs. Smirch (Bess Flowers), one of Omay’s clients, into their room. She mistakes Moe for Omay (because Pig Latin for Moe is “Oe-May”), and hires them to decorate her house.
The boys arrive at the Smirch home where they put their own spin on interior decorating. However, the real Omay shows up, and reveals them for the frauds they are.
Tassels in the Air is a wonderful short with a laid back feel. There’s not much plot, but its wackiness makes up for its lack of any real payoff. A lot of the gags are inspired, yet there’s no manic chaos that one would expect to find in the work of the trio. There are slaps and mishaps, yet not an overwhelming amount. The painting of the antique table is a prime example, as it’s a fairly quiet scene that somehow gets strong laughs. The Pig Latin sequence is another example, as it has all the makings of an overlong and tedious sequence, but never becomes boring or lame. It ends exactly where it should, as well. However, the short feels like it ends about 2 minutes before any other should would. The boys are found out and it just kind of ends. There’s the paint gag, in which a can of paint is dumped on each of their heads at the end, but it feels like weak comeuppance for a short full of shenanigans. Compared to other entries, they got off light this time around. Notes:- Tassels in the Air is a partial reworking of the 1933 short Luncheon at Twelve, which was also directed by Charley Chase.
- The fourth and final short in which something Curly sees, hears, and/or smells drives him crazy, this time tassels. Tickling his chin will keep him under control. See also: Punch Drunks, Horses’ Collars, and Grips, Grunts, and Groans. The concept would be revisited with Curly-Joe in The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze.
- The title is a play on the phrase “building castles in the air,” which means dreaming of achieving the impossible.
- Moe, Larry, and Curly have a discussion about Pig Latin in this short. At the beginning, Moe tells Larry in Pig Latin “Gimme the salt.” Larry responds with a confusing mix of Pig Latin and English “Get your own.” After that they use their own names to try and get Curly to learn the language. Curly fails miserably, thinking his name in Pig Latin would be “Curly-Cue” (which is a type of design pattern). He adopts “Umb-Day,” which is Pig Latin for “dumb.” For the record, Pig Latin for “Curly” would be neither “Curly-Cue” nor “Umb-Day,” but “Urly-Cay.”
Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb Curly wins a radio contest which pays off $50,000! Finally the boys have hit it big! He, Moe, and Larry set off to buy new clothes and a new apartment with the best furnishings money can buy: a $5000 vase, a Henry VIII bed, and even a bathtub! The Stooge way of life meeting high society has disastrous consequences, as they promptly wreck the room. But everything is fine! After all, they can pay for it!
But when the prize money comes, taxes have deducted everything but $4.85. The boys need money and they need it fast.
Meanwhile three gold digging women (Lucille Lund, Jean Carmen, and Earlene Heath) plan to make the Stooges fall for them so they can take them for every cent they’ve got. The girls send their pet monkey into the Stooges’ room and show up on their doorstep looking for it, posing as millionaire widows. The boys propose to them so they can get the cash to pay their bill, and the girls accept. However, once their pet monkey unearths the letter revealing the boy’s true earnings from the contest, the girls smash vases on the boys head, implying that the engagement is off.
Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb is a very strong offering from the boys, with an original plot and some wild comedy. However the short feels unfinished, as the end has little resolution to it. The boys are broke again and the scheming gold diggers don’t get what they want, but I can’t help but feel there should be a little bit more too it. The hotel bill for our boys is still up in the air by the end, and obviously they couldn’t pay it. They either escaped the hotel or were arrested, one or the other. Probably the latter, since they were knocked out as the short ends. This seems a bit bleak since the women who were planning to take the money out from under their noses don’t seem to suffer any consequences. Everything leading up until the ending is beautiful, the set up and the gags. The wrecking of the Henry VIII bed was a treasure, and the card game with pancakes was a lot of fun. The taxes taking out almost all of Curly’s winnings is a rich and intelligent gag, as well. It’s a great short; I just wish it had an ending. Notes:- The monkey’s name is Darwin, a reference to evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin.
- The title of the short is a reference to the Benjamin Franklin quote “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Violent is the Word for Curly Mrs. Catsby (Gladys Gale) has made a donation to Mildew College for Girls, but instead of giving the girls a desperately needed athletic fund, she insists that it goes to the hiring of Professors Finestein, Frankfurter, and Von Stupor (Dick Curtis and Pat Gleason, third actor unknown) to teach at the college. The professors make a stop off at a gas station on their way, where Moe, Larry, and Curly practice “Super Service!” as station attendants. The trio accidentally blow up the professors’ car and make a getaway in an ice cream truck that has the professor’s luggage in the back.
