THE THREE STOOGES featurettes

THE THREE STOOGES featurettes.

Most baby boomers remember the Three Stooges from their TV show when they were older (and different) men and had done the same old routines about ten thousand times. Years before, in the forties, when they were comprised of Moe and Jerry/Curly Howard (Shemp Howard came later) and Larry Fine, the Stooges had done much more interesting short features that were shown in movie theaters. AMC showed quite a number of these on New Year's Day, and while it must be said that the Stooges should only be taken in short doses, some of their old shorts are quite funny. In Hoi Polloi the boys try to turn into society types; the best scene has them imitating their pretty dance instructress who goes into all sorts of physical conniptions when a bee goes down her dress! They masquerade as psychiatrists at a society party in Three Sappy People and discover that a kindly widow has oil on her property in Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise. The boys manage to fix up a hotel but come afoul of mice and other things on opening night in Loco Boy Makes Good, and are ice men turned disastrous chefs in An Ache in Every Steak. As professorial impostors at a girls school, they have the lasses singing a dopey "Alphabet Song" in Violent is the Word for Curly. Curly becomes a wrestler in Grips, Grunts and Groans. In Woman Haters, Larry joins a misogynous club only to discover he has to get married. (The entire story is told in verse and song, but despite this clever aspect it all becomes quite tiresome after awhile.)

Three of the best Stooges shorts are: If a Body Meets a Body in which Curly Q. Link thinks he's inherited money from an uncle and winds up in a haunted mansion with assorted dead bodies; A-Plumbing We Will Go, in which the boys completely demolish a mansion when they try to fix a simple leak in the pipes; and especially Micro-Phonies in which Curly in a wig is mistaken for a grand opera singer and must perform with his buddies in front of a crowd. You have to see the Three Stooges lip-syncing to the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor to believe it! Hilarious! Fine and the Howard boys were all gifted comic actors. The Stooges' full-length movies include Rockin' in the Rockies, the dreadful Gold Raiders, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, and the amusing Have Rocket, Will Travel.

Verdict: They're not the Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy but they can be inventive and funny. ***.

THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES

Hercules shows off muscles to Curly

THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962). Director: Edward Bernds. 

The Three Stooges work in a drug store and have befriended a tall if nerdy scientist named Schulyer Davis (Quinn K. Redeker). Davis is working on a time machine, and when the stooges fiddle around with it they, Davis, and his fiancee, Diane (Vicki Trickett), all wind up back in Ithaca in 900 B.C. Greece. Their untimely arrival causes Ulysses to lose the battle against Odius (George N. Neise) with the added help of a rather unpleasant Hercules (Samson Burke). 

The stooges with the phony Herc

The rather brave stooges manage to free Ulysses from prison but for their efforts are turned into galley slaves. This enables Davis to develop muscles that put him on a par with Hercules. After escaping from the ship, Davis masquerades as the demi-god and gives him the reputation of a decent and honorable fellow. But he still has to face the real Hercules in the arena and get his girlfriend away from the odious King Odius. Odius happens to greatly resemble the stooges' boss, Mr. Dismal, back in the 20th century. 

Two-headed cyclops wants to make a meal of Moe

Well, what can you say about The Three Stooges Meet Hercules? You can say that for a full-length Stooges movie it is rather ambitious and has a more complicated storyline than the usual slapstick outing. Moe (Moe Howard) seems even a  bigger bully than usual in this picture, and although Joe DeRita is more than okay in the film, he is not my favorite Curly. Larry Fine (Larry) is as funny as ever, however. Redecker and Trickett are acceptable without making that much of an impression. 6 ft. 4 Samson Burke was a body builder and professional wrestler who turned to acting; he is fine as an unsympathetic and mean-spirited Hercules. George Neise specialized in sleazy and unlikable characters, but he is not notable in this. The movie is not tedious and it has amusing moments, but it couldn't be considered a "laff riot," either. The stooges have been funnier elsewhere, but this flick is not without interest for fans. 

Verdict: If the stooges are not your cup of java, tune out! **1/2.

