Showing posts with label the three stooges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the three stooges. Show all posts

The Three Stooges: Curly Classics (1934) Review

The Three Stooges: Curly Classics (1934)
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Any Curly short pre-1944 or so is great but the best are these early shorts where the boys are still young enough to pull off some great violence and sight gags.
"The Woman haters" is their first Columbia short and Curly is actually referred to as jackie. The episode is done 100% in rhyme or song which turns a lout of people off but I think is fabulous. The Boys become Members of the Woman Hater's Club but Larry secretly marries a girl and the boys go wild on a train. Then ending with the boys singing togehter and smacking in rhyme is classic.
"Three Little Pigskins" the boys are mistaken for 3 football heroes by gangsters and then have to actually play a game to disastrous results. Co-stars a young Lucille Ball.
"Punch Drunks" is the first in what would be a long running theme in Stooges plots...Curly going nuts when he hears, sees, or smells something. In this case he goes nuts when he hears "pop goes the WEasel". Moe makes a boxer out of him and takes him to the title. A Classic!
"Men In Black" Parody of "Men in White" a popular drama of the day. This short was nominated, but did not win, an Academy award. The boys are three dimwit doctor who go on a rampage in a hospital. Contains some of the greatest lines and sight gags of any Stooges short. "Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!"
"A Plumbing We Will Go" The stooges pose as plumbers and are hired to fix a leak in a fancy mansion. They wind up crossing the electrical system with the plumbing and generally ruin the place. To escape the wrath of the homeowners the stooges escape through a magicians trap door.
"Micro-phonies" A later Curly short. Curly is mistaken for "Senorita Cucaracha" a singer who Curly mimicked. The boys show up in their disguises to "sing" at a Mrs. Bixby's party but run into trouble when Moe smashes the record Curly Lip-syncs to over Curly's head. The real singer tries to help by singing from behind a curtain while Curly mimics, but she is discovered and the stooges exit to a hail of phonograph records.
All in all one of the best Curly Collections

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Fun with The Three Stooges in six zany episodes:

A Plumbing We Will Go(1940): Three would-be plumbers mistake pipes filled with wires for water pipes. Dudley Dickerson's battle in the kitchen is a highlight.

Men In Black(1934): Medical malpractice is an understatement when describing what the Stooges do to the Los Arms Hospital, where they dispense unorthodox advice, flirt with the nurses and battle a babbling intercom system. With: Dell Henderson, Jeannie Roberts and Billy Gilbert.

Micro-phonies (1945): When Curly is mistaken for an opera diva, the Stooges find their calling on the stage as Senorita Cucaracha (Curly) and Senors Mucho and Gusto (Larry and Moe). With: Christine McIntyre, Symona Boniface and Gino Corrado.

Punch Drunks(1934): Larry's rendition of Pop Goes The Weasel transforms Curly from a harmless cream puff into a vicious contender, but when Larry's violin breaks, it threatens Curly's boxing career with a TKO. With: Dorothy Granger and Al Hill.

Three Little Pigskins (1934): When the Stooges are mistaken for star football players, they not only find themselves running for goals but running for their lives when they get mixed up with the gorgeous girlfriends of a group of mobsters. With: Lucille Ball, Gertie Green and Phyllis Crane.

Woman Haters(1934): When Larry breaks his oath to the Woman Haters Club by marrying, he is treated like a traitor by his fellow members. But getting out of the marriage may be even more harmful than anything his friends could ever do to him. The Stooges' first short was done entirely in rhyme. With: Marjorie White.


