The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936 Review

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(More customer reviews)THIS IS AN ACTUAL VIEWED, IN FULL, REVIEW FROM AN ADVANCED COPY OF THE NEW DVD SET I RECEIVED FROM SONY PICTURES ON 10/18/07: To Stooge or not to Stooge, that is the question. For almost a decade since Sony began issuing The Three Stooges shorts on DVD, fans have been asking when chronological ordered sets would be released. During the last nine years, previous compilations have been a mixed bag of quality prints; odd pairings of titles; ill fated "themed" discs, and a color/B&W series. Some shorts were duplicated several times, while other films never saw the light of day. The number of shorts appearing on each disc steadily decreased. If you've felt burned by previous DVD releases that had splices, missing dialogue or deleted scenes, worry not.
Sony got the message. The Three Stooges Collection 1934-1936 is the first in a series of DVD's that presents the shorts in their original release order. For ardent fans, it's a knucklehead's dream. For the beginner, it is the proper way to be introduced to the legendary trio. Each short has been restored to its original running time. For those of you not familiar with the history of the Three Stooges, they made more films than any comedy team. A total of 190 shorts (or two reelers) and five starring feature films were produced from 1934 through 1965 at Columbia Pictures. They hold the record for the longest running studio association in Hollywood history. This was no accident. Simply put, The Three Stooges are funny. They produced a bunch of classic episodes. Of course, with 190 titles, there are some lemons in the barrel. However, with the first set of chronological shorts, each one has plenty of Stooge brilliance. Even their first short, "Woman Haters", an oddity done in rhythm, has enough mayhem to rise it above the "musical novelty" that it was originally billed.
The Stooges' career was drenched in irony. During their heyday of appearing in the classic short films, the Stooges longed to make feature length movies, fearing that the shorts were holding them back. But it was the Columbia shorts that kept them alive. Because of their running time (between 16-18 minutes), The Three Stooges shorts were like mini sitcoms. They weren't bogged down with dated musical numbers and gooey romantic sub plots like features starring Abbott and Costello and The Marx Brothers, for example. The pacing was that of animated cartoons and the Stooges were human cartoon characters. The short films they made 70+ years ago fit surprisingly well in today's video game generation of quick paced action, fast edits and short attention spans.
The other alleged nail in their career coffin was television. When the shorts market dried up in theatres due to the popularity of TV, the Stooges thought they were finished. Their backlog of films were sold in syndication and millions of people have been exposed to them ever since, therefore rescuing them from obscurity and cementing them as pop culture icons.
The first 19 of these episodes are featured in this collection. But they don't look like they did on TV. Sony has lovingly restored each short to its original brilliance and the results are nothing short of spectacular. The quality of the restoration is on par with that of Disney, the Looney Tunes series and classic films like "Wizard Of Oz", "Casablanca", and "Singin' In The Rain."
I've seen each of these Curly shorts more times than I should admit to, and watching these newly mastered films is like seeing them for the first time. Gone are the hairline scratches, dust, pops and other debris commonly found on TV and previous VHS and DVD prints. The black and white resolution is rich and some of the shorts look like they have a glossy finish to them. On "Three Little Pigskins", the picture is so clear at times, I can see the beauty parlor sign behind the boys and read that a polish and fingerwave cost 79 cents. The picture quality is that pristine! Those glorious sound effects jump from my speakers. The oldest film on the set is 73 years, and it looks beautiful on a widescreen HD TV.
So, if you're still asking yourself the question: to Stooge or not to Stooge, the answer should be as predictable as a slap from Moe. Why, Soitinly!

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When the Three Stooges first signed with Columbia Pictures, their deal was for one short. 1934's Woman Hater, 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!