The truck breaks down on the side of the road. The boys change out of their dirty attendant clothes into nice clean graduation gowns from the luggage and start hitchhiking. Mrs. Catsby picks them up and mistakes them for the three professors. She takes them to Mildew College where the boys’ wacky teachings stir up the inhabitants.
However, the real professors storm in and reveal the Stooges to be frauds. But they leave in a huff, feeling insulted that the Stooges could be mistaken for themselves. On their way out, they mix up a formula of nitro glycerin to teach the Stooges a lesson.
However, not taken aback by the professors appearance at the school, the Stooges insist on teaching the girls sports. They head out into back to teach their version of basketball, with help from an explosive ball they’ve received from the three professors. Unimpressed, Mrs. Catsby promises to fund athletics if the Stooges are able to get the professors back. But an out of bounds shot with the ball lands on the sidewalk, causing the ball to finally explode, and blows the professors back into the campus.I have a special fondness for Violent is the Word for Curly, since it was the first Three Stooges short I had seen (I can tell you, by the time the car exploded, I was a die-hard fan). I can see faults in the short, as the plot is all over the place and makes little sense, but it’s laugh out loud funny. I love the boys in “Super Service!” mode, as they genuinely want to do a good job. They just try a little too hard. Curly being defrosted from the back of the ice cream truck is a definite highlight, and their attempts at basketball at the end are absolute gutbusters. The boys singing “Swinging the Alphabet”, while not really that funny, is a lot of fun to watch. But there are a lot of crazy shenanigans in this short that are a little too out there. The boys getting mistaken as the professors by Mrs. Catsby is a bit forced, as picking up three guys on the side of the road wearing graduation gowns is proof enough that they were the men that were hired for the school. I never really fully understood the reasons for the real professors to make that exploding basketball at the end, either. Why do they want to blow up the school? And why a basketball of all things? The boys weren’t even playing sports when they started making that concoction. But if you look past the minor details, this one is a lot of fun. Definitely one that I’ll watch many times over. Notes:- In the scene where a frozen Curly is being thawed out on a revolving spit over a fire, Curly was so heavy that Moe and Larry couldn’t turn the crank. Thus, the straps on him slipped and he hung directly over the fire and was seared. Edward Bernds, who supervised the scene, recalled “Curly was hollering his head off, and I don’t blame him. Being roasted alive belongs to the Inquisition, not making two-reel comedies.”
- The title of the short is a reference to the novel and 1936 film Valiant is the Word for Carrie.
- The song “Swinging the Alphabet” was originally published in 1875 under the title “The Spelling Bee.” Director Charley Chase was taught the song by his maid, and pitched the idea of it being used in a short. The idea was embraced.
Three Missing Links Janitors Moe, Larry, and Curly make a mess of film producer B.O. Botswaddle’s office. In a fit of rage, Botswaddle (James C. Morton) fires them, but then realizes Curly would make the perfect gorilla for his new picture, starring Hollywood starlet Mirabel Mirabel (Jane Hamilton).
They hot foot it to Africa where they plan to shoot the picture, but the Stooges wander off into a witch doctor’s hut where Curly acquires love candy, which he intends on giving to Mirabel so she’ll fall madly in love with him.
Filming begins the next day, but a real gorilla raids the set during Curly’s big scene. The director and Mirabel run away, and the gorilla chases after the Stooges. Moe and Larry eventually get away, but the gorilla traps Curly in the witch doctor’s hut. In a desperate attempt to calm the beast, Curly tries to feed it love candy, but Curly ingests some himself. Curly falls madly in love with the ape, but the gorilla is repulsed by Curly and runs away.An average outing for the trio that hits a home run in its final minutes, Three Missing Links is a simple concept done right. The film is relatively amusing during its first half, with a rather generic sequence of Stooges playing clean up. The use of Curly as the gorilla in the picture gets the ball rolling, though. Curly’s bout at the end with a real gorilla sells the short’s concept fairly well, as Moe and Larry constantly get Curly and the gorilla mixed up. It’s a delight. My one complaint is that while the love candy had a spectacular pay off at the end, use of it in the subplot of Curly’s crush on Mirabel was never made. It seemed like there were more gags in the idea, but it’s dropped. I shouldn’t complain though, since we got a good short out of the deal. Note:- Footage from this short was featured in the 1990 action film Lethal Weapon 2. The film’s star, Mel Gibson, produced the 2000 television biopic The Three Stooges and is a major fan of the boys (yet he hates Jews. Go figure).
