Restless Knights (1935)

 

Studio: Columbia. Runtime: 16 minutes. Production Number: 160. Release Date: Feburary 20, 1935. Director: Charles Lamont. Producer: Jules White. Story and Screenplay: Felix Adler. Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard (Themselves), Walter Brennan (Father), Billy Franey (Servant), Geneva Mitchell (Queen Annie of Anesthesia), Christian J. Frank (Royal Announcer), Stanley Blystone (Captain of the Guard), Ernie Young (Boris' henchman), Dorothy King (Brunette trumpeter), Hilda Title (Blonde trumpeter), Jack Duffy (Toothless guard), Corinne Williams, Marie Wells, Eadie Adams, Patty Price (Ladies of the court), James Howard, Bud O'Neill (Wrestlers), Bobby Burns, William J. Irving, Lynton Brent, George Speer (Guards), Charles Dorety, Jack Hill (Firing squad guards), Bert Young, Dutch Hendrian, Al Thompson (Kidnap guards), Ed Brandenburg (Larry's Stunt Double). Cinematographer: Benjamin Kline. Editor: James Sweeney. Music: Louis Silvers. Shooting Days: 4 (12-19-1934 to 12-22-1934).

The Stooges were such absurd characters that they were outsiders in any environment they were placed in. Because of this they fit into period films better than many comedians, who felt very much like a product of their times. Like cartoon characters, you could place the Three Stooges in any time or place and never have it questioned. Because of they could appear in the old west, medieval times, ancient Egypt, the American Civil War or even fantasy worlds.

This short film takes place in the Middle Ages where the Stooges find out that they are of noble blood. After learning this they decide to volunteer to protect the queen. Yet as they put on a demonstration, the queen is kidnapped. The Stooges do their best to find her and save her. 

This film is typical of these early Columbia Stooges shorts. There are some strong gags here. Curly's lines are frequently very funny and the opening scene (which features an early screen appearance by the great Walter Brennan) is hilarious. However, the funny moments are undercut by poor pacing and a barren soundtrack. Some scenes drag on well past the point of being funny (the wrestling scene and the finale). There are many moments here where there are no background music or sound effects. So, when characters aren't talking the film is playing in pure silence. This is all wrong for comedy and especially slapstick comedy. There is a reason why silent films had live musical accompaniment, it added a lot to the action. Here the absence of sound just makes slapstick moments that should be funny come off as rather dull.   

In this film, Curly states that he would rather be burned at the stake than have his head chopped off because "A hot stake is better than cold chop!" He would make the same pun in The Three Little Pirates (1946). Curly also states that he was in Paris " looking over the Parasites." This pun was later used in Love at First Bite (1950) and Fifi Blows Her Top (1958). Moe says that they can throw an attractive female character to the dogs, which leads to Larry and Curly barking. This joke would later be repeated in Merry Mavericks (1951). At one point Moe states, "One for all," Larry states "All for one," and Curly concludes "I'll take care of myself." This gag would be repeated in Back in the Woods (1937) and Squareheads of the Round Table (1948).  

The castle set in this film was built for the horror movie, The Black Room (1935), directed by Roy William Neill and starring Boris Karloff. 

For those of you keeping score, there are 20 slaps and 4 eye pokes in this film. 

Resources Used

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer and Greg Lenburg

https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/6#google_vignette

Horses' Collars (1935)

 

Studio: Columbia. Runtime: 18 minutes. Production Number: 159. Release Date: January 10,  1935. Director: Clyde Bruckman. Producer: Jules White. Story and Screenplay: Felix Adler. Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard (Themselves), Fred Kelsey (Detective Hyden Zeke), Alice Belcher (Mrs. Zeke), Fred Kohler (Double Deal Decker), Dorothy Kent (Nell Higginbottom), Leo Willis (Lobo), Sam Lufkin, Slim Whitaker, George Chesebro, Bobby Dunn, Ralph ''Buck'' Bucko, Roy Bucko, Arthur 'Pat' West (Cowboys), Nelson McDowell (Bartender), Milton Douglas (Waiter), Bobby Callahan (Drunk), Jack Hill (Sax player), Bud McClure (Sheriff), Hilda Title (Curly's dance partner), Alice Dahl (Moe's dance partner), June Gittelson (Larry's dance partner), Allyn Drake, Nancy Caswell (Dance hall girls), Bert Young (Curly's double), Johnny Kascier (Moe's double), Ed Brandenburg (Larry's double).  Cinematographer: John Boyle. Editor: James Sweeney. Music: Louis Silvers, Charles Rosoff, Constantin Bakaleinikoff, J. H. Wood. Shooting Days: 4 (11-23-1934 to 11-27-1934). Working Title: Hyden Zeke. 