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951 Review

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(More customer reviews)This set contains:
1949
The Ghost Talks
Who Done It?
Hokus Pokus
Fuelin' Around
Malice in the Palace
Vagabond Loafers
Dunked in the Deep
1950
Punchy Cowpunchers
Hugs and Mugs
Do pey Ducks
Love at First Bite
Self-Made Maids
Three Hams on Rye
Studio Stoops
Slaphappy Sleuths
A Snitch in Time
1951
Three Arabian Nuts
Baby Sitters Jitters
Don't Throw That Knife
Scrambled Brains
Merry Mavericks
The Tooth Will Out
Hula La La
Pest Man Wins
These shorts are from the era when the Stooges were comprised of Larry, Moe, and Shemp. These are the probably the last of the great Stooges shorts. With television encroaching upon the motion picture industry, cost cutting measures were soon underway. One such measure taken at Columbia that had already impacted MGM and other studios was the decrease in scope of the short-subject department in 1952. Stooge short veterans producer Hugh McCollum and director Edward Bernds were casualties of this action, and this left only Jules White behind as a person in the short subject department with a feel for what made the Stooges special. Shooting schedules were shortened, old Stooge shorts were cut up and recycled into sparse new material, and fans were not fooled by all of this.
Do be aware that the first six volumes of the Three Stooges will be available in June on The Three Stooges Collection, Volumes 1-6 Bundle. This really is not a great buy, but is pretty much on par with what you pay for all six volumes when they are on sale. This might be the way to go if you don't have any of the volumes yet.

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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 fiancées, their fiancées' 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!

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Three Stooges DVD 12-Pack (1948) Review

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(More customer reviews)Since I wrote this review in its original form, Amazon has now posted the main titles of the 12 DVDs included in the set. The shorts and features in each DVD are listed below. Amazingly, it is not possible to find the contents anywhere else online, including on Sony's home video page.
This is an excellent set and great value. There is one dud in the set, and that's "Stop! Look! and Laugh!," a feature film from 1961 with Paul Winchell and his dummies (Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead) in some very lame and dated routines with Stooges archive footage interspersed. All the Stooge archive footage is from Columbia shorts with Curly. They chose good selections, but unfortunately dubbed in background music that is more distracting than supportive. The bright spot in this DVD is that it contains the bonus short "A Bird in the Head," very funny despite Curly's failing health when it was made (1946). It is one of his last appearances before his early retirement caused by his first stroke, which he suffered during the filming of "Half Wits Holiday."
The other DVD featuring a 1960s feature film is "The Outlaws is Coming," which is actually the last feature film that Moe, Larry and Curly Joe DeRita made, from 1965. ("Last" if you exclude "Kook's Tour," which was filmed as a TV pilot in 1970 and only released on video after both Moe and Larry were dead.) While I am not a big fan of the Three Stooges during the final Curly Joe years, this feature is, in my opinion, mostly very good. Note, however, that younger viewers will miss many of the topical and dated references to mid-60s pop culture. This DVD also features an extremely good bonus short from the Curly years, "Goofs and Saddles." Its poker playing scene (Moe and Curly, each with 2 aces, passing cards under the table with their feet) is a classic, as good as most of Abbott and Costello's "con man" routines.
The other 10 DVDs include anywhere from 5 to 7 shorts each (most have 6). The shorts listed below all feature Curly unless indicated otherwise in brackets:
1. "Curly Classics" featuring: Men in Black (1934); Micro-Phonies (1945); Punch Drunks (1934); Three Little Pigskins (1934); Woman Haters (1934); and A Plumbing We Will Go (1940).
2. "All the World's a Stooge" featuring: Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937); All The World's a Stooge (1941); 3 Dumb Clucks (1937); Three Little Pirates (1946); Uncivil War Birds (1946); Back to the Woods (1937); and Violent is the Word for Curly (1938).
3. "Spook Louder" featuring [all have Shemp, except for Spook Louder, with Curly]: Spook Louder (1943); Mummy's Dummies (1948); Shivering Sherlocks (1948); The Ghost Talks (1949); Hokus Pokus (1949); and Fright Night (1947).
4. "Nutty but Nice" featuring: A Ducking They Did Go (1939); Hoi Polloi (1935); Half-Wits Holiday (1947); Higher than a Kite (1943); False Alarms (1936); and Nutty but Nice (1940).
5. "Merry Mavericks" featuring [all have Shemp, except for Cactus Makes Perfect, with Curly]: Cactus Makes Perfect (1942); Out West (1947); Vagabond Loafers (1949); Dopey Dicks (1950); Punchy Cowpunchers (1950); and Merry Mavericks (1951).
6. "Dizzy Doctors" featuring [all have Shemp, except for Dizzy Doctors and Termites of 1938, which have Curly]: Dizzy Doctors (1937); Termites of 1938 (1938); Brideless Groom (1947); Listen Judge (1952); Bubble Trouble (1953); and The Tooth Will Out (1951).
7. "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb" featuring: Gents without Cents (1944); Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb (1938); If a Body Meets a Body (1945); Rockin' Through the Rockes (1945); Phony Express (1943); and Whoops, I'm an Indian (1936).
8. "Three Smart Saps" featuring: Three Arabian Nuts [Shemp] (1951); Three Little Beers (1935); Three Smart Saps (1942); Three Dark Horses [Shemp] (1952); and Three Loan Wolves (1946).
9. "Cops and Robbers" featuring: Calling All Curs (1939); Disorder in the Court (1936); Dizzy Detectives (1943); Flat Foot Stooges (1938); Crime On Their Hands [Shemp] (1948); and Who Done It? [Shemp] (1949).
10. "G. I. Stooge" featuring: Boobs in Arms (1940); Back from the Front (1943); G.I. Wanna Go Home (1946); Wee Wee Monsieur (1938); No Dough Boys (1944); and Dizzy Pilots (1943).
11. "The Outlaws is Coming" (feature film from 1965, with Curly Joe DeRita), also featuring Goofs and Saddles (1937).
12. "Stop! Look! and Laugh!" (feature film from 1960, with Paul Winchell and lots of Stooges archive footage), also featuring A Bird in the Head (1946)