- Watch the gorilla when Curly takes his fake gorilla head off. The “real” gorilla tries to take his own head off as well!
Mutts to You Mr. and Mrs. Manning (Lane Chandler and Bess Flowers) are about to start a fabulous vacation in Palm Springs, but Mr. Manning makes one stop to pick up the dog from K-9 Dog Laundry ran by Moe, Larry, and Curly. Infuriated at the idea that they’ll be taking the dog with them, Mrs. Manning leaves the car in a huff, takes the baby with her, and goes home in a taxi. When Mr. Manning comes out of the building, he assumes she went to Palm Springs without him.
Mrs. Manning arrives at home, but locks herself out of the front door of the house, and is forced to go around the back, meanwhile leaving the baby on the front porch. The Stooges pass by in their car and notice the baby. Fearing it’s been abandoned, they take the baby back to their apartment. Right afterward, Mr. Manning returns home to drop the dog off at the house, and then takes off to Palm Springs. However, Mrs. Manning exits the house right as he’s driving away, notices the baby missing, and assumes Mr. Manning took the baby to Palm Springs without her.
The Stooges take care of the baby in the meantime, but soon Mr. and Mrs. Manning discover each other don’t have the baby and report it kidnapped. Upon reading the newspaper, the boys try to sneak the baby out of their apartment and back to where they found it. But a police officer (Bud Jamison) sees the baby and chases them.
Meanwhile, the Manning dog catches the scent of the Stooges and is on the trail, with the Mannings following him. The police and the Mannings catch the Stooges at the same time, but as the Stooges explain their story, the Mannings realize it has been a big misunderstanding.
As an apology, the Stooges take the baby to their dog washing service and give him a bath.The idea of the Stooges playing parents is an obvious one, and it’s been revisited several times down the road with Sock-A-Bye Baby, Three Loan Wolves, and Baby Sitter Jitters. However, Mutts to You was the first and arguably the best. Containing some of the more inventive parenting gags, Mutts to You is a fairly pleasurable outing. The desperate antics of hiding the baby in their apartment are wild, and Curly’s rig for the baby is genius. One could argue that the Stooges don’t spend nearly enough time trying to care for the baby, possibly making it lesser than the other “Three Stooges and a Baby” shorts in which the parenting skills are more upfront, but as those shorts went on, I felt the premise wearing thin. A little more with the baby probably could have been done, which is why I don’t really consider Mutts to You a classic, but it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome. Note:- The title is a pun on the phrase “Nuts to you!”
Flat Foot Stooges Firemen Moe, Larry, and Curly are sent out to give the horses a bath, so they pamper them with a sauna and a massage.
Meanwhile a crooked fire engine salesman Reardon (Dick Curtis) is out to sabotage the fire department under their noses. He takes gunpowder and places it in the fire engine, yet is caught by Miss Kelly (Lola Jensen), daughter of the fire chief (Chester Conklin). However, a duck has swallowed some of the gunpowder and lays an exploding egg, setting the fire station on fire, with Reardon and Miss Kelly trapped on the top floor.
The Stooges return to the station and the fire alarm goes off, and they drive their fire wagon all around town looking for the fire. Soon after, the gunpowder in the engine blows up, and the Stooges are left without transportation. Yet, they hear Reardon screaming from the fire house and rush back to rescue him. They get out a rescue caught and encourage him to jump, but when Miss Kelly screams, they rush to her aid instead, causing Reardon to take a hard fall to the ground.
Flat Foot Stooges is one of those Three Stooges shorts that delivers chaos instead of comedy. I’m sure there’s an audience for these shorts, but I’m not one of them. Slapstick is funny, but aimless random events are not. The Three Stooges had a genuine opportunity to improve on the poor False Alarms and they fumbled the ball. The bright spot of the short is the Stooges running around town looking for a fire when they obviously don’t know where it is. I got a loud laugh out of that. The fire engine explosion brought that to a thrilling conclusion. The Stooges abandoning Reardon to save the damsel was pretty good too. The rest of the short just doesn’t work, though. The fire is caused by an exploding duck egg. An exploding duck egg. I actually missed the point where the duck ate gunpowder and was left dumbfounded at that point. I rewound in confusion, and saw the duck eat gunpowder in a scene which lasts less than two seconds. You can blame that on ADD, but I’ll blame it on bad storytelling. The scene featuring the Stooges taking the horses to the sauna just drags. Unfortunately, someone seems to have thought it was hilarious because it just keeps on going. What a disappointing short, especially after a rousing beginning featuring the Stooges caught in each other’s pants. That was a gold gag wasted on a lame dud. Notes:- The very first short to use “Three Blind Mice” as the theme song. The song would be kept (with variations) until the very last short in 1959.