Horses' Collars marks the first Stooge film of 1935 and the first Stooge western. It is a winner on both counts. 

In this film detectives Moe, Larry and Curly are hired to go out west and help Nell Higginbottom (Dorothy Kent) get back an IOU that her father was tricked into signing. 

This is a very solid short. There is pretty much one great gag after another. Not only is the slapstick great but this film has many memorable lines. I especially love Moe explaining why mice drive Curly crazy by stating "'Cause his father was a rat." Speaking of Curly going crazy, this short is a perfect showcase for Curly. There are very few comedians who could go as over the top and zany as Curly does here without making it seem annoying. As always though Curly pulls it off. There is a wonderful almost animalistic element to him during these scenes that no other comedian could ever capture. It feels like someone unleashed a wild side that was always in them just waiting to come out. Watching this you fully understand why Curly is so many people's favorite Stooge. 

There are however two things that keep this film from being as great as some of the Stooges' later westerns. One is that the pacing in these earlier shorts is simply not as strong as it would be in a year or two. Because of this there are a few slow points that would be unimaginable in later Stooge efforts. Another is that the villains here are neither that funny nor threatening.  

This is the only Stooge film on which Clyde Bruckman would receive a director's credit. Bruckman would go on to be one of the Stooges main writers. As well as working with the Stooges, Bruckman had a wonderful career in film comedy. He wrote and directed for such greats as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Feilds and Abbott and Costello. Probably his biggest claim to fame is that he received a co-director credit on what many consider to be Buster Keaton's masterpiece, The General (1927). 

One line in this film is "You see this this heel? I ran that down!" This same line would later be used in Slaphappy Sleuths (1950). There is a dialogue exchange about a drink called a "tin roof," which is of course on the house. This would later be reused in the short film, A Merry Mix Up (1957) and the feature length movie, Rockin' in the Rockies (1945). One gag features a coin being thrown and the air, being shot and coming back down as a bunch of pennies. This gag would later be reused in Out West (1947) and Pals and Gals (1954). The Stooges paint open eyes on their eyelids to look awake. The same gag would be used in Slaphappy Sleuths (1950). 

For those of you keeping count there are 29 slaps and 1 eye poke in this film. 

As well as their film work, the Stooges would also make many live appearances during 1935. They would start the year by touring with singer and straight man Milton Douglas, who also did his own act as well as appearing with the Stooges. They first performed at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle Washington from January 1-7. For their performance on January 2nd, a reviewer would mistakenly call them Fine, Howard and Fine. This reviewer messed up more in his review giving Curly and Larry's last name as Howard, while calling Moe's last name as Fine. They would then perform at the Paramount Theatre in Portland, Oregan from January 9-15. Also appearing on the bill were the trained dog act Bartino's Dogs, Hermie King and his band and whistler Les Nichols. Those who think of the Stooges as clean comics may be surprised by one of the reviews. a review in the Oregan Daily Journal stated, "Perhaps the naughtier part comes from their joining Milt Douglas in the finale of his act, for Douglas and his aides are plain dirty at times." They would perform at the Biltmore Hotel on February 27 for the Academy Awards ceremony. They would perform at 41 club in Los Angeles on March 24, the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on April 6, the Elks Club in Santa Monica on April 25 and the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento on April 30, all with Milton Douglas.   

