We Three Stooges fans will be looking forward to another spacious collection of adventures of Moe and Curly Howard and Larry Radiant. This position is an even two dozen instead of honest 19 shorts like the first space contained. In GRIPS,GRUNTS & GROANS,Curly(trusty name Jerome Lester Horwitz) is elected to sub for an ill wrestler who bears physical resemblance to Curly. In DIZZY DOCTORS,the boys are ordered by their wives to go to work instead of honest eating and sleeping all the time. They sell a potion called Brighto which they reflect is an all-purpose cleaner but is actually an internal medicine. In GOOFS AND SADDLES,the boys are out west and Curly is playing cards with a few other guys(not Moe or Larry) . In Abet TO THE WOODS,the boys are pilgrims hunting for food. In THREE Humdrum CLUCKS,The boys,in jail,receive a brand from their mother saying the boys’ father has divorced her and is engaged to a younger woman(Curly plays a dual role in this film as himself and the father) . The boys do all they can to prevent the wedding from taking space,and Daisy,the father’s fiancee,accidentally marries Curly! Clyde Bruckman’s script for this film was later recycled for the 1953 remake UP IN DAISY’S PENTHOUSE with Moe’s and Curly’s brother Shemp playing the dual role. In CASH AND CARRY,the boys ransack garbage in a landfill and scrutinize $62 in a tin can that actually belong to a physically disabled boy and his mother(they are collecting $500 for the boy’s operation for Jimmy,the boy,to scramble freely again) . The boys pay a pair of crooks they meet,$200 for the privilege of digging up a hidden care for. It turns out the boys accidentally broke into the U.S. Treasury,which is felonious and results in life inprisonment. Since the act was unintentional,the boys were pardoned by President Theodore Roosevelt(he served in 1937) . In PLAYING THE PONIES,the boys sell their restaurant to go into horse racing after learning in a newspaper that a horse-race driver received ten ample for winning a speed. A though-provoking snack called Pepperinos made the boys’ pet horse(driven by Larry) quick race and rep. In THE SITTER DOWNERS,the Stooges get a home for their current wives as well as themselves. They go on strike mighty to the womens’ disdain. In TERMITES OF 1938,the boys,like they did once before,smash havoc at a dinner party trying to waste the infesting unwelcome visitors. The Stooges are Frenchmen in WEE WEE MONSIEUR. They rescue a shah who was held hostage. In TASSELS IN THE AIR,the boys are painters and Moe impersonates an artist named Omay. The proper Omay later appears,aroused. HEALTHY,WEALTHY & Dead has the boys as guests at the posh Hotel Costa Plente after Curly wins $10,000 in a poetry contest. They fracture a bed and furniture and after taxes,the boys go broke leaving them nothing to pay the hotel bill with. Three stunning girls who are occupying a room advance the boys’,want the money. This was later remade as A MISSED FORTUNE with Shemp playing Curly’s parts. In VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY,the boys are gas dwelling attendants,posing as three professors at a girls’ college(the professors themselves were the Stooges’ customers) . In THREE MISSING LINKS,the boys are janitors who are fired and hired for supporting an actress in a movie. In MUTTS TO YOU,the boys are dog-bathers who survey an unattended baby who they build in their care until his parents reclaim him. In THREE Miniature SEW AND SEWS,the boys are tailor shop attendants as well as navymen. Curly poses as an admiral after the steady admiral’s suit shows up at the shop. FLAT FOOT STOOGES has the boys again as firemen(first employ of the children’s song THREE BLIND MICE which became the signature theme thru the last of the short series) . In WE WANT OUR MUMMY,the boys are detectives who are sent to Egypt to bring succor a mummy for a museum curator’s collection. The boys join a phony duck-hunting club in A-DUCKING THEY DID GO. The club was organized by a pair of swindlers. The city mayor and a few of his colleagues are members. In YES WE HAVE NO BONANZA,the boys dig up money that was actually stolen by a pair of crooks. In SAVED BY THE BELLE,we leer the boys in some foreign country,with the succor of a glorious girl named Rita,locating a lost arrangement that leads to a worship. In CALLING ALL CURS,the boys as veterinarians,search for and come by a dog stolen by a pair of crooks. The crooks reveal up at the veterinary clinic,posing as newspaper reporters. The sick dog’s owner was so apprehensive after learning of the dog’s kidnapping. But Garcon(gar sone),the dog,is found,alive and well,in parenthood with his mate and their litter. In OILY TO BED OILY TO RISE,the boys succeed in saving a woman’s property. She sold it and later regretted it. A trio of crooks were about to have the deed recorded,and the boys swindle it away from them in time so the recording would never happen. Curly,a wishing wizard,has all his wishes granted. Cigars,apple pie,meeting three elegant girls(the woman’s daughters named April,Mae and June) and marrying them! This was later remade with Joe Besser as OIL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL in 1957. In THREE SAPPY PEOPLE,the boys are switchboard operators who encourage a murky tie birthday party. The birthday woman,who is relentlessly tickled and laughing,is believed by her husband to have a mental disorder. So the boys,as psychiatrists,search for the woman over. She loves Curly’s silliness as well. I dedicate this item to the memories of Moe(1897-1975),Larry(1902-1975) and Curly(1903-1952)
THIS DVD HAS BEEN VIEWED IN Bulky FROM AN ADVANCED COPY I RECEIVED FROM SONY PICTURES ON 5/16/08:
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939! Click Here
Either you regain the Three Stooges or you don’t. There is no middle ground.