- At one point, when the Stooges are going the wrong way, Curly shouts out “Hey! We’re doing the Corrigan!” This is a reference to pilot Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan, who was returning from a transcontinental flight back to New York, but passed it and flew to Ireland instead.
- Contains a good amount of line flubs: Curly’s line “The horses fall on the harness, ah, the harness falls on the horses.” Moe’s line “What did you expect a fire mouse, I mean, a firehouse mouse to smell like?” Then there’s the exchange between Moe and Larry:
“Get what’s-his-name.” “Who?” “What is his name?” “Butch?” "Yeah, Butch!” The reason these were kept in the short is unknown, perhaps director Charley Chase thought they were funny. Shemp Howard appeared in the following shortsNot Guilty Enough (Short Subject) Home on the Range (Short Subject) Joe Besser appeared in the following shortsCuckoorancho (Short Subject) Ted Healy appeared in the following filmsLove is a Headache (Feature Film) Hollywood Hotel (Feature Film)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Apr 21, 2012 0:03:34 GMT -5
TORGO'S BACK, BITCHES!
After a combination of computer woes and fatigue put my project on the backburner, I'm currently setting out to resurrect it. I've been working on new entries and playing with new ideas. I've wanted to use stills from the films themselves for the longest time, but had no means of obtaining them until I got my laptop. And now that I have my internet access back, I can finally get them up. I'm going to play around with my next entry for a while, and see what looks good. When it's ready, the Stooges will make their triumphant return!
All for one! One for all! Every man for himself!
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Post by The Mad Plumber on May 20, 2012 14:43:08 GMT -5
Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection DVD @ CD Universe I was browsing the front page of the movie section of this website and this slated product stuck out to me. I thought I would throw up the link here in case this might be on Torgo's hit list. I'm left wondering just how "ultimate" this "Ultimate Collection" really is. The listing mentions 20 discs. Is that enough to hold the entire Three Stooges' filmography?
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 22, 2012 22:47:29 GMT -5
The ultimate collection being pimped out there is a repackage of all the Three Stooges volumes Sony has released thusfar, so it will contain the classic Columbia package of 190 shorts. Exclusive to the set (for the time being, rumors are stating an individual sale in the future) are bonus discs with unreleased material, including feature films Rockin' in the Rockies and Have Rocket Will Travel, as well as solo Columbia produced shorts featuring Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Joe De Rita. I have copies of most of that material already, so I'm keeping my money in my wallet until the bonus volume sells individually.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Nov 12, 2013 16:11:21 GMT -5
I'm bumping this for two reasons. First, the releast of the complete Three Stooges cartoon collection steered my free time attention back to it, and since I have so much work on this done that I haven't posted, I might as well get a few of them up. It'd be a shme to stop since the next few entries have some of the best work the trio has ever done.
Second, and I just discovered this recently despite the announcement being made in January, the long lost MGM short, Hello Pop, which I created a barebones entry for on page one, has been found in Australia! They've already done several screenings of it across the country, though a home media release isn't expected for a while. Warner Archive has long been rumored to release MGM's Stooges shorts on DVD, though they haven't released anything yet. Now that they have the long lost short, it might just be a matter of time before it hits (we also need a quality color version of Nertsery Rhymes). WA has started releasing Shemp's Vitaphone shorts, so short subject releases are definitely on their radar.
Speaking of MOD releases, since I started this Warner has released Turn Back the Clock and Hollywood Party, while Sony has released the Captain Hates the Sea and Time Out for Rhythm (as well as MOD releases of Rockin' in the Rockies and Have Rocket Will Travel, which were exclusive to the Three Stooges ultimate set in the past). As of right now the only Stooges films that don't have an official release are Fugitive Lovers (made by MGM, currently owned by Warner), Myrt and Marge (Universal), and Start Cheering (Sony). At the rate Warner and Sony are going, it's only a matter of time before Fugitive Lovers and Start Cheering hit MOD, though if Universal is interested in their sole Stooges title, I can't say.
But with such a full lineup of Stooge DVDs, it's an excelent time to be a Stooge fan.
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