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There are nyuks galore in this Three Stooges giftset featuring 12 classic Curly, Larry, and Moe DVDs. Over 600 minutes of side-splitting laughs.

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The Three Stooges - Goofs on the Loose (Colorized / Black & White) (1937) Review

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(More customer reviews)I may be a numbskull, but I love these collections!!! I notice some people really don't like the idea of color for the stooges. But being a true fan of stooge-mania, there is really a lot to like. These 4 amazing shorts look spectacular and I've never seen any stooges short look better, either on DVD or the old VHS tapes that I own. The picture is crisp and there is little if any distortions between the four twenty minute shorts. Even more amazing, all have also been colorized with the power of computer technology and it looks quite amazing, was this filmed in 05?? Wow! The 4 shorts, all from the 30's druing the prime time of the stooges era (All Curly), are of unmatched quality. Columbia painstakingly removed the scratches and blemishes that have progressed throughout the years and they got a hold of the original prints and touched them up to boot.
The color factor of the collection is the main selling point, and although Columbia got a bit lazy as 4 shorts may seems pretty skimpy (about 60 minutes),but seeing them in color and the remastered original prints look is worth your hard earned dough. Some feel the color seems fake or washed out, but I personally love the color addition. It really makes you feel like the short was filmed in color. It doesn't look too synthetic or fake, the realistic color with skin tones, color backdrops and every thread of clothing is a site to behold. Some shorts look better than others, the indoor scenes seem to suffer the most, but when they're outside, it seems to look more natural. When you view the shorts, take a close look at the trees, it's amazing how a computer can bring the color to life. At times I thought the skin tones of the stooges was a bit off at parts, they sometimes have a sunkist orangy tint, but considering the age of these shorts, what is not to like? Don't want to bother with the color? No problem. With the press of the "angle" button on your remote, you can instantly go back to the remastered black and white originals.

The shorts are all during the prime years of the stooges when they are all at their best. Playing the Ponies was never released on DVD before and was a nice inclusion. Curly has more time on the short and is well deserved for sure. Men in Black, one of their first shorts which was nominated for an Oscar, is one of Curly's best performances. The Sitter Downers contains enough slapping and bashing of Larry and Curly to do most stooges fans in, Moe really lays into them and the smacking and eye-poking and is as funny as ever. Pop Goes The Weasel, a bit of a take off of the other future (boxing/wrestling) short called Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937), is a short that was never released on VHS and a rare find for stooge fans. One mentioned the fact that this short was censored or edited out, I 100% guarantee it is uncut and very uncouth, you won't be disappointed. The ending sequence he was referring to that was left out was regarding "Grips Grunts and Groans" which was released later in the 30's.
I seriously like what Columbia is doing. They want to give us the best possible Stooge collection and this is a good start. The shorts really are remastered and being a fan of the stooges for 20 years, I can honestly say I've never seen a single short look better than these four. One can say Columbia is just out for a quick buck to re-release the shorts and claim they look better, but believe me when I say, they seriously do look better. The colorized versions are very well done and they were painstakingly conceived by some real savvy people and computers. I hope the two DVD's offered are not the last, as I would love to have every stooge short ever made (remastered) and in color on DVD. If it takes years to have this accomoplished, I would be willing to wait. Well worth your dough if you're a fan especially if you want the absolute best. Moe, Larry and Curly would be proud.

