Category: Movies & Television (Videos)

SUMMARY:        RUNNING TIME: 15:37 Min. (Black & White)

Produced and directed by Jules White off Felix Adler’s script, this 1952 Stooges misadventure spoofs both Harvey and evidently, to some degree, A Streetcar Named Desire.  Living as fugitives aboard a stolen train car, sisters Roberta & Lenore implore Larry to budge blissfully boozing Shemp into semi-sobriety, so the two couples can be married.  Meanwhile, railway detective Moe stumbles upon the foursome’s hideout, especially as he is Roberta’s ex-boyfriend. 

Broken into three segments, the hijinks include an extended lunchtime encounter with a skunk and Shemp’s imaginary romance with a human-shaped canary.  No longer chasing thieves Larry & Shemp (which isn’t explained), Moe is incredulous (as is Larry) that the sisters romantically opt for an inebriated Shemp.  Of course, Shemp prefers a bizarre fantasy world with his own would-be lovebird.    

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Shemp: Shemp Howard

Roberta: Victoria Horne

Lenore: Patricia Wright

‘Carrie the Canary:’ Reggie Dvorak

REVIEW:

This dreck-fest is a mighty strange Stooges caper where neither logic nor laughs are to be found.  A few snippets of this eyesore might be watchable, but even the lengthy skunk sequence fails to generate an ounce of hilarity.  If anything, Shemp’s oblivious romance with the ‘canary woman’ is a misguided show-stopper in all the wrong ways. 

Unless one applauds unfunny absurdism (i.e. a tank-topped Larry’s impression of Streetcar’s Marlon Brando), “Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo” deserves to remain caged in obscurity.     

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                 1½ Stars

SUMMARY:       RUNNING TIME: 16:00 Min. (Black & White)

Directed and produced by Jules White off his brother Jack White’s script, this mid-1958 Stooges comedy co-starring Joe Besser is literally a scene-for-scene knock-off of an earlier remake. 

Here’s the quick backstory: reworking their 1935 Pygmalion-inspired Hoi Polloi, Curly Howard’s last Stooges caper was 1947’s Half-Wit’s Holiday (also directed by Jules White).  Hence, White’s Besser footage filmed for Pies and Guys is mostly tacked on the front end, as new actors replace ‘Quackenbush,’ ‘Lulu,’ & ‘Sedlitz.’  It isn’t clear if Emil Sitka’s Half-Wits footage was recycled, or if he simply re-filmed his role as the butler.    

Snooty rival professors Quackenbush and Sedlitz make a financial wager whether or not Quackenbush can reform dim-witted plumbers Larry, Moe, & Joe into refined gentlemen.  With support from his glamorous blonde assistant, Lulu, Quackenbush tutors the less-than-astute Stooges on mathematics, reading, and dignified table manners, etc. 

A big society party is the climax where the Stooges must prove their newfound sophistication to their fellow guests.  Yet, a melee ensues once kleptomaniac Joe and his fellow Stooges revert to their instinctive pie-throwing mayhem. 

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Joe: Joe Besser

Professor Quackenbush: Milton Frome

Miss Lulu: Greta Thyssen

Sappington: Emil Sitka

Professor Sedlitz: Gene Roth

Mrs. Smythe-Smythe: Symona Boniface

Mrs. Gotrocks: Helen Dickson

Countess Shpritzvasser: Harriette Tarler

Party Guests: Judy Malcolm, Victor Travers, Wanda Perry, Barbara Slater, Al Thompson, Johnny Kascier, & Mary Forbes

Additional Party Guests: Uncredited.

Notes: Besser takes a pie to the face early in the finale and then inexplicably isn’t seen again.  It’s clear that this episode’s vintage ‘Larry & Moe’ pie-throwing party has been lifted from elsewhere – in this instance, 1947′ s Half-Wit’s Holiday. 

Intentionally or not, Frome & Roth tower over the Stooges, as if Moe, Larry, & Joe, by comparison, are practically dwarves. 

Lastly, here’s a bit of Stooges trivia: Moe’s wife, Helen, had first suggested (or even written a draft of) a Stooges adaptation of Pygmalion, which ended up as 1935’s Hoi Polloi.  

REVIEW:

If the dull new footage is evidence, Pies and Guys is merely a cheap contractual obligation. For instance, virtually all of this Besser version’s finale is directly lifted as archived footage from Half-Wit’s Holiday. Symona Boniface’s brief presence is especially awkward, considering she had passed away in 1950.