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The Three Stooges - Hapless Half-Wits Review

The Three Stooges - Hapless Half-Wits
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This is an absolutely ridiculous waste of a disc. Besides the obvious issue of colorising black and white classics that generations have been enjoying without feeling they're missing much because they're not in color, there are only 4 shorts on this disc, and two of them have already been released (one of them many many times over). If one counts the black and white and colorised versions as separate entities, there are actually 8 shorts on here. I guess it makes too much sense to Columbia to have released a disc with 8 all new-to-DVD shorts, and then, if they had to, including optional colorised versions, as was done on the British Laurel and Hardy boxed set. People who prefer the films the way they were originally released and the way they've been enjoyed for decades can watch them in the black and white, and the small minority of people who are heartily cheering on this artificial colorisation can choose to watch them in that incarnation. Yes, you can choose which versions to watch, but there are still only 4 shorts on here, with only two new to DVD (and only one of those two worthwhile), and for a higher price than is merited for such a small amount of material! (Who are these people who are gushing about how great color is anyway? One would think that classic comedy is just about the only thing immune to modern-day whining about how it's inferior just because it's not in color. It makes no sense for someone who was introduced to the shorts in their original black and white and who has loved and enjoyed them that way for years to now be singing the praises of watching them in this fake-looking Chroma Color. It may look better than the colorisation of the Eighties, but it still doesn't look entirely natural, and actually seems jarring and even wrong for the Stooges to be in color, since they just exist in black and white for all time.) And of course, as with the other three colorised discs, since there are only 4 shorts apiece, it's asking the consumer to pay a lot more for a lot less, and all while we're still waiting on the nice boxed sets that are supposed to be coming in the foreseeable future.
It seems as though the people putting this disc together just randomly drew titles from a hat. 'Brideless Groom' (1947) is a classic and seems to be most people's favorite Shemp short, but since it's one of the 4 public domain shorts, it's been released over and over again. Sometimes overexposure can make even a great thing seem boring. This also isn't the first time it's been colorised. The other Shemp short included here, 'Dopey Dicks' (1950), was previously released on the (rather awful) 'Merry Mavericks' DVD. This is a really good short, but again, why is it being released again when it's already available on another disc? God forbid they select some Shemp shorts that are languishing away on out of print videos, like 'Goof on the Roof' and 'Fuelin' Around' instead of double-dipping with ones that are already available elsewhere.
'Beer Barrel Polecats' (1946) is easily one of the worst shorts of the Curly era, right down there with the likes of 'Back to the Woods' and 'Restless Knights.' I just about went into shock the first time I saw it, since he looks, talks, and acts like a ghoul, a far cry from the way he had been just a few years previously. It's so obvious he's a very sick man and was being worked practically to death during this period. Harry Cohn was truly a scummy slavedriver. To add insult to injury, most of the short is cobbled together from footage from the far superior 'So Long, Mr. Chumps' and 'In the Sweet Pie and Pie,' though it looks like these three shorts were edited together with a rusty axe. There's no continuity or explanation of important plot points that suddenly make no sense when edited into the new short, like why they're looking for prisoner 41144 or why they're being sentenced to die for smuggling beer into prison. Even the A/V quality in this one is atrocious. The ending also makes no sense. I can't believe this terrible offering is being released on DVD. Probably the only reason I can see for anyone to be buying this DVD is because the classic 'I'll Never Heil Again' (1941) is *finally* making its debut on DVD. It's too bad such a classic is making its debut on this of all things, instead of on a disc with a normal amount of shorts or a proper boxed set.
Once again Columbia/Sony is NOT giving the fans what they've been asking for for years. Who thought this marketing strategy would be a good idea? This really is an appropriate title, since this disc was created by hapless half-wits and is going to be bought by hapless half-wits. The only reason I'm not giving it a one-star rating is because three of the four shorts included are great, even if two of them are repeats and all of them are included on a joke of a disc like this.

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The Three Stooges: Hapless Half-Wits includes three classic Stooges DVDs, I’ll Never Heil Again, Beer Barrel Polecats, Dopey Dicks and Brideless Grooms.