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Digitally remastered and colorized using the latest technology. Includes both the colorized version as well as the restored black and white original, which ChromaChoice™ allows you to toggle between versions while you watch. Includes these hilarious shorts:

Men in Black (1934) Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard. Three nitwits take medical malpractice to a whole new level in this Oscar® nominated Short Subject.

The Sitter Downers(1937) A sit-down strike not only wins three imbeciles the girls of their dreams, but a prefabricated cottage complete with wifely ultimatum: no house, no honeymoon!

Punch Drunks (1934) Whenever Curly hears "Pop Goes the Weasel," he turns into a fighting madman, so Moe promotes him as the next heavyweight champion of the world.

Playing the Ponies (1937) You can lead a horse to water and make him drink if you feed him chili pepperinos, as the Stooges do to a broken-down nag, turning him into the thirstiest - and fastest - racehorse on the planet.

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The Three Stooges DVD Collection (Curly Classics / Spook Louder / All the World's a Stooge) (1948) Review

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(More customer reviews)Columbia Tristar continues to neglect their wealth of classic catalogue titles by giving us movies that we really want to see in transfers that range from disappointing to absolute rip-offs. Over the course of their tenure at Columbia, "The Three Stooges" made some 200 short subjects that rank among the funniest one reelers ever made. It's no wonder these guys are a cultural icon - they're incredibly funny.
But you won't be laughing when you see the quality of some of the transfers represented on these discs. Here's the long and short of it - in the mid 1990's somebody at Columbia decided it was time to honor the stooges with a laserdisc box set. So technicians at the studio went to their library and digitally remastered 32 short subjects and marketed them as a box set.
However, in the intervening years, DVD replaced laserdisc and, with sales of classics slumping over at Columbia, the new regime decided that they would rather just slap any old quality of transfer onto a disc, rather than take the time to repair and remaster these classic shorts. But, they still had the original 32 remastered laserdisc transfers at their disposal. So what Columbia did was to spread these 32 shorts throughout their recently released DVD series and shove in three or four truly awful transfers in between on each disc, hoping the consumer wouldn't notice, wouldn't care or wouldn't complain about the varying degrees of quality. Well - I'M COMPLAINING!!!
While certain shorts exhibit a relatively good gray scale and contrast levels, others are riddled with excessive film grain and digital compression artifacts including aliasing, shimmering and edge enhancement problems and extremely poor audio tracks that are either rendered at listening levels way below what is considered normal or are incredibly strident and scratchy. In keeping with the penny pinching - though in no way is the studio's spend-thrift attitude reflected in the price you'll be paying, there are NO EXTRAS! I've reviewed only this box set herein, but I've had a chance to view all of the currently available stooge material and I have to tell you that this review could easily apply to any of the DVD's currently on the market.
BOTTOM LINE: NO WAY! NO HOW! NOT EVEN A NYUK, NYUK!

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Includes 3 Classic Stooges DVDs:

Curly Classics : Fun with The Three Stooges in six zany episodes: "A Plumbing We Will Go", "Men In Black", "Micro-Phonies", "Punch Drunks", "Three Little Pigskins" and "Woman Haters."

All the World's a Stooge: Includes these hilarious episodes: "Grips, Grunts and Groans", "All the World's a Stooge," "3 Dumb Clucks," "Three Little Pirates," "Uncivil War Birds," "Back to the Woods" and "Violent is the Word for Curly."

Spook Louder: Digital mayhem ensues in this spooktacular selection of the trio's six funniest fear fests: "Spook Louder", "Mummy's Dummies", "Shivering Sherlocks", "The Ghost Talks", "Hokus Pokus", and "Fright Night."