Resources Used

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer and Greg Lenburg
A Tour De Farce: The Complete History of the Three Stooges on the Road by Gary Lassin

https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/5

The Three Little Pigskins (1934)

 

Studio: Columbia. Runtime: 18 minutes. Production Number: 156. Release Date: December 08, 1934. Director: Raymond McCarey. Story and Screenplay: Felix Adler, Griffin Jay. Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard (Themselves), Walter Long (Joe Stacks), Lucille Ball (Daisy Simms), Gertie Green (Lulu Banks), Phyllis Crane (Molly Gray), Joseph Young (Pete), Milton Douglas (Henchman), Lynton Brent, Jimmy Phillips, Larry Wheat (Men panhandled by Moe), Bobby Burns (Man panhandled by Larry), Johnny Kascier (Man panhandled by Curly), Harry Bowen (Boulder Dam publicity man), Dutch Hendrian (Referee), William J. Irving, Charles Dorety (Photographers). Cinematographer: Henry Freulich. Editor: James Sweeney. Sound Engineer: Charles Althouse. Music: Louis Silvers. Assistant Director: Morey Lightfoot. Shooting Days: 5 (10-25-1934 to 10-30-1934).

In this short film, Moe, Larry and Curly are down on their luck as the great depression has left them broke. However, they are eventually hired to promote a university football team. This leads them to be mistaken for the college's star athletes. A crooked gangster hires them to play on their football team. 

This is an excellent film. It is one of the best of the early Columbia shorts. Unlike other early Columbia shorts, there are not pacing problems here. There is no big break between laughs instead the film gives you one laugh after another. Not only this but all the laughs come directly from the Stooges' characters. Though the Stooges' films are best known for over-the-top slapstick, the best laughs in any Stooge short are often due to the characters. Some of the verbal jokes here are very corny ( "No, I'm 36... Larry's a minor, he's 44.") but they work because they fit the characters so well and Moe, Larry and Curly's delivery is fantastic. Even the slapstick gags come from the characters. What makes the slapstick football game so funny is not the gags themselves, but Larry and Curly's compete obliviousness to even the most basics about football. If they were knowingly cheating or acting zany, these gags wouldn't be funny. It is how sincere these characters are in their naiveté of the sport that makes them hilarious. 

This film was originally going to end with the Stooges telling the story to their children, who were miniature versions of them. However, the scenes were deleted. In these deleted scenes, Alex Hirschfeld played little Moe, Joe Levine played little Larry and Billy Wolfstone played little Curly. Though the ending was taken out of the film, stills still exist from it. 

This film featured an early screen appearance by an actress who would later also become a comedy legend. This was none other than Lucillie Ball. Ball would late state about making this film, “The only thing I learned from The Three Stooges was how to duck. I still got wet!”

In this film the Stooges fall down a broken dumbwaiter. This gag would later be reused in Nutty but Nice (1940). 

One exchange of dialogue goes as follows. "Let's play post office." "That's a kid's game." "Not the way I play it." This exchange would later be used in Quiz Wizz (1958). It also appears in the Abbott and Costello movie, Hold That Ghost (1941), which features Shemp in a supporting role. 

This film unfortunately resulted in major injuries. Moe called it, “a humdinger of bangs and bruises.” Curly broke his leg falling down the dumbwaiter and Larry lost a tooth after a mistimed punch. The worst occurred during the scene in which the Stooges were tackled while they had their picture taken. Larry remembered telling director Raymond McCarey, “Look, we can’t do this scene. We’re not stuntmen and if one of those gorillas falls on us, we’ll never be able to finish the picture. We’ve never used stunt doubles before, but we certainly need them now.” McCarey told them, “Listen, fellows, you know how to take falls. You’ve done enough of them. It’ll take hours to find doubles for you. Besides, we can’t afford them. Don’t worry, you won’t get hurt.” Moe responded, “You’re darn right we won’t get hurt. We’re not doing the scene." After much arguing the stooges eventually got stunt doubles. Two of the stunt doubles and all four actors playing the photographers got serious injuries including broken limbs. In his autobiography Moe stated, “McCarey was speechless and sat in his director’s chair with his head in his hands.”

For those of you keeping score, there are 30 face slaps and 1 eye poke in this film. 

Resources Used

The Three Stooges: Book of Scripts by Joan Howard Maurer.

