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Reviews
To Beep or Not to Beep (1963)
The best Road Runner cartoon ever.
TO BEEP OR NOT TO BEEP (1963) is my favorite Roadrunner cartoon ever made. The best gag is when the coyote tries to catch the roadrunner in a noose. The catapult gag, originally from ZOOM AND BORED, is even better here. This only made it to one tape, The Classic Chase. Too bad, because this is a gem. The end of this one was surprising. There's more great gags in between, such as the wrecking ball. There's never a bad moment in this cartoon. The best Looney Tunes were made in the sixties, but this tops them off. Watch this and laugh out loud.
Grade: A+
Bubble Trouble (1953)
Great remake, almost better than the original.
Although BUBBLE TROUBLE may contain a large amount of old footage from ALL GUMMED UP, I think this is great. The last five minutes of the short is changed into a scene where Amos Flint turns into a gorilla and fights the Stooges. One of the Stooges best remakes.
There's also about two seconds worth of stock footage from CORNY CASANOVAS. Amos Flint pushes Shemp against the wall. A flowerpot falls from the wall and lands on Shemp's head. Compare the scene of the flower falling off the wall to CORNY.
A great remake. Purchase this TODAY!
Grade: A-
He Cooked His Goose (1952)
One of my favorite Three Stooges shorts.
HE COOKED HIS GOOSE (1952) Is in my top ten Shemp films. Yes, the whole short starts off boring and silly, but wait until the part with Cedric the clam. After that, there's a big and hilarious scene, where Larry sends Shemp to model underwear at Moe's wife's house. Then Larry sends Shemp's fiance to the house and she thinks Shemp is two-timing her. A big mix-up happens there, but I won't give it away. This is an excellent short, right up there with HEAVENLY DAZE (1948).
Grade: A+
Hoofs and Goofs (1957)
Not one of the best, the stooges should've stopped before this film.
HOOFS AND GOOFS (1957) is, unfortunatly, not one of the greatest shorts ever. It only proves that Joe Besser would never qualify as a good stooge. Since Moe plays two parts in the short, they had to throw in the obvious double for him at the end. I think the stooges should have quit after they made COMMOTION ON THE OCEAN (1956) or have done a remake of MUMMY'S DUMMIES (1948). That was the only 40's Shemp film to not be remade. Overall, I wish this film wasn't made. The only really good Joe Besser short is FIFI BLOWS HER TOP (1958), which still isn't that good. I know they made a sequel to YOU NAZTY SPY! (1940) because it was popular, but why make HORSING AROUND (1957) a sequel of THIS?????????????
Rip, Sew and Stitch (1953)
Okay remake, I'd prefer the classic original.
RIP, SEW, AND STITCH (1953) is such a close remake of SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS (1947), which was a classic, that it was almost not worth making. This is only the third mid-50's remake. The remakes improved as they got going. They got started with the better remakes when they make MUSTY MUSKETEERS (1954). This is okay, but they've made better remakes.
Grade: B
Loose Loot (1953)
Another remake that could've been better.
LOOSE LOOT (1953) is not the best remake The Three Stooges have ever made. You can hardly even call this a remake. There's just reused footage from HOLD THAT LION! (1947) in the first five minutes. And the new footage is unusual, because most of it takes place in one room at the theatre. For some odd reason, Shemp isn't his usual funny self in the new footage, he, acts meaner that usual. "That guy must have iron in his bod," Shemp says after he sticks a sword in Slipp's (Kenneth MacDonald) rear end. Overall, an olay remake, but nothing special.
Grade: C
Footage from HOLD THAT LION! was also used in BOOTY AND THE BEAST (1953), the previous short.
Rumpus in the Harem (1956)
Okay remake.
RUMPUS IN THE HAREM (1956) is an okay remake of MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949)but it still could've been better. Columbia didn't choose the best possible double for Shemp. The new footage at the beginning is okay, but it's hard to hear what their girlfriends are saying because of their weeping. And I didn't like the scene where the harem girls are beating up Moe and Larry. The only new scene I really liked was when the guard is chasing Shemp's double. They even dubbed in some scenes where Shemp is screaming. But it's obviously a double when Shemp is jumping out the window because they got lazy and didn't dub in Shemp screaming. The double screamed instead. But there's enough of the old footage to have a good laugh!
Grade: B-
Outer Space Jitters (1957)
Besser at his worst.