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Color Honeymooners Collection, Vol. 4 Review

Color Honeymooners Collection, Vol. 4
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One would be led to think this 'last' installment of the 'Color Honeymooners' gave us the complete later Honeymooners on dvd. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the dvd companies are thinking for us. They know which episodes we wish to see and what we want left out! There are enough still-unreleased episodes to make another set and lets hope they do just that. For the record- here's what's missing: "Life Upon The Wicked Stage"-2/11/67... "6 Months To Live"-11/23/68..."Alice's Birthday"-12/7/68..."Lawsuit"-1/4/69..."Hot Tip"-2/8/69..."New Bowling Ball"3/22/69..."Norton Moves In"-4/5/69..."The New Manager"-4/19/69..."The Incredible World Of Ed Norton"-1/19/70.
The Honeymooner's were always a riot - The Color Honeymooner's are no exception ... and these episodes should not be left out. You are dealing with Gleason-Carney fanatics out here, PLEASE don't decide for us what we want to see. This honeymoon is not over, COMPLETE THE RIOT.

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COLOR HONEYMOONERS COLLECTION 4 - DVD Movie

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The Three Stooges Collection, Volumes 1-8 Review

The Three Stooges Collection, Volumes 1-8
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This is an amazing collection, but if you buy each volume individually, you will save almost $30 dollars as of 6-15-10. Why? I thought bundles were supposed to save you money.