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Joan Howard Maurer, Jeff Lenburg, Greg Lenburg.

https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/4#google_vignette

https://threestooges.com/three-little-pigskins/

 

Men in Black (1934)

 

Studio: Columbia. Runtime: 18 minutes. Production Number: 152. Release Date: September 28, 1934. Director: Raymond McCarey. Story and Screenplay: Raymond McCarey. Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard (Themselves), Dell Henderson (Dr. Graves), Jeanie Roberts (Hiccupping nurse), Billy Gilbert (D. T. patient), Ruth Hiatt (Whispering nurse), Bud Jamison (Doctor), 'Little' Billy Rhodes (35 year old patient), Hank Mann (Window glass installer), Bobby Callahan (Messenger), Lucile Watson (Matron), Phyllis Crane (Anna Conda), Arthur Rankin, Arthur 'Pat' West, Charles Dorety, Neal Burns, Joe Fine, Charles King (Interns), Eve Reynolds, Betty Andre, Billie Stockton, Eve Kimberly, Helen Splane, Irene Coleman, Carol Hughes, Carmen Andre (Nurses). Cinematographer: Felix Adler. Editor: James Sweeney. Music: Archie Gottler, Edward Eliscu. Shooting Days: 5 (8-28-1934 to 9-1-1934). 

Note: I have previously written about this short on my Movies With Michael blog. This is essentially a revised and expanded version of my post on that blog.  

"Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard." 

"For duty and humanity!"

Despite the title, this film has nothing to do with aliens or Johnny Cash. Instead, the title references a feature length hospital drama starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy called Men in White (1934). This short may not be a direct parody of that film but it does feature the Stooges as doctors. 

In this film, Moe, Larry and Curly graduate from medical school with the highest temperatures in their class. Actually, they only graduated because they had spent too many years in the senior class for too many years. As they graduate, they promise to do whatever they can for "duty and humanity." What follows is a series of comedic bits involving the Stooges running amuck in a hospital. 

 This is a very enjoyable short. When the film focuses on the Stooges themselves, it is hilarious. The surgery scene is hilarious with one big laugh after another. The Stooges get some great bits of dialogue throughout, many of which are very funny. The "for duty and humanity" catchphrase gets funnier each time it is repeated. Many of the running gags are wonderful. I love the running gag of the boys entering and coming out of a door with a different mode of transportation including a horse and mini-racing cars.

However, the film is weaker when it focuses on the supporting characters. These supporting characters are a lot less funny than the Stooges. The high-voiced nurse is especially unfunny. The filmmakers were trying too hard to make her into Gracie Allen. However, she has none of the charm or humor that Gracie Allen had. Her lines are more likely to make you groan than laugh.  

The building used in the film's opening was The Cedars of Lebanon Hospital (4833 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029). Joan Howard Mauer (Moe's daughter) gave birth to her two sons there. It is now a Church of Scientology.

Ray McCarey (born September 6, 1904, in Los Angeles; passed away December 1, 1948, in San Bernardino County) was not one of the typical Stooge directors, having only directed this and Three Little Pigskins (1934) for the team. However, he did direct Shemp (without any other stooges) in a short entitled Salt Water Daffy (1933). Comedy fans might know McCarey best for directing the Laurel and Hardy feature, Pack Up Your Troubles (1932). He also directed an excellent Our Gang short, Free Eats (1932). He would go on to direct such feature films as You Can't Fool Your Wife (1940), Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939), It Happened in Flatbush (1942) and The Falcon's Albi (1946). Ray McCarey was the younger brother of one of my favorite directors, Leo McCarey.

To advertise the film publicity stills were shot with the Stooges and Jeanie Roberts (who played the high-voiced nurse in the short). These were adlibbed by the Stooges during a break from filming. They can be seen below.