OUTER SPACE JITTERS (1957) is the worst Joe Besser short I have seen so far. It's a totally weird plot. What should a caveman be brought to life on Sunev (Venus spelled backwards) anyway? Besides, the Stooges don't even wear their hair their usual funny way. The "Sunev" gag was already used in SPACE SHIP SAPPY (1957). I don't recommend this short. At least the ending was good.
Rating: D
Scheming Schemers (1956)
Even better than the first two.
SCHEMING SCHEMERS (1956) is one of my favorite Three Stooges shorts ever. It's not too bad for a remake after Shemp's death. Shemp's double is covered with pipes in one scene and they dubbed in a voice of Shemp saying, "Hold your horses!"
This is the only short the Stooges made taking footage from three older films. There's mostly footage of VAGABOND LOAFERS (1949), which includes all the footage of the real Shemp.
There's some stock footage of A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO (1940) which includes Dudley Dickerson as a cook, and Larry digging a hole looking for a place to shut the water off.
There are a few scenes from the pie fight from HALF-WITS HOLIDAY (1947) which was inserted so Moe and Larry could catch the Kenneth MacDonald, trying to steal a valuable painting.
There's some new footage of Moe and Larry searching for a valuable ring that fell down the sink drain, which is why the stooges are at the house, and them starting a pie fight in the dining room.
I think it's interesting to see how all these shorts are edited together. I think it's a mixture of three good shorts. I'd say this is the best remake from 1953 to 1956. Very entertaining to watch.
Rating: A+
Half Shot Shooters (1936)
The worst Stooges short.
Actually, when deciding which short is the worst, you have to choose between HALF-SHOT SHOOTERS and THREE PESTS IN A MESS. It's not fair to see the stooges get killed by a cannon at the end of the film. Not one bit of this short is funny. Don't waste your time.
Grade: F--
Three Pests in a Mess (1945)
One of the worst.
THREE PESTS IN A MESS could've match up it's plot line better. The first half of the short is great, but the second half is bad because it may be inappropriate to general audiences. Secondly, the second half of the short wanders away from the plot of the first half. Don't even bother to watch.
Grade: D+
Malice in the Palace (1949)
Shemp at his best.
MALICE IN THE PALACE is probably Shemp's best and most popular short. I can't say it's number 1 on my list, but I'd make it number 5. The best scene is when everyone thinks Larry is chopping up cats and dogs in the kitchen.
My Rating: A++
Fuelin' Around (1949)
Simply Hi-Larry-ous!
FUELIN' AROUND is one of the funniest shorts I have ever seen. Larry is funny, especially since he's the most important stooge in the short. It's much better than it's remake HOT STUFF (1956).
My Rating: A+
Flat Foot Stooges (1938)
How do they come up with the plot?
FLAT FOOT STOOGES is a very weird plot. How did they come up with the idea of a duck laying an egg with gunpowder to start a fire. The stooges also play firemen in SOUP TO NUTS, FALSE ALARMS, & IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. Watch one of those films instead.
** out of 4 stars.
Pest Man Wins (1951)
Second best of the Curly to Shemp remakes.
THE PEST MAN WINS is one of my top ten Three Stooges films. It's a tough decision between which pie fighting film I like best between PEST MAN WINS or IN THE SWEET PIE & PIE. This short is a remake of the Curly classic ANTS IN THE PANTRY. But Jules White added a great pie fight, which was missing from the original.
Most of the pie footage is really stock footage of HALF-WITS HOLIDAY and IN THE SWEET PIE & PIE. This is a great short and I recommend it to all stooge fans.
**** out of 4 stars.
Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981)
So well edited.
I've never seen a Looney Tunes movie better edited than this one. The new footage in this film is worthless, but the first two acts are well enough edited to win an award for best editing. I don't really like the new footage in Act I, but it doesn't take away the excitement of the good editing.
***1/2 out of 4 stars.
Musty Musketeers (1954)
Hilarious remake!
MUSTY MUSKETEERS is a pretty good remake of FIDDLERS THREE. The sword fight at the end of this one makes a better ending. I can't say this is better than the original, but check it out anyway.
**** out of 4 stars.
Hula-La-La (1951)
Shemp at his worst.
HULA-LA-LA is the worst Shemp short I've seen so far. I don't like the plot on this one. There's only one funny line in the whole short. If you want an African stooge short, watch THREE MISSING LINKS or SOME MORE OF SAMOA.
* out of 4 stars.
Commotion on the Ocean (1956)
A good mixture from two older shorts.