THE LONG, LONG TRAILER

The trailer makes its ascent into the mountains!

THE LONG, LONG TRAILER (1953). Director: Vincente Minelli.

"Most new marriages break up within three years. Include a trailer, it's the speed-up plan." 

Tacy and Nicky Collini (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) buy a very big trailer and travel across the country in it having one amusing misadventure after another. Lucy and Desi may only be playing variations of Lucy and Ricky, but both are in top form. Keenan Wynn makes an impression as a traffic cop even if he only has one line of dialogue, and Marjorie Main and Madge Blake are swell as, respectively, a trailer park neighbor and Tacy's Aunt Anastasia. This is an amiable and very funny movie [although some might feel the bit with "poor Grace" (Connie Van), who is obviously "mental," is a bit tasteless] that also has some beautiful photography and scenery. The best scenes are the visit to Aunt Anastasia and the wonderful climax, wherein the Collinis try to negotiate their huge trailer over a steep and hazardous mountain road with Nicky unaware that the two-ton monster he's pulling is full of souvenir rocks -- this scene is both scary and hilarious!

Verdict:  Quite delightful. ***.

THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP

THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP (1947). Director: Charles Barton.

"Marriage is a three ring circus. First there's the engagement ring. Then the wedding ring. And then comes the suffering!"  

Duke Egan (Bud Abbott) and Chester Wooley (Lou Costello) are out in the wild west when the latter is accused of murdering drunken gambler Hawkins. Chester is told that he's now responsible for the Widow Hawkins (Marjorie Main) and her brood of several children of varying ages. Bud and Lou move onto the widow's farm, where Mrs. Hawkins tries to sweet talk Chester into marrying her. Because no one else wants to be responsible for the widow and her kids, Chester discovers that no desperado will shoot him -- and is therefore made the sheriff! It's fun seeing Lou Costello and the great Marjorie Main teamed together, though considering the pairing one would have hoped for a more side-splitting movie. Still, Wistful Widow is generally amusing and boasts one classic bit, wherein Lou is bedeviled by a frog in his soup! Abbott and Costello are both at the top of their game and Main is just marvelous. William Ching plays a good guy, and Gordon Jones, star of the first Green Hornet serial, is a saloon owner and stage coach robber.


Verdict: Cute picture for fans. **1/2.

GOLD RAIDERS

GOLD RAIDERS (1951). Director: Edward Bernds.

Silent star and cowboy actor George O'Brien plays a character with the same name in this pretty terrible "comedy" supposedly starring the Three Stooges. Moe, Shemp and Larry are out in the wild west in the town of Red Mesa where they interact (minimally) with O'Brien; a pretty gal named Laura (Sheila Ryan); her father, who's an elderly doctor (Clem Bevans of She Couldn't Say No); and a bad guy involved in gold hijacking named Taggert (Lyle Talbot, who seems very out of place in this milieu). The Stooges are strangely subdued in this, and are completely lost in a dull story that is busy without ever being funny. There are literally no laughs in this. The stooges become insurance salesmen, but no great routines result. This is boring even for fans of the stooges. Sheila Ryan also appeared in Great Guns with Laurel and Hardy.

Verdict: Terrible. 1/2*.

HAVE ROCKET, WILL TRAVEL

HAVE ROCKET, WILL TRAVEL (1959). Director: David Lowell Rich. 

Moe, Larry and Curly Joe are employed as janitors at a scientific lab where a pretty, put-upon lady scientist Dr. Ingrid (Anna-Lisa) is threatened with expulsion by the boss (Jerome Cowan) unless she comes up with a rocket fuel that works. Determined to help her because of her kindness to them (not to mention her figure) the stooges come up with their own rocket fuel and wind up accidentally taking off for planet Venus. Amazingly, they do not encounter sexy space babes but rather a friendly talking unicorn, a giant spider (courtesy of Tarantula and Earth vs. the Spider) that shoots out heat rays, and a nasty super computer that shrinks them and creates robot duplicates. This amiable movie is full of old gags that are still funny because they're delivered by old pros. The sequences on Venus are comparatively lame, but there's funny stuff before and after, especially the party scene that closes the movie. Good sport Cowan, who was in The Old Maid and other classy pictures, is a lot of fun as well. 