A lot changed from script to screen in this movie. One of the strangest was a switching of Moe and Larry's lines in one scene. In the original script, Larry asks a patient what her name is, she responds "Anna Conda." Moe would have said to this "Anna Conda - 95th and 1/8th." In the actual film, Moe asks the patient for her name and both Larry and Moe get the punch line. The Stooges themselves adlibbed a scene in this film. In this scene Moe tells Larry, "Move that cart." Larry responds, "I'll move it when I'm ready." Moe says in a tough voice "Are you ready?" Larry says "Yeah! I'm Ready!" This routine later became one which would be associated with the team. They would perform it again in Three Dumb Clucks, We Want Our Mummy, I Can Hardly Wait, Who Done it? and The Three Stooges in Orbit. Also cut out was a joke involving Curly vaccinating a woman. Curly would have asked if she wanted it on the arm or the leg. She would have responded "Where it won't show." Curly would have asked "What business are you in?" She would have responded "I'm a fan dancer." Curly would say "Stick out your tongue." A running joke in this film is that the Stooges would always run through a glass door in break it. There was one joke involving this that did not make the final cut. Here is how the script describes that joke, "The three stooges dash madly towards the door, but as they open it the laborer, in the corridor, had evidentially been picking something up in front of the door and the impact of his body against the door breaks the glass again, spreading it all over the floor." Joan Howard Maurer believed that the gag was probably cut out because it was too violent and also wasn't funny. Another scene cut involved the stooges working on a man whose knee hurts. He would have said "Oh my knee - oh my knee" to which Moe would responded "What's the matter? You being singing mammy songs?" Latter Larry would have said "I'll take his reflex." Curly would have responded "I'll take his watch." They would have later been in raincoats with beer spigots and mallets to test his reflexes. This film would have also had a completely different ending. Beautiful triplets would have told the stooges they would marry our heroes, "providing you do the most wonderful thing in the world for humanity." They would have got out an axe and said, "We're going to subdivide you." Yes, that ending deserved to wind up on the cutting room floor. It is interesting to note the Curly is not called Curly in the script but rather "Dr. Jerry."  

This marked the only Stooges short to be nominated for an Oscar. However, it lost to the Technicolor musical short La Cucaracha (1934). 

The music over the opening credits is an instrumental version of the song I Thought I Wanted You by Archie Gottler and Edward Eliscu, which was also heard before Punch Drunks (1934). 

The bit with the Stooges using a mallet as an anesthetic, would late be used in Dizzy Doctors (1937), Calling All Curs (1939), All the World's a Stooge (1941), A Gem of a Jam (1943), Hot Ice (1955) and the feature length, Have Rocket Will Travel (1959). 

The aforementioned "I'll do it when I'm ready" gag would later be used in 3 Dumb Clucks (1937), We Want Our Mummy (1939), I Can Hardly Wait (1943), Who Done It (1949) and the feature length Three Stooges in Orbit (1962).  

The following are exhibitors' reviews from the Motion Picture Herald.


March 9, 1935"Men in Black: Three Stooges - Maybe you call this a comedy, but my patrons did not. Who told the stooges they could act? This is poor comedy and entirely too silly to be funny. Let's have better shorts and less of this kind of entertainment. Running time 19 minutes. -J.J. Medford, Orpheum Theatre, Oxford, N.C. general patronage."

March 27, 1937"Men in Black: Three Stooges - Very good. Played it twice so you know what we think of it. - Harlan Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada."

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

The Three Stooges: Book of Scripts by Joan Howard Maurer.

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Joan Howard Maurer, Jeff Lenburg, Greg Lenburg.  

https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/3

https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/115703

https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/1175/

Book Review: Great Movie Comedians

 

Note: This post originally appeared on my Movies With Michael blog.

Well written and well researched Leonard Maltin's 1978 book remains essential reading for all fans of classic movie comedy. 

The book starts with an introduction that discusses the work of silent film comedians that do not receive their own chapters later in this book. This introduction is just as much essential reading as what follows. Offering a brief history of some of these forgotten clowns and how they contributed to the broad history of screen comedy, while also explaining what keeps them from entering into the pantheon of "Great Movie Comedians" like those that receive their own chapters here makes for compelling reading. Quotes for those who worked with these comedians firsthand provide even greater insight to who these comedians were and what comedy filmmaking was like in the silent era. This is one of the rare books where I wish that the introduction had gone on longer. 