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936When the Three Stooges first signed with Columbia Pictures, their deal was for one short. 1934's "Woman Haters", done entirely in rhyme, wasn't a huge success, but the Stooges hit their stride with their second short, "Punch Drunks", and began to settle into their definitive roles - Moe as boss, Larry the middleman, and Curly as their foil. Witness the rise of these comedy icons in this high-spirited collection containing the first 10 Columbia shorts, all of which have been remastered for the best quality picture and sound. You'll experience the eye-pokes, face slaps, hollow head knocks and knuckle cracks like you've never heard or seen them before. So go ahead, nyuck yourself out!The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939 Get ready for more outrageous antics as The Three Stooges return in this second collection of chronological masterpieces. These 24 shorts, filmed from 1937-1939, are digitally remastered for the highest quality - every sight, gag and knuckle-cracking sound can be seen and heard with the utmost clarity for maximum effect. This period is considered to be when Larry, Moe, and Curly hit their stride and perfected their craft, when all the elements came together perfectly: the writing, directing, pacing, and performances. It's no wonder The Stooges made some of their best films during this period, proving laughter really is the best medicine in such classics as "Dizzy Doctors", "Saved By The Belle", and "Calling All Curs". And audiences agreed - at least most of them did. By now The Stooges were wildly popular and their personal appearances were mobbed, but there were some who thought they were too violent and who over analyzed their eye-poking, pie-throwing behavior.The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 3: 1940-1942The Golden Age of the Three Stooges continues in this exceptional third chronological collection. These 23 shorts from 1940-1942 are all digitally remastered for the highest quality in sight and sound, and this collection is even more special as it features an historical first: Moe Howard was the first American to portray Hitler on film, in 1940's "You Nazty Spy", which was Moe's personal favorite. It also contains the outstanding 1941 sequel, "I'll Never Heil Again". Moe as a vicious dictator - who would have thought?! With biting satire and merciless wit, the Three Stooges gave the world a brave new perspective on the absurdity of evil and the world powers of the time. This collection also contains Curly's favorite, "A Plumbing We Will Go", which features the brilliant sight gag of a burst of water flowing from a new television set just as it's broadcasting a live report from Niagara Falls. The Three Stooges Collection Volume Three will soitenly keep you entertained as Larry, Moe, and Curly portray a variety of characters in their own inimitable way.The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 4: 1943-1945In this fourth chronological collection of The Three Stooges, we come to the final years of what has become regarded as the high point in their career - their Golden Age. These 21 digitally remastered shorts from the 1943-1945 era contain some of their best work, including the classic "Micro-Phonies" (1943) which Curly turns in a brilliant performance as opera diva Senorita Cucaracha. Also included in this collection are two favorites that are so outrageous that television programmers are always hesitant about airing them: "They Stooge to Conga" (1943) features what is considered one of the most violent scenes ever filmed by the Three Stooges and "The Yoke'sOn Me" (1944) is what we today refer to as "politically incorrect" in its portrayal of Japanese soldiers. The Three Stooges Collection Volume 4 is groundbreaking, hilarious and outrageous -- classic entertainment from Larry, Moe, and Curly at the height of their creativity. Don't miss out on the fun!The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 5: 1946-1948 This fifth collection of The Three Stooges, which features 25 digitally remastered shorts from 1946-1948, marks the end of Curly's career with the Stooges and the return of original Stooge Shemp. Curly suffered a stroke on the final day of filming " Half-Wits Holiday" and retired at age 43. Moe realized there was only one person who could fill baby brother Curly's shoes: his older brother Shemp (who, ironically, Curly had replaced in 1932). The Three Stooges were born in 1925 when Moe and Shemp met Larry Fine. But the 1930's Shemp left to pursue a film career in Hollywood. By the time Moe called in 1946, he was starring in films with the likes of W.C. Fields, John Wayne, and Abbott and Costello. But he accepted Moe's offer, and the original Three Stooges reunited. Shemp's first short upon his return was "Fright Night". And Curly did recover enough to make an appearance in "Hold That Lion", but his health continued to deteriorate and he unfortunately passed away in 1952 at age 48. The Three Stooges Collection Volume 5 is bittersweet for the change but filled with more fun than ever and the added bonus of not only Larry, Moe, and Curly, but Shemp too!The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951 The Three Stooges return with the next 24 digitally remastered shorts covering the years 1949-1951 in this sixth collection, which continues with Shemp as the third Stooge, who had stepped in two years earlier to fill the shoes left empty when Curly became ill and retired. This collection contains such classics as "Merry Mavericks" (1951), a reworking of "Phony Express" (1943) featuring Red Morgan and his gang of bandits; "Self Made Maids" (1950), in which the Stooges not only play themselves but assume the roles of their fiances, their fiances father (played by Moe) and their three babies; and "Don't Throw That Knife" (1951), which features Larry, Moe, and Shemp in brilliant improvisation with nothing but household items while confined to a single room. The Three Stooges Collection Volume 6 showcases Larry, Moe, and Shemp at their best - and things just keep getting better!The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 7: 1952-1954These 22 digitally remastered shorts from 1952-1954 were made during a tumultuous time for The Three Stooges. First, in 1952 Curly succumbed to the illness brought on by his stroke six years earlier; he was only forty-eight when he died. Shemp had really hit his stride by this time and he is at the top of his game in the new shorts from this period, but budget cutbacks at Columbia forced director Jules White to recycle some old footage, so although the work in this collection is first-rate, one can't help but wonder what could have been done if they'd had the opportunity to develop more new material. Fortunately, this era did leave us with such classics as the Stooges' first 3-D short, "Spooks!" (1953) and "Pardon My Backfire" (1953); "Shot In The Frontier" (1954) a parody of the classic film High Noon; and Larry's hilarious spook of Brando in "Cuckoo On A Choo Choo" (1952). These shorts are all presented as they were projected in the theaters; some in widescreen for the first time since their original release. The Three Stooges Collection Volume 7 shows how the genius of Moe, Larry, and Shemp rose above all obstacles and enabled them to be the best at their craft.The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 8: 1955-1959This eighth volume of The Three Stooges Collection features the last 32 digitally remastered shorts from 1955-1959. It also marks the end of an era for a comedy team that to this day remains unparalleled in its success and popularity. In November of 1955, Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack, forcing Moe and Larry to use a stand-in for Shemp on some of the shorts and previously shot footage in others. Moe originally wanted vaudeville veteran Joe DeRita to fill in for Shemp but he couldn't get out of his contract, so Moe went with Joe Besser, who was also well-known on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits. Columbia Pictures closed its short-subjects unit in 1958, thus ending the Three Stooges' run after 24 years and 190 shorts; half a century later The Three Stooges are entertainment legends. Their unique brand of slapstick humor and physical comedy had influenced legions of performers and lives on in such contemporary icons as Robin Williams and Jim Carrey.

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