Category: Movies

Violent is the Word for Curly (1938)

Director:  Charley Chase

Screenplay: Al Giebler, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Bud Jamison and Al Thompson

Tagline:  THEY’RE CRACKED IN THE CRANIUM…ON A CUCKOO CAMPUS!

The Plot…

The boys are new hires at a service station.  They screw things up so badly that they take off down the road.  They end up at an women’s college where they are mistaken for three college professors due to arrive that day.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The opening set piece has the boys working at a service station.  There’s an extended sequence where the boys are shining up a car and Curly begins vigorously polishing a bald man’s head.  The slapping sound effect cracks me up every time.

The Three Stooges singing “Swinging the Alphabet” is a classic.

When Violent is the Word for Curly was colorized it became obvious that in the scene where the college girls are playing basketball some are braless.

Violent is the Word for Curly earns 4 of 5 stars.

He Cooked His Goose (1952)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Diana Darrin

Tagline:  The boys need rumpus room when the love ‘n’ laughter bug bites them!

The Plot…

Larry is a pet shop owner and a womanizer.  He’s having an affair with Moe’s wife at the same time trying to start a romance with Shemp’s girl!  When Moe shows up at the pet shop, Larry says, it’s Shemp who’s trying to make time with Moe’s wife.  Moe leaves ready to give Shemp a beating.

Larry quickly hires Shemp as a door to door underwear salesmen.  Larry sends Shemp to Moe’s house to model underwear for Moe’s wife.  Larry then calls Shemp’s girl and tells her that Shemp’s with another woman.  Moe’s on his way home.  Shemp’s girl is on the way as well.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

He Cooked His Goose is one of the rare Stooges shorts where the boys aren’t brothers, partners or a team.  It is also one of the few where Larry has the lead.  Larry as a lady’s man is funny enough, but add Shemp as an underwear model and things really take off.

He Cooked His Own Goose earns 4 of 5 stars.

Even as IOU (1942)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Stanley Blystone, Heinie Conklin, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison and Suzanne Ridgway

Tagline: A 1000 to 1 howler!

The Plot…

The boys decide to help a homeless mother and her child.  How you ask?  (And I’m glad you did.)  They steal the kid’s piggy bank.  They bet the cash on a longshot and… win!!  A couple of con men then sell the boys a broken down nag for their winnings.  The boys think that the horse will bring in even more money when it wins races.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The funniest part of Even as IOU is at the beginning.  The boys are selling race track tip sheets.  Curly tells a man he guarantees every race a winner.  The man buys the sheet only to realize that the sheet is from yesterday’s races.  Curly responds, “They won, didn’t they?”  Curly helps the man call for the police until he realizes the cop is for him.  The boys pose as mannequins to hide from the policeman.  Curly then has an exchange with the police officer,  Truly fun stuff.

The racetrack bits are pretty generic.

Even as IOU has one of the most bizarre endings of any Stooges short… and that’s saying something.  Curly eats a horse vitamin and it causes him to give birth to a colt.  Huh?

Even as IOU earns 3 of 5 stars.

Three Dark Horses (1952)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Kenneth MacDonald

Tagline: A vote for them is a vote for mayhem – and mirth.

The Plot…

The boys are janitors who become political delegates recruited to support Hammond Egger, a dishonest politician.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Bud Jamison appeared in many Stooges shorts.  Although he died in 1944, his photo is used as Hammond Egger in a tribute to the talents of Mr. Jamison.

Three Dark Horses earns 3 of 5 stars.

All the World’s a Stooge (1941)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay: John Grey

Stars: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Symona Boniface and Bud Jamison

Tagline: It’s Sock-Full of Laughs!

The Plot…

The boys are window washers.  A rich man mistakes them for dentists.  So… they decide to pull his tooth!  Afterwards, the man gets an idea.  His wife wants to adopt some refuges.  He’s against it.  So if he brings home the Stooges disguised as children, his wife won’t want to adopt more children.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

All the World’s a Stooge has three major set pieces – the boys as window washers, dentists and then children! Each section holds up well.  Only in a Stooges short would the audience go along with a rich man having grown men pretend to be children (and Larry a girl!) that he’s going to adopt.  And no one catches on.

All the World’s a Stooge earns 4 of 5 stars.

Scheming Schemers (1956)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jules White, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, Kenneth MacDonald, Dudley Dickerson, Symona Boniface and Al Thompson

Tagline: The Three Stooges turn plumbers in Scheming Schemers.

The Plot…

The boys are plumbers trying to retrieve a valuable ring that fell down a drain.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Scheming Scheamers is a remake of A Plumbing We Will Go with Shemp replacing Curly.  It is also the only Stooges short to re-use scenes from three previous Stooges films,  It is also one of four Stooges shorts filmed after Shemp’s death.  A stand-in was used in some of his scenes.

Scheming Schemers earns 3 of 5 stars.

I’m a Monkey’s Uncle (1948)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay:  Zion Myers

Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Heinie Conklin and Cy Schindell

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys are cavemen dealing with day to day living… until rival cavemen try to steal their girls!  Then it’s war!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’m a Monkey’s Uncle is pretty generic.  Still any Three Stooges short is fun.

I’m a Monkey’s Uncle earns 3 of 5 stars.