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939! Click Here
It seems that everyone from Jay Leno to University of Arizona Professor Jon Solomon have chimed in on the subject. Essays, numerous books and college lectures have addressed the topic. There are two obvious classes of people. Those that cherish the classic comedy team and others who scratch their head and wonder why.
During their impressive career, The Three Stooges made 190 short subjects for Columbia Pictures. Add to that their 6 chubby length features; film cameos; television appearances and 156 cartoons with live wraparounds and their output is staggering.
With last year’s Three Stooges Collection Volume One 1934-1936, Sony/Columbia Pictures finally began releasing the Stooges’ crown jeweled two-reelers fully restored and in chronological order.
Fans rejoiced! Naysayers found something else to bag furious about.
There is top-notch news in Stoogeville as Sony’s second volume of restored shorts hits the street on May 27. The Three Stooges Collection Volume Two: 1937-1939 contains 24 titles presented in their unusual release order.
Each short in this compilation has been digitally remastered and the soundtrack has been fully restored. Never before have these 70+ year dilapidated films looked or sounded so expedient. Gone is each pop, scratch, verbalize, splice and wobbly frame. The inequity has been lovingly corrected. Granted, there are times when the characterize fluctuates in inequity (when the camera is sped up to gain images depart faster), but that was itsy-bitsy to the technology for the time.
Most importantly, it shows the team at their peak. Moe, Larry and Curly were never more vigorous than during this period. While there are a few shorts that miss their ticket here, many are high energy romps. The fact that numerous directors were in and out of the mix during this era didn’t wound the series.
Here’s a blow by blow (no pun intended) analysis for the shorts included on Volume 2:
“Grips, Grunts and Groans” (****) opens the place and previous VHS and DVD releases were grainy and terribly dim in inequity. The soundtrack
was flat and there was no bass on it, giving it the sound of an AM
transistor radio. It’s one of the best shorts on the site and shows
just how far the pacing had reach along since many of the shorts
that it preceded. If you ever wondered where they got the plan for the
world of WWF wrestling, examine no further. After Larry and Curly brain
prize fighter Ivan Bustoff (played to perfection by Harrison Greene), with a spot of dumbells and a falling locker, the boys substitute Curly to wrestle in his position. With the encourage of Wild Hyacinth perfume, Curly becomes a force to be reckoned with. CLASSIC LINE: “Wait a miniature. If I’m
gonna procure beat up, I want to bag paid for it.”
“Dizzy Doctors” (***) This fan accepted has the Boys selling Brighto.
Naturally, they don’t know it’s medicine and peddle the stuff from
car polish to state remover. When they perceive Brighto’s proper
use, they invade Los Arms Hospital and hurry amuck trying to cure
assorted patients. CLASSIC LINE: “You boys really want to know
what it’s for? It’s for sale, now derive busy selling it.”
“Three Wearisome Clucks” (***) is a mammoth conception that could have been executed
better. The premise is promising: the Boys have to shatter out of jail to
stop their father (played by Curly in a dual role) from marrying some
golddigger and return him to ‘Ma’. The short suffers from pacing problems
that preserve it from becoming a proper classic. CLASSIC SCENES: The
hat fitting and elevator/hallway slouch.