COMMOTION ON THE OCEAN is the best job they've done after Shemp's death so far. It's a remake of DUNKED IN THE DEEP. Joe Palma only doubles for Shemp in one scene of the new footage, but it looks more realistic. All we see of Shemp is his shoulder, and you can't tell the difference.
The beginning of the short actually comes from CRIME ON THEIR HANDS, with a different story in the newspapers. The film is almost a direct lift from the two shorts, except for a scene of Moe, Larry, and Gene Roth eating and coughing up a plastic fish.
This is a good job, considering the work they did in: RUMPUS IN THE HAREM, HOT STUFF & SCHEMING SCHEMERS.
***1/2 out of 4 stars.
Wham-Bam-Slam! (1955)
Funny, but different.
WHAM BAM SLAM is a remake of PARDON MY CLUTCH from 1948. The short is very good, but there's a lack of excitement. The "Pancake-on-the-ceiling" gag worked better in MOVIE MANIACS. Overall, a pretty good short.
*** out of 4 stars.
I'm a Monkey's Uncle (1948)
The silly stone age romeos!
I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE is one of the Three Stooges' funniest shorts. I'm a fan of Shemp, and this is one of his greats. The funniest part is when Dee Green tackles Shemp so he'll fall in love with her.
This is a great stooge short. Watch for it on AMC or on Columbia Home Video.
**** out of 4 stars!
Stop! Look! and Laugh! (1960)
Could've been better.
STOP! LOOK! AND LAUGH! was a compilation film linking ten of their shorts together. The film is okay, but The Three Stooges aren't shown enough. And the background music added into the film is not even funny, it's more serious.
This is the basic plot. At the beginning, Paul Winchell tells his dummy, Jerry Mahoney, how the world began (features a clip of the stooges as monkeys) and he talks about how water came, the the stooges are shown floating down the river in footage from HOW HIGH IS UP? From here, we get the whole construction worker scenes.
Then he tells Jerry the story of three gas station worker, and we see them in footage from VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY, the only stooge short to have a stooge name in it. We do new footage after the stooges fall in the lake.
Then Paul Winchell talks about Jerry as a baby, and then hears a real one crying, in footage from SOCK-A-BYE BABY. Then we get a basically complete version of that short.
Paul checks on his car, and we see garage footage from HIGHER THAN A KITE. They do new footage after the parts fall out of the car. After that, Paul tells Jerry about Mexico (footage from WHAT'S THE MATADOR?).
Then he calls the hospital after Jerry fakes getting sick, and we see all the footage from CALLING ALL CURS. Then Jerry watches a western TV show, and we see chase scenes from GOOFS AND SADDLES.
Then Paul calls the plumbers to fix the sink, and we see parts of MICRO-PHONIES and A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO. And then we see a terribly long scene with Paul telling Jerry the story of Cinderella, acted by chimps.
The film ends with scenes of HALF-WITS HOLIDAY and Paul trying to end the party. Most of the film was good. Without the music, the Cinderella scenes, and cut-down sequences with Paul and Jerry, this would be a major hit!
*** out of 4 stars.
Husbands Beware (1956)
Better than the original.
HUSBANDS BEWARE is a remake of the Shemp classic BRIDELESS GROOM. The film's new cooking scene at the beginning of the film is great. The stooges are always funny when they cook. However after the first few minutes of cooking footage, we cut to original footage of BRIDELESS GROOM. One thing I noticed about these 1953 to 1956 remakes are that they do fit with the new story. They do an insert shot if the old story line doesn't match.
HUSBANDS BEWARE does have a new ending, but I won't give it away to those who want to be surprised.
**** out of 4 stars.
Income Tax Sappy (1954)
Only one short better than this one!
The only Three Stooges short I like better than INCOME TAX SAPPY is HEAVENLY DAZE. INCOME TAX SAPPY is my second favorite of all Three Stooges shorts. The plot is funny and not all about income taxes. I love this short! The only part that I didn't like, which was kind of gross, as a scene where Larry has a zipper on his stomach. But otherwise a VERY enjoyable short. The funniest part is when the stooges run into the kitchen and throw a pie at the IRS agents.
**** out of 4 stars.
Vagabond Loafers (1949)
Great remake
VAGABOND LOAFERS is a reworking of the 1940 Curly classic A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO. Scenes from the original are used in this film, such as Larry digging a hole and Dudley Dickerson as a cook in the family kitchen. This short has great gags, but I won't spoil them for those who haven't seen it.
**** out of 4 stars.
Trivia- Remade as SCHEMING SCHEMERS in 1956.