Verdict: You can't keep a good stooge down. ***.

CLASSIC LAUREL AND HARDY SHORTS

CLASSIC LAUREL AND HARDY SHORTS.

TCM recently held a Laurel and Hardy all-day festival in which they showed Pardon Us, Swiss Miss (still with several minutes cut) and quite a few classic shorts. Some of the more memorable ones include: Tit for Tat, in which the boys have a hilarious war with the owner of the grocery that's next to their electrical appliance store; Hog Wild, in which they try to put up a radio antennae and nearly wreck the house to Mrs. Hardy's furor; Our Wife, in which Ollie elopes with a large, economy-sized bride whose wealthy father disapproves of the union; and Be Big!, in which the boys try to sneak off to a party when their wives want them to accompany them to Atlantic City (one sequence has Stan hysterically trying to get Ollie's boot off of his fat foot). In Night Owls, a cop blackmails the boys into robbing his sergeant's house, so he can capture them and impress the boss, and in Their First Mistake they adopt a child to save Ollie's marriage, only to learn that his wife is not only suing him for divorce, but suing Laurel for alienation of affection! "Now that you've gone and gotten me into this trouble, you want to walk out and leave me flat!" Oliver whines to Stan.

Verdict: Some very, very funny stuff. ***.

STAN AND OLLIE

STAN AND OLLIE: The Roots of Comedy -- The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy. Simon Louvish. Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press. 2002.

Excellent dual biography of the great comedy team of Laurel and Hardy explains their importance and influence in the world of comedy, analyses their working methods, acting approaches, and various films, and delves into their often tumultuous private lives as well, all in literate prose that keeps you happily turning the pages. Louvish investigates the boys' backgrounds and family histories and separates facts from rumors and legend. Both Stan and Ollie had more than one unhappy marriage, and their trials and tribulations with their assorted wives, divorces, infidelities, alimonies, lawyers, and jealous females often read like a script for one of their zanier movies, and indeed these real-life episodes often informed their comic on-screen antics. Along the way Louvish also educates the reader with facts and anecdotes about the early days of filmmaking, movie comedy, and the famous players who intersected Stan and Ollie's inexorable but not always smooth journey towards fame. Many wonderful black and white photographs are included in the thick, scrupulously-researched volume, which is informative, entertaining, and a great read. You'll want to get your hands on every L & H movie you can find, even the lesser ones!

Verdict: Excellent! ****.

HOLD THAT GHOST

HOLD THAT GHOST (1941). Director: Arthur Lubin.

Lou Costello: I'm afraid to go outside by myself with no one to talk to.

Bud Abbott: Why don't you talk to yourself?

Lou Costello: I get stupid answers.

It's a toss-up as to which is Abbott and Costello's best and most-beloved film, this or Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. In Hold That Ghost the boys wind up inheriting a spooky abandoned inn from a mobster who died in a shoot-out with the cops. His money is hidden in the house and nefarious characters run about acting like ghosts while the fellows and a bunch of stranded travelers try to keep their nerves from jangling. The most nervous of the bunch -- after Costello -- is Camille, a professional radio show screamer played by the hilarious Joan Davis. Lou and Joan make a delightful pair, and their inventive dance to the Blue Danube Waltz is the picture's highlight. Sure, this is pretty silly at times but it's also very cute and amusing, with everyone in top form. Evelyn Ankers, Richard Carlson, and others offer fine support, and Mischa Auer is as dinstinctive as ever as Bud and Lou's exasperated boss in the opening scene. The hokey but likable Ted Lewis asks "Is Everybody Happy?" more than once, and the much-less-than-beautiful Andrews Sisters sing two songs. And there's the loopy three-way interchange between Bud, Lou and Joan that ends with Lou angrily answering "The Twain on Twack Twee!"

Verdict: Real good classic comedy if you're in a silly mood. Plus the Andrews Sisters sing Aurora! ***.