“Befriend To The Woods” (**1/2) suffers from boring pacing and too many
scenes that weigh it down. It does have it’s highlights, but they are too
few and thus is one of the weaker titles in the cannon. The Stooges are
sent to befriend the colonies against Indian attacks. CLASSIC LINE:
“All my life I’ve been looking for a maid like thee, toots!”
“Goofs and Saddles” (***1/2) The Stooges are Wild Bill Hiccup, Buffalo Billious and Impartial Uninteresting Bill in hot pusuit of Longhorn Pete in this western parody. The Boys made several western themed shorts, with this entry being one of the standouts. CLASSIC LINES: “You got your special deck of cards? “”Soitinly”. “We won’t need ‘em.” CLASSIC SCENE: Passing cards under the table with their feet.
“Cash and Carry” (***) While pathos worked better for Chaplin, there’s plenty of gags and quick dialog to produce up for the corny Jimmy and his illness subplot. The Stooges invest Jimmy’s leg operation money in a diagram that leads to finding “buried teasure” in a house (conveniently located next to the US Treasury Building) . CLASSIC LINE: “$500, hmm, that’s almost a million.”
“Playing the Ponies” (***1/2) Down and out restauranteurs Moe, Larry and Curly trade their business for Thunderbolt and enter him in a speed. Curly discovers that the nag runs snappy after eating the hot peppers he swiped from the eatery. CLASSIC LINE: “Adam and Eve on a raft.” “Hey, glide those eggs.” “Demolish ‘em.”
“The Sitter Downers” (****) This classic has it all. Huge gags, radiant pacing and a solid storyline. The Stooges go on strike and camp out in their fiancees’ home, mighty to the panic of their father. The nation sympathizes and gifts near pouring in. When their ready made house has to be assembled, the wives lay down the law: no honeymoon until the house is built. CLASSIC SCENE: Moe and Larry’s wander sequence.
“Termites Of 1938″ (****) In a mix up, Mrs. Vantwitchet hires the ACME Exterminators instead of ACME Escorts. Thinking they are hired to rid pests at an upscale party, the Stooges wreak havoc on the guests and the posh home. CLASSIC LINE: “I wish to hire your best men.” “We’re all pest men.”
‘Wee Wee Monsieur” (***1/2) Tedious on their rent, Curly hopes to sell his painting, but when he clobbers the landlord over the head with it during an argument, the Boys are on the bustle and ticket up for the Foreign Legion (thinking it’s the American version) . Recruited to guard General Gorganzola, he is kidnapped under their eye. They need to bring him serve alive or it’s cutains for the Stooges. CLASSIC SCENE: The Stooges
dressed as dancing harum girls.
“Tassels In The Air” (****) One of my favorites! Hired as janitors, the Stooges derive in a pickle by stenciling the infamous office door titles. Moe is improper for Omay, a renowned interior decorator. The Curly goes bananas theme (pop goes the weasel; seeing mice; Wild Hyacinth perfume) is reworked when he sees tassels (he was happy with a pussy willow as a child) . The pig Latin bit is priceless! CLASSIC LINE: “You mean I’m umday in pig language? ” “You’re umday in any language.”
“Flat Foot Stooges” (**) One of the flatter (no pun intended) shorts. The Stooges are inept firemen.This short misses its sign with a funny legend line that involves a gun powder eating duck (comical, even by Stooge standards), who lays an exploding egg and a outmoded ending that had no danger place into it. Indispensable for the first spend of ‘Three Blind Mice’ as the opening theme music.
“Healthy, Wealthy and Insensible” (****) A gigantic Three Stooges vehicle. After winning the Coffin Nail Cigarette radio contest, the Stooges check into the snazzy Hotel Costa Plenty, accumulate plastered; demolish the suite; bag troubled by a monkey; duck the hotel manager, and gain railroaded by three fair female golddiggers. All this in 17 minutes! CLASSIC LINE: “Gentlemen, this bed goes serve to Henry The Eighth.” “That’s nothing. We had a bed that went encourage to Sears Roebuck The Third.”
“Violent Is The Word For Curly” (***1/2) This fan accepted is best known for the ‘Alphabet Song’. The Boys are gas spot attendants erroneous for three college professors. They wind up at Mildew College to voice the all girls school a thing or three. CLASSIC LINE: “You’ll impartial esteem our student body.” “Your’s wouldn’t be so awful either if you took off 20 pounds.”