More so, aside from Larry & Moe’s amusing under-the-table hand-holding gag (also reenacted from Half-Wit’s), the Besser-era footage indicates a tired cast merely going through the motions.  As for Besser, given his lack of on-screen chemistry with Moe & Larry, the less said of his contributions the better.      

The sole incentive for enduring Pies and Guys is fast-forwarding to the hilarious Larry-and-Moe pie-tossing festival – Larry: “You forgot to duck (hah, hah) — (seconds later) Moe: “So did you!”.  Considering the tragic reason for this two-Stooge finish was Curly’s career-ending stroke during the filming of Half-Wit’s Holiday, their vintage teamwork recycled twelve years later still packs some comedy dynamite.

To bleakly summarize how lazy and budget-stingy Columbia Pictures had become, this short abruptly ends as the pie fight starts winding down.  White doesn’t even bother tacking on a new finish, even just to convey that Besser was still in the ‘room.’  Watching the politically incorrect Hoi Polloi and/or the gooey finish to Half-Wit’s Holiday obviously makes far more sense. 

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:             2 Stars

SUMMARY:          RUNNING TIME: 16:45 Min. (Black & White)

Produced and directed by Jules White off Felix Adler’s script, this episode represents the final Shemp-era caper (as it’s also the last of the four ‘Fake Shemp’ episodes).  At a newspaper office, staff janitors Shemp, Larry, and Moe stumble into an international espionage racket having taken a hot tip meant for their absent boss. 

Seeking future careers as investigative journalists, the trio pursue a nebulous foreign spy stealing U.S. atomic secrets.  Stowed away aboard a cruise ship, the Stooges soon match wits at sea with their dangerous quarry, who is far closer at hand than they realize. 

The plot cuts and pastes 1949’s “Dunked in the Deep” together with 1948’s “Crime on Their Hands.”  The only new footage is mostly a sequence where a scrounging Larry & Moe attempt to swipe a passenger’s fish dinner.    

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Shemp: Shemp Howard (archived footage)

Emma Blake: Harriette Tarler

Bortch: Gene Roth (archived footage)

J.L. Cameron: Charles Wilson (archived footage)

Smitty: Emil Sitka (cameo)

Fake Shemp: Joe Palma (cameo)  

REVIEW:

Given how Columbia Pictures assembled this episode on the cheap, “Commotion on the Ocean” plays better than expected.  Even the notorious presence of Joe Palma’s ‘Fake Shemp’ (covering for Shemp, who had passed away in late 1955) is near-undetectable.  The only strain comes from inserting Larry & Moe’s new footage, as they appear obviously older some seven years later.  

As for a predictable assortment of gags, they generally fall between dull and okay.  However, there’s an unfunny sequence where a smoking Shemp inadvertently ignites his hammock on fire (how such a dangerous fire in the ship’s combustible hold is extinguished isn’t revealed).  That poorly-conceived joke really ought to have been deleted and/or replaced with other appropriate Shemp footage. 

“Commotion on the Ocean,” overall, isn’t among the worst Stooge cut-and-paste jobs from that era.  It just isn’t close to necessary viewing, either.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    3½ Stars

SUMMARY:     RUNNING TIME: 16:00 Min. (Black & White)

Jules White is credited as having produced and directed this 1956 Stooges comedy – though he only filmed the opening sequence. For historical purposes, For Crimin’ Out Loud presents the Stooges’ last Columbia Pictures episode released that Shemp Howard had filmed some new footage for – prior to his passing in late 1955.

Specifically, the opening sequence at the Miracle Detective Agency is this comedy’s sole new footage. The remaining 70-75% of the plot is archive footage lifted from and slightly re-edited/dubbed by White from 1949’s Who Done It?, with a Stooge group close-up or two evidently taken from other stock footage.

Note: Who Done It? was actually filmed by writer-director Edward Bernds back in December of 1947, but Columbia Pictures didn’t release it to theaters until March of 1949.

In the big city, the Stooges comprise the Miracle Detective Agency.  At their office lab one night, as the trio ineptly conducts forensics/ballistics tests, former client Councilman Goodrich (Sitka) calls desperately needing their help. 