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The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939 Review

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(More customer reviews)THIS DVD HAS BEEN VIEWED IN FULL FROM AN ADVANCED COPY I RECEIVED FROM SONY PICTURES ON 5/16/08:Either you get the Three Stooges or you don't. There is no middle ground.
It seems that everyone from Jay Leno to University of Arizona Professor Jon Solomon have chimed in on the subject. Essays, numerous books and college lectures have addressed the topic. There are two distinct classes of people. Those that love the classic comedy team and others who scratch their head and wonder why.
During their impressive career, The Three Stooges made 190 short subjects for Columbia Pictures. Add to that their 6 full length features; film cameos; television appearances and 156 cartoons with live wraparounds and their output is staggering.
With last year's Three Stooges Collection Volume One 1934-1936, Sony/Columbia Pictures finally began releasing the Stooges' crown jeweled two-reelers fully restored and in chronological order.
Fans rejoiced! Naysayers found something else to get excited about.
There is good news in Stoogeville as Sony's second volume of restored shorts hits the street on May 27. The Three Stooges Collection Volume Two: 1937-1939 contains 24 titles presented in their original release order.
Each short in this compilation has been digitally remastered and the soundtrack has been fully restored. Never before have these 70+ year old films looked or sounded so good. Gone is each pop, scratch, hiss, splice and wobbly frame. The contrast has been lovingly corrected. Granted, there are times when the picture fluctuates in contrast (when the camera is sped up to make images move faster), but that was limited to the technology for the time.
Most importantly, it shows the team at their peak. Moe, Larry and Curly were never more vigorous than during this period. While there are a few shorts that miss their mark here, many are high energy romps. The fact that numerous directors were in and out of the mix during this era didn't hurt the series.
Here's a blow by blow (no pun intended) analysis for the shorts included on Volume 2:
"Grips, Grunts and Groans" (****) opens the set and previous VHS and DVD releases were grainy and terribly dark in contrast. The soundtrack
was flat and there was no bass on it, giving it the sound of an AM
transistor radio. It's one of the best shorts on the set and shows
just how far the pacing had come along since many of the shorts
that it preceded. If you ever wondered where they got the idea for the
world of WWF wrestling, look no further. After Larry and Curly brain
prize fighter Ivan Bustoff (played to perfection by Harrison Greene), with a set of dumbells and a falling locker, the boys substitute Curly to wrestle in his place. With the aid of Wild Hyacinth perfume, Curly becomes a force to be reckoned with. CLASSIC LINE: "Wait a minute. If I'm
gonna get beat up, I want to get paid for it."
"Dizzy Doctors" (***) This fan favorite has the Boys selling Brighto.
Naturally, they don't know it's medicine and peddle the stuff from
car polish to spot remover. When they discover Brighto's proper
use, they invade Los Arms Hospital and run amuck trying to cure
assorted patients. CLASSIC LINE: "You boys really want to know
what it's for? It's for sale, now get busy selling it."
"Three Dumb Clucks" (***) is a great idea that could have been executed
better. The premise is promising: the Boys have to break out of jail to
stop their father (played by Curly in a dual role) from marrying some
golddigger and return him to 'Ma'. The short suffers from pacing problems
that keep it from becoming a true classic. CLASSIC SCENES: The
hat fitting and elevator/hallway chase.
"Back To The Woods" (**1/2) suffers from slow pacing and too many
scenes that weigh it down. It does have it's highlights, but they are too
few and thus is one of the weaker titles in the cannon. The Stooges are
sent to help the colonies against Indian attacks. CLASSIC LINE:
"All my life I've been looking for a maid like thee, toots!"
"Goofs and Saddles" (***1/2) The Stooges are Wild Bill Hiccup, Buffalo Billious and Just Plain Bill in hot pusuit of Longhorn Pete in this western parody. The Boys made several western themed shorts, with this entry being one of the standouts. CLASSIC LINES: "You got your special deck of cards?""Soitinly". "We won't need 'em." CLASSIC SCENE: Passing cards under the table with their feet.
"Cash and Carry" (***) While pathos worked better for Chaplin, there's plenty of gags and snappy dialog to make up for the corny Jimmy and his illness subplot. The Stooges invest Jimmy's leg operation money in a map that leads to finding "buried teasure" in a house (conveniently located next to the US Treasury Building). CLASSIC LINE: "$500, hmm, that's almost a million."