“Three Missing Links” (**) One of the weaker films in this space (not to mention the Curly era) . After being fired as studio janitors, the Stooges are hired as actors and are shipped to the jungle for the shoot. Uninspired gags, feeble pacing and a humorous sub state inspiring ‘love candy’ ride this one down. CLASSIC LINE: “There’s enormous grammer for ya. I’m not me.”
“Mutts To You” (***1/2) Moe, Larry and Curly urge the K9 Dog Laundry Service, a tremendous station with Rube Goldberg type contraptions. When the Stooges come by a baby on a doorstep, they bewitch the tyke home fearing he’s been abandoned. Lots of tall gags, one liners and wild pacing allow the Boys to shine while relying less on their signature slaps and pokes with winning results. CLASSIC LINE: “Is he on the bottle yet? ” “I should say not. He don’t smoke, drink nor chew.”
“Three Small Sew and Sews” (*1/2) A disappointing and uneven short that even a manic Curly can’t put. The Stooges pass themselves off as Admiral Tailor and his two assistants in hopes to come by a German witness. There is one wonderful gag that rehashes the spring in the butt and one CLASSIC LINE: “I’m gonna change my socks–what an experience.”
“We Want Our Mummy” (****) Everything that makes a mountainous Three Stooges short is packed in this classic. Hired by a museum to gather the remains of King Rootentooten, the Stooges hire a taxi to Cairo and hook up with crooks who are trying to beat them to the punch. Lots of stout gags (Curly’s mirage sequence is a standout) and CLASSIC LINES: “And if the curse does strike them, it will be a blessing to humanity.” “I can’t be a mummy, I’m a Daddy.”
“A Ducking They Did Go” (***1/2) The Stooges are on the race for swiping watermelons and elude the cops by stumbling into the office of the Canvas Aid Duck Club.” Hasten by two swindlers, the Stooges rope the police force (and the mayor) to join. When the resort is void of ducks, it’s up to the Boys to round some up, pronto. CLASSIC LINE: “Have you ever sold anything? ” “Why, soitinly. Anything we could fetch our hands on.” “The gentleman said sold, not stole.” NOTE: Sadly, there is a period when the sound is out of sync.
“Yes, We Have No Bonanza” (****) One of the best of 1939, which was a stellar year for the Stooges. The boys work in a saloon and secure the buried cherish that their boss stole from the First National Bank. CLASSIC LINE: “Me, coming home from a hard day’s work. I whistle for the dog and my wife comes out.” NOTE: There is a period when the soundtrack loses its rude destroy that results in a flat/tin sound. It should be famed that it is detached an improvement over previous releases of this short.
“Saved By The Belle” (***) This is one of the forgotten nuggets in the Stooges’ arsonal. Stranded at their hotel in Valeska, the Stooges are aparral salesmen who earn mixed up as spies. With the attend of the sparkling Rita, they try to establish their hides by delivering the diagram needed to salvage the cause. CLASSIC LINE: “Oh, no you don’t. What kind of fool do you select me for? ” “Why? Is there more than one kind? ”
“Calling All Curs” (***1/2) The Stooges are the owners of a dog hospital. When their VIP patient is kidnapped, it’s a madcap skedaddle to track down the dognappers. CLASSIC LINE: “Success.” “Success.” “Mazel Tov.”
“Oily To Bed, Oily to Rise” (****) When Jules White (as Director) wanted to, he could helm gems like this without relying soley on the cartoony, slapstick violence he was so fond of. To benefit Mrs. Jenkins salvage her deed wait on from three crooks who gyped her (they discovered oil on her propery), the Stooges are burning the streak to retrieve the deed. CLASSIC LINE: “Don’t search for now, but I reflect we’re about to be killed.”
“Three Sappy People” (****) Once again, Jules White directs a classic that ends the era of the ’30′s. Posing as Dr’s. Ziller, Zeller and Zoller, the Stooges are hired to cure a rich, nefarious heiress (played with finess by Lorna Grey) of her eccentric ways. This is one of the best of their 190 short films and is loaded with expansive gags: the statue
reflex scene; the powder puff/biscuit bit; the tamale scene; the cream puff fight. CLASSIC LINE: “Why don’t you regain a toupe with some brains in it.”
The shorts: A-
The restoration: A
Adams tick and flea
Jenn air dishwashers