Suspecting that the missing Goodrich has been deep-sixed (or soon will be) by nefarious relatives, the Stooges descend upon the spooky family manor to investigate.  Awaiting them is Goodrich’s sinister heirs (along with their butler and a monstrous henchman), who have no intention of letting these would-be rescuers escape alive.     

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Shemp: Shemp Howard

Newspaper Delivery Girl: Barbara Bartay

Councilman Goodrich: Emil Sitka (archived footage)

Delores – Goodrich’s Niece: Christine McIntyre (archived footage)

Delores’ Husband: Ralph Dunn (archived footage)

Nikko the Henchman: Duke York (archived footage)

Butler: Charles Knight (archived footage)

Notes: Having retired from Hollywood in 1954, this comedy is among McIntyre’s last official film credits due to her recycled footage. The same also applies to her late co-star, Duke York,

REVIEW:

On its surface, it’s easy to assume For Crimin’ Out Loud is merely another cheap and lazy retread riding the Stooges’ descent in the final years of their 25-year stint with Columbia Pictures. Still, among the innumerable remakes the Stooges were pushed to do of their own prior work, this one actually merits a fair comparison to its 1949 predecessor.

Speaking of the original film (Who Done It?), the 1949 version seemingly has two distinct advantages: 1. A far better yet hardly clever title; and 2. The haunted house/mystery noir cliché spoofing gags are no doubt far fresher the first time that audiences watched them. Still, director Edward Bernds’ two opening sequences (one featuring Emil Sitka’s panicked “Goodrich” and the other with character actor Dudley Dickerson as an office building janitor saving the tied-up Stooges from their unexplained predicament) are easily replaceable.

Having Jules White subsequently replace these scenes with sadistic Stooges forensics lab slapstick somehow makes his remake gel better. Apart from a few minor discrepancies (i.e. tweaks in Moe and Shemp’s hairstyles), White syncs together Bernds’ old footage remarkably well with the Stooges, as they now appeared in late 1955.

In either film, two sequences remain timeless Stooge gems. One is Shemp’s cartoony matching-of-wits against Christine McIntyre’s sultry femme fatale trading off on the old poisoned-cocktail switcheroo game.  A game McIntyre, in particular, concocts a delightfully naughty vamp. The other applies to the storyline’s amusing lights-out battle royale at the finish.

Given a choice between the two films, despite its weak title, the remake actually delivers the better Stooges mystery caper. It’s just a shame that For Crimin’ Out Loud’s credits make it seem as though White came up with this comedy’s witty noir hijinks all by himself. In homage to one of Shemp’s best (and overlooked) Stooge capers, credit should be allotted to Edward Bernds and a spot-on guest cast nearly eight years after they had made their contributions.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    7½ Stars

SUMMARY:      RUNNING TIME: 16:00 Min. (Black & White)

Director/Producer Jules White collaborated with his brother, screenwriter Jack White, on one of Shemp Howard’s last capers with the Stooges.  Purely by accident, the Stooges (employees of The Elite Café) are eyewitnesses to a brazen armored car heist.  As bad luck would further have it, both the two guards and the police deem Larry, Moe, & Shemp the prime suspects. 

Forced to clear their names, the Stooges and their boss, Gladys, chase after the crooks to find the necessary proof.  With a virtually identical plot, much of this Stooges episode is actually recycled footage from 1948’s “Shivering Sherlocks.”      

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Shemp: Shemp Howard

Gladys Harmon: Christine McIntyre (both new and archived footage)

Police Capt. Mullins: Vernon Dent (archived footage)

Jackson: Cy Schindell (archived footage)

Cop – Lie Detector Technician: Joe Palma (archived footage)

Lefty Loomis: Kenneth MacDonald (archived footage)

Red Watkins: Frank Lackteen (archived footage)

Angel: Duke York (archived footage)

Armored Car Guards:  Joe Palma & Tom Kingston

Café Customer: Stanley Blystone (archived footage)

Various Cops: Uncredited

Note: This film was McIntyre’s last new appearance in a Stooges comedy.  Specifically, she briefly reprises her same role from “Shivering Sherlocks.”

REVIEW:

Like so many Stooge cut-and-paste retreads of the mid-1950’s, “Of Cash and Hash” is new solely in name only.  For such a lazy rip-off, the two sequences worth viewing are the rudimentary polygraph gags and a bright finish for Shemp & retiring co-star Christine McIntyre.  It’s decent compensation against yet another Stooges caper where Duke York plays a monstrous thug chasing the trio through a ‘haunted house.’ 