The actual chapters cover 22 of the best comedians (or comedy teams) to ever grace the silver screen. These are Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, Raymond Griffith, Marie Dressler, Laurel and Hardy, Will Rogers, Joe E. Brown, The Marx Brothers, W.C. Feilds, Mae West, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Red Skelton, Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen. Each of this chapters provides a brief history of the comic's career, some critical insight and a filmography. The critical insight truly shows Maltin's talent as a critic and a writer. He has great admiration for the talent of each of these performers, while also allowing himself to critique the flaws in some of their work. While I may not agree with all his critical opinions (I have a much higher opinion of Harry Langdon's self-directed efforts), they are all well written and insightful. Naturally the history may not be as in depth as what you might read in an entire book dedicated to one of these comics, but for the brevity of these chapters, they are surprisingly insightful. The quotes from those who worked with these comics are invaluable even to film buffs, who may know the majority of the information in this book. Though today, we may take the filmographies for granted it is important to remember how in the pre-internet days, how valuable a simple list of each of these performer's films was to any film buff. 

If I were to find fault with any of these chapters, it would be the one about Harry Langdon. This is the rare occurrence where Maltin gets his film history wrong. He gives too much credit to Frank Capra and too little to Langdon himself for the creation of Langdon's screen character. However, this is not completely Maltin's fault. One must remember that at the time this book was written there was still a lot of research to be done on Langdon, and his films were not easy to see. Because of this it is easy to have believed Frank Capra's claims to have been instrumental in the creation of Langdon's character. I can't say that I wouldn't have made the same mistake at the time. Today one can see that Langdon's character was already on his way to being formed by the time that Frank Capra began working on Langdon's films. Yet even with this, I am very grateful to Leonard for calling attention to Langdon at this time period. 

This is a truly excellent book.         

Book Review: The Great Movie Shorts (1972)

 

 

Note: This post was originally featured on my Movies With Michael blog. 

Leonard Maltin's The Great Movie Shorts is a seminal book on classic short subjects. While this book is still incredibly enjoyable and informative today, to truly appreciate it, you must put into the context of the time it was written. At this time most writings about movie focused on "important" films, nearly all of which were feature length. A whole book long study of the live action short subject of the 1930's and 40's was something virtually unheard of. Today there have been many books written about classic short subjects (Leonard Maltin would even co-write another on (with Richard W. Bann), The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang). As such this could have been a very basic history and still been an important book. That this is such a well-researched and incredibly informative (even today) book at this time makes it all the more impressive. 

This book is broken up into multiple different sections. The first of these is brief history of each major (and some not so major) Hollywood studio and their output in the short subject field. The second is a survey of many of the classic short subject series. This section makes up the bulk of the book and as well as the surveys each series gets a filmography giving you a list of each film, acting and directing credits and a plot summary. This section includes the most popular and famous series such as Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang (AKA The Little Rascals), Joe McDoakes, Pete Smith (whose shorts play on TCM regularly) and Charley Chase. Also included are the sound shorts of the beloved silent comedians Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon (the talkie work of legendary silent comedy producer Mack Sennett is even chronicled in this book). Here you get a great picture of an overlooked part of the work of some true Hollywood legends. There are also many series here that even the most avid cinephiles will not have seen or maybe even heard of. Not all the series listed here are comedies as we also get a look at such series as Crime Does Not Pay, John Nesbit's Passing Parade and Screen Snapshots. After this comes surveys of various genres that were not talked about in depth elsewhere in this book (newsreels, travelogues, musicals and sports). 

With all this the book marks a perfect introduction to those who wish to get further into classic short subjects, letting you know all aspects of the classic live action short subject, so that whatever your interests may be, you will know when to start. Maltin's writing also often fully reflects his passion for the subject and will make you want to seek out many of the films he has written about. Yet this book is equally essential to seasoned movie buffs. It's in-depth filmographies, look at obscure films (as well as the better-known ones), surprisingly in-depth histories and especially its quotes from many of those who worked on these films (many of whom Maltin talked to firsthand) make this just as essential reading for true cinephiles. Beyond this the book is simply a lot of fun to read. 

This book would be reissued and updated in 2015, when it would be retitled Selected Short Subjects" From Spanky to the Three Stooges. 

This book should have a treasured place in every movie buff's library. It certainly has a very cherished place in mine. 

