One of the best perks of choosing film criticism as a career is that you can tell people you watch The Three Stooges as work assignment and still keep a straight face. As a lifelong Stoogeafile, I was delighted to receive The Three Stooges Collection: Volume One from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. There have been more video releases of the Stooges shorts than there are ex-spouses ofElizabeth Taylor (hard as that is to believe), but the new set is most welcome because it contains all 19 of the mad lads' shorts for Columbia, made between 1934-1936. The two-disc set has been meticuously remastered from the original negatives - and the quality is pristine throughout.
The Three Stooges are an acquired taste and examplify why comedy, alone among all film genres, is almost impossible to critique in a way that would change anyone's mind about the worthiness of the movie. If you find something funny, no one will be able to talk you into having a different response. Coversely, all the analysis in the world cannot make a person laugh at a film they have initially found to be unfunny. In the case of the Stooges, there is also a great divide between the sexes. Yes, I know you can trot out some women who find them funny - and there are probably a handful of guys out there who never miss an episode of Oprah!. What is indisputable is that The Three Stooges are by-and-large "a guy thing." For decades, the war between men and women has often focused on the worthiness of The Stooges as comedy icons. Indeed, it's hard to defend them on any intellectual level. We know the minute we see their environment exactly what is going to happen. If a blow torch or vise is in the room, Curley's head will be the unwilling recipient of their attention. Moe and Larry will engage in more eye-gouging than Torquemada ever dreamed about. Yet, it's the sheer predictability of these situations and their inevitable conclusions that make The Stooges so consistently amusing. In an uncertain world, it's nice to have some predictability.
The new set features The Stooges' first Columbia short, Women Haters. The idea of putting grown men in a film in which the plot centers on their mutual avoidance of the fairer sex would have a much different premise today - and might end up as an episode of Queer as Folk. In this first Stooge vehicle, all of the dialogue is set to rhyme. The gimmick is cute at first but quickly wears thin. As the shorts progress, however, The Stooges soon settle into their defined roles: Moe as boss, Curley as the most knuckleheaded and Larry as the (comparative) voice of reason. Each of the two-reelers has its own distinct charm and some obviously fare better than others. One caveat, however: Sony has not seen fit to put on a single extra bonus feature - an oversight they should correct on future releases. There are more Stooge historians out there to populate a small nation. It would a great idea to include some overviews of this legendary team's remarkable career.
I look forward to future releases, especially those with Shemp. At the risk of certain death, I will state once again that Shemp is my favorite Stooge. This puts me on par with someone who thinks Zeppo was the best Marx Brother or Miles O'Keefe is the most legendary Tarzan. However, I am unwavering in my opinion and will challenge any reader who cares to initiate a debate. ("Resolved: Shemp is Funnier Than Curley")
If you have a spare 346 minutes with nothing to do (i.e you're serving a life sentence or are temporarily in an iron lung), there is no better way to pass the time than with The Three Stooges Collection: Volume 1. Is it worth the suggested retail price of $25? In the words of Curley, "Soitenly!" - Lee Pfeiffer
(Continue reading for a list of the shorts included in this collection)
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The Three Stooges Collection: Years 1-3 includes the following
titles:
1934 - Woman Haters, Punch Drunks (only short actually written by the Stooges), the Oscar® nominated
Men
in Black, and Three Little Pigskins (featuring a
young Lucille Ball).
1935 - Horses' Collars (their first Western spoof), Restless
Knights (first “triple-slapâ€
in a Stooge short), Pop Goes the Easel (first film for frequent director Del Lord),
Uncivil
Warriors (set during the
Civil War), Pardon My Scotch (first
Stooge short to use “Listen to the Mockingbird†as its theme song), Hoi
Polloi (remade as Half-Wits Holiday in 1947), and Three
Little Beers.
1936 - Ants in the Pantry (features
silent star Clara Kimball Young), Movie Maniacs (features Charlie Chaplin’s
first wife Mildred Harris), Half-Shot Shooters (first short in
which the Stooges get killed), Disorder in the Court (features the famous “swearing inâ€
scene with Curly), A Pain in the Pullman (the longest short of the series), False
Alarms, Whoops, I'm an Indian, and Slippery Silks (featuring the first Stooges cream dessert fight).