Otherwise, “Of Cash and Hash” is unnecessary déjà vu, especially if “Shivering Sherlocks” is readily available.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                      3 Stars

SUMMARY:         RUNNING TIME: 15:48 Min. (Black & White)

Produced and directed by Jules White off Felix Adler’s script, this Three Stooges comedy is a series rarity — specifically, Moe, Larry, & Shemp are enemies.  Lecherous pet shop owner Larry schemes to pit a married Moe against Shemp, so he can make romantic advances upon both Moe’s less-than-adoring wife, Belle, and Shemp’s patient fiancée, Millie. 

To advance his philandering, Larry concocts a ruse where Shemp is hired to sell (and even model) undergarments to Belle, and then tips off a jealous, gun-packing Moe.  The same applies to Millie, who shows up to confront Belle for stealing Shemp from her.  The question becomes: does Larry’s sleazy conniving succeed?     

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Shemp: Shemp Howard

Belle: Mary Ainslee

Millie: Angela Stevens

Miss Lapdale (Larry’s Secretary): Theila Darin

Waiter: Johnny Kascier

Stooge Stand-Ins/Stunt Doubles: Harold Breen, Charlie Cross, & Johnny Kascier

Note: The Joe Besser-era Stooges remade this storyline as 1959’s “Triple Crossed.”

REVIEW:

Aside from the intriguing notion of Larry playing a villain, “He Cooked His Goose” deserves credit for trying something more sophisticated with the Stooges.  Somewhat reminiscent of their ‘Niagara Falls’ routine (with Curly), the Stooges come off well, as Larry gleefully manipulates his romantic competition.  Seeing Larry finally get the spotlight role while Moe plays a pathetically naïve husband is indeed a treat. 

The only detriment is this farce’s shortened running time, as more gags could have been added to screenwriter Felix Adler’s terrific premise.     

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                5½ Stars

SUMMARY:      RUNNING TIME: 17:00 Min. (Black & White)

Directed by Edward Bernds off Jack White’s script, this Three Stooges comedy gleefully spoofs Grade-B Westerns.  Arriving in sparse Dead Man’s Gulch, prospectors Larry, Moe, and Curly discover that the town is sore need of another new sheriff.  That year alone, local outlaw Badlands Blackie and his baddies have offed several town sheriffs (they’re not even counting deputies, anymore). 

Blackie is now demanding that local blacksmith Nell marry him by sundown, or she’ll never see her abducted father again. Stepping in, Curly becomes the town’s new lawman and even Nell’s fiancé, provided he can save her father.  With Moe and Larry & Moe as his deputies, Curly first practices his sharpshooting skills. 

Meanwhile, Blackie & Co. proceed with his insistence that Nell marry him immediately.  The Stooges manage to thwart the shotgun wedding the first time.  Yet, it’s up to the Stooges to intervene at Blackie’s saloon hideout by sundown to save Nell from forced nuptials and the town itself from his reign of terror.

Moe: Moe Howard

Larry: Larry Fine

Curly: Jerry “Curly” Howard

Nell: Christine McIntyre

Badlands Blackie: Dick Curtis

Trigger: Ethan Laidlaw

Quirt: Blackie Whiteford

Judge Blake: Victor Travers

Young Boy (Judge Blake’s Son): Uncredited

Justice of the Peace: Si Jenks

Town Elder: Hank Bell

Nell’s Father: Elmo Lincoln (cameo)

Bartender: Joe Garcio

Townsmen: Steve Clark, Slim Gaut, Budd Fine, & George Morrell

Saloon Patrons: Uncredited

Saloon Maids: Uncredited

Note: Lincoln was the first cinematic Tarzan, having appearing as the character in 1918’s Tarzan of the Apes.

REVIEW:

Practically a live-action cartoon, “The Three Troubledoers” does relatively well blending B-Western gunplay with Looney Tunes and Dudley Do-Right-style antics.  Though there are some slow spots in the script, Curly’s bungled training and the shootout gags prove solid fun (including a makeshift bazooka).  Curly gets the bulk of the laughs, but Moe & Larry still make a few worthwhile contributions, i.e. the sped-up bicycle-for-three sequence prior to the big rescue. 

Even if this episode isn’t the best of the Stooges’ Westerns, there’s sufficient laughs to make it worth sitting through.     

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                 6 Stars