Punch Drunks (1934)

 

Studio: Columbia. Runtime: 17 minutes. Production Number: 116. Release Date: July 13, 1934. Director: Lou Breslow. Story: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard. Screenplay: Jack Cluett. Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Jerry "Curly" Howard (Themselves), Chuck Callahan (Mr. McGurn), Dutch Hendrian, Frank Moran (Mugs), Dorothy Granger (Curly's girlfriend), Al Hill (Killer Kilduff), William J. Irving (Kilduff's manager), Chet Brandenburg (Kilduff corner man), Ray Jones, Jack Kenney, Harry Keatan (K. O. corner men), Billy Bletcher (Announcer), Larry McGrath (Referee), Arthur Housman (Timekeeper), Harry Watson (Michevious boy), Jack 'Tiny' Lipson, Arthur Rowlands, Don Brodie (Spectators), Charles King (Man on truck), Ed Brandenburg (Pedestrian). Cinematographer: Henry Freulich. Editor: Robert Carlisle. Music: Harold Arlen, Archie Gottler, Ted Koehler, Edward Eliscu, Louis Silvers. Shooting Days: 4 (5-02-1934 to 5-05-1934). Working Title: Symphony of Punches. 

With only their second short for Columbia, the Stooges truly hit their stride. 

In this short film, Moe is a boxing manager. He meets Larry and Curly in a restaurant, he learns the Curly goes wild if he hears Pop Goes the Weasel and he will knock out anyone around him. Moe decides that Curly could be the next champ, so he brings Curly and violin playing Larry along with him to make boxing history. 

This is a pure classic. The storyline is delightfully silly in all the best ways. For a film so early in the team's career, it already shows more knowledge of the team's strengths than most of the films that preceded it. Curly is the real star of this short and he truly gets time to shine. His over the topic antics have never been funnier and more memorable than they are here. Moe and Larry also get some great time to shine here. Moe gets some great and funny lines. However, Larry gets the best bit of business here. Him running around trying to find something playing Pop Goes the Weasel is a wonderful running gag (pun intended) and the punch line is hilarious. In fact, every gag in this film hits very well. The climatic boxing match is simply laugh after laugh. Even the bits that don't involve the Stooges are funny. The battle between the kid and the timekeeper is especially funny. It is no wonder this film is so beloved by Stooge fans. 

This is the only Stooges film on which the Stooges receive story credit. Though all three of them received story credit many Stooge buffs believe that Moe wrote the treatment himself and put Larry and Curly's names on there as well. In the original treatment Curly went crazy when he hears Stars and Stripes Forever. According to director Lou Breslow this was changed to Pop Goes the Weasel because it was the funniest song, that they did not have to pay royalties for. 

Curly going wild when he hears Pop Goes the Weasel was repeated with Curly Joe DeRita in the later feature length movie, Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963). Curly would be driven wild in a similar way by other stimuli in such shorts as Horses' Collars (1935), Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937) and Tassels in the Air (1938). 

In one scene Moe orders "burnt toast and a rotten egg." When asked why he states, "I got a tapeworm and that's good enough for him!" This same joke was used in Three Sappy People (1939) and Beer Barreled Polecats (1946). 

When Moe asks Curly, "Give me a hand," Curly answers "which one." This gag would be repeated in Ants in the Pantry (1936), How High is Up (1940) and Pardon My Clutch (1948). 

When he tries to lift up a car, the wheel falls down on Moe's foot. This would later be repeated in Pardon My Clutch and Wham-Bam-Slam (1955). 

This is a rare directorial effort from Lou Breslow (born July 18, 1900, in Boston, Massachusetts; passed away November 10, 1987, in Los Angeles), who spent most of his movie career working as a writer. Though this is his only credit on a Stooges film, he would work with other comedy teams including Abbott and Costello, The Ritz Brothers and Laurel and Hardy. 

    The song over the opening titles is I Thought I Wanted You, which is written by Archie Gottler (who directed Woman Haters (1934)) and Edward Eliscu. 

This film would later get a loose comic book adaption in Three Stooges #6, which was published in August 1954. This loose adaption would feature Shemp instead of Curly. 

For those of you keeping score, there are 30 slaps to the face and 1 eye poke here. 

Resources Used

The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer and Greg Lenburg

https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/2