"Playing the Ponies" (***1/2) Down and out restauranteurs Moe, Larry and Curly trade their business for Thunderbolt and enter him in a race. Curly discovers that the nag runs fast after eating the hot peppers he swiped from the eatery. CLASSIC LINE: "Adam and Eve on a raft." "Hey, scramble those eggs." "Wreck 'em."
"The Sitter Downers" (****) This classic has it all. Great gags, fine pacing and a solid storyline. The Stooges go on strike and camp out in their fiancees' home, much to the dismay of their father. The nation sympathizes and gifts come pouring in. When their ready made house has to be assembled, the wives lay down the law: no honeymoon until the house is built. CLASSIC SCENE: Moe and Larry's chase sequence.
"Termites Of 1938" (****) In a mix up, Mrs. Vantwitchet hires the ACME Exterminators instead of ACME Escorts. Thinking they are hired to rid pests at an upscale party, the Stooges wreak havoc on the guests and the posh home. CLASSIC LINE: "I wish to hire your best men." "We're all pest men."
'Wee Wee Monsieur" (***1/2) Behind on their rent, Curly hopes to sell his painting, but when he clobbers the landlord over the head with it during an argument, the Boys are on the run and sign up for the Foreign Legion (thinking it's the American version). Recruited to guard General Gorganzola, he is kidnapped under their watch. They need to bring him back alive or it's cutains for the Stooges. CLASSIC SCENE: The Stooges
dressed as dancing harum girls.
"Tassels In The Air" (****) One of my favorites! Hired as janitors, the Stooges get in a jam by stenciling the wrong office door titles. Moe is mistaken for Omay, a famous interior decorator. The Curly goes bananas theme (pop goes the weasel; seeing mice; Wild Hyacinth perfume) is reworked when he sees tassels (he was tickled with a pussy willow as a child). The pig Latin bit is priceless! CLASSIC LINE: "You mean I'm umday in pig language?" "You're umday in any language."
"Flat Foot Stooges" (**) One of the flatter (no pun intended) shorts. The Stooges are inept firemen.This short misses its mark with a silly story line that involves a gun powder eating duck (silly, even by Stooge standards), who lays an exploding egg and a weak ending that had no effort put into it. Significant for the first use of 'Three Blind Mice' as the opening theme music.
"Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb" (****) A great Three Stooges vehicle. After winning the Coffin Nail Cigarette radio contest, the Stooges check into the snazzy Hotel Costa Plenty, get plastered; ruin the suite; get terrorized by a monkey; duck the hotel manager, and get railroaded by three comely female golddiggers. All this in 17 minutes! CLASSIC LINE: "Gentlemen, this bed goes back to Henry The Eighth." "That's nothing. We had a bed that went back to Sears Roebuck The Third."
"Violent Is The Word For Curly" (***1/2) This fan favorite is best known for the 'Alphabet Song'. The Boys are gas station attendants mistaken for three college professors. They wind up at Mildew College to teach the all girls school a thing or three. CLASSIC LINE: "You'll just love our student body." "Your's wouldn't be so bad either if you took off 20 pounds."
"Three Missing Links" (**) One of the weaker films in this set (not to mention the Curly era). After being fired as studio janitors, the Stooges are hired as actors and are shipped to the jungle for the shoot. Uninspired gags, weak pacing and a silly sub plot involving 'love candy' drag this one down. CLASSIC LINE: "There's great grammer for ya. I'm not me."
"Mutts To You" (***1/2) Moe, Larry and Curly run the K9 Dog Laundry Service, a great place with Rube Goldberg type contraptions. When the Stooges find a baby on a doorstep, they take the tyke home fearing he's been abandoned. Lots of great gags, one liners and wild pacing allow the Boys to shine while relying less on their signature slaps and pokes with winning results. CLASSIC LINE: "Is he on the bottle yet?" "I should say not. He don't smoke, drink nor chew."
"Three Little Sew and Sews" (*1/2) A disappointing and uneven short that even a manic Curly can't save. The Stooges pass themselves off as Admiral Tailor and his two assistants in hopes to catch a German spy. There is one good gag that rehashes the spring in the butt and one CLASSIC LINE: "I'm gonna change my socks--what an experience."
"We Want Our Mummy" (****) Everything that makes a great Three Stooges short is packed in this classic. Hired by a museum to find the remains of King Rootentooten, the Stooges hire a taxi to Cairo and hook up with crooks who are trying to beat them to the punch. Lots of great gags (Curly's mirage sequence is a standout) and CLASSIC LINES: "And if the curse does strike them, it will be a blessing to humanity." "I can't be...Read more›

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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.

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