Nertsery Rhymes (1933)

 

Studio: Fox. Runtime: 20 minutes. Production Number 685. Release Date: July 6, 1933. Director: Jack Cummings. Script: Ted Healy, Moe Howard, Matty Brooks. Cast: Ted Healy, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard (Themselves), Bonnie Bonnell (Fairy Princess), Ethelind Terry (Woman in the shoe), The Rounders (Woman in the Shoe quintet), The Dodge Twins (Turn of a Fan dancers), Lottice Howell (Turn of a Fan singer). Music and Lyrics: Nacio Herb Brown, Herbert Stothart, Arthur Freed, Clifford Grey. Chorographer: Sammy Lee. Working Title: Nursery Rhymes. 

By the time Ted Healy and His Stooges made their return to the screen, it had been nearly three years since their first movie. In between these films, the team had been performing on stage. One major change though had occurred over this period though. Shemp had left the act and his young brother Jerry Howard (soon to be renamed Curly) had taken his place. At first Curly had long, wavy-brown hair and a mustache. Legend has it that Curly shaved his head and his mustache right after joining the team but photos of the team during this time had shown Curly with long hair and mustache. The salary structure of the team would also change with Curly getting $75 a week, Moe getting $140 and Larry getting $125. Moe would later remember that Ted was a first nervous about this change because Curly had limited stage experience. Moe would later state, "What Curly did for the first three weeks was just run across the stage in a bathing suit, carrying a little pail of water. That's all he did, run back and forth, until we gradually worked him into the act." Curly's trademark high-pitched voice came from jitters during his first stage appearance, but audiences loved it, and it soon became an accepted part of the act. 

It was at a performance at the Club New Yorker in 1933 (they performed there from March 2nd to April 5th, 1933), when an MGM scout caught the team and signed them to a studio contract. This contract would have Ted Healy and His Stooges star in a series of musical comedy shorts as well as having supporting roles in feature films. From this moment on, the Stooges would rarely be off movie screens for the rest of their careers.  


In this short film, the Stooges play Ted Healy's children. Ted is trying to get the boys to sleep but nothing seems to be working. Because of this Ted turns to a Fairy Princess (Bonnie Bonnell) for help. The Fairy Princess then puts on a musical revue show for the boys.  

This is a charming little film. Though the Stooges aren't given a whole lot to do here, they are delightful. It is easy to see why they would soon become big movie stars. Most of their jokes here aren't up to par with those in their later shorts but the trio handles them well. In true Stooge fashion they make even the weakest gags kind of work. This is not to say every gag is weak though as the ending gag made me laugh out loud. This short is also a visually handsome one and I quite enjoy the storybook-like set for the Woman in the Shoe number as well as the use of early Technicolor. The musical numbers are very pleasant to listen to but are hardly memorable. The choreography is decent, but I did feel there was too much empty space on screen during some of the musical numbers. This helped add to the feel of a filmed stage play at times. 

Despite these flaws, the Stooges, the sets, the use of color and to a lesser extent the songs make the film worth watching. However, no one will ever mistake this for one of the Stooges' best films. 

Bonnie Bonnell (Born August 1, 1905, in Thomasville, Georgia; died March 14, 1964, in Santa Monica California (from liver failure)), who played the Fairy Princess, had an extremely short film career. She only appeared in a handful of films, most of them with Ted Healy and His Stooges. She did however work as a stage and vaudeville actress before her brief movie career. Many Stooge biographers believe that she was Ted Healy's girlfriend at time.  

This film’s director was Jack Cummins. Born February 16, 1905, Cummins was the nephew of Louis B. Mayer. In the 1920’s Mayer hired him as an office boy with the intention of him working his way up. In 1934 he became a producer of B pictures, working his way up to more prestige movies. According to various accounts, he was a very capable and talented producer but due to his relation to Mayer, many people looked at him as just the boss’ kid and didn’t take him seriously in this role. This didn’t stop Cummins though as he personally made sure to supervise each department working on the films he produced. He passed away April 28, 1989. Films he produced include Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), Go West (1940), I Dood It (1943), The Stratton Story (1949), Three Little Words (1950), Kiss Me Kate (1953), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956) and Viva La Vegas (1964). 

Though the Stooges play children in this short, there is no attempt made to make them look like children, which of course just adds to the humor. With the childlike parts of these comedians' screen characters, it is perhaps no shock that this is not the only time they would play children. They would play Ted Healy's children again in the short film, Hello Pop! (1933). The trio would play their own children in Creeps (1956) and again in Outer Space Jitters (1957). The Stooges disguised themselves as children in All the World's a Stooge (1941) and Quiz Wizz (1958). When the Farrelly brothers made their own version of a Stooges film with the feature length movie, The Three Stooges (2012) (which featured different actors playing Moe, Larry and Curly), the film started off with scenes featuring the trio as kids. 

However, the most fascinating example of the Stooges as kids came not from the movies or TV but rather comic books. After the Stooges long running comic book series came to an end in 1972, comic book artist and cartoon writer Norman Maurer (also Moe's son in-law) proposed a new series of comic books entitled The Little Stooges (which was picked up by Western/Gold Key Comics). This new comic book series would center around the Stooges' teenage sons, who were mostly younger versions of their famous fathers (though they would be dressed in hip 70's attire). The series would feature a line-up of new characters as well. One of these new characters was the villain Benedict Bogus Jr. When Maurer had worked on actual Three Stooges comic books, he had created a villain for the Stooges, a conman named Benedict Bogus. It was only natural to have the Little Stooges face off against this villain's teenage son. The Little Stooges would also have a trio of girlfriends Moon (a girl next door type), Pixie (the richest girl in town) and Lovely (a fun-loving girl, who shares Little Curly's love of chocolate sodas). Also featured here was their dog Moose. Moose was based on Maurer's own dog with the same name. The real Moose can be seen in the Stooge's last film, Kook's Tour (1970). Most of these stories were written Maurer himself and some were even written by his son, Jeff Maurer. The first issue was published in September 1972. Despite comic books fans considering this series to be some of the best Stooges comic book stories, the series only lasted seven issues. However, many comic book companies were having trouble at this time and this led to issues costing the ridiculously expensive price of 20 cents an issue. This series ended the Stooges long association with the Western comic book company.   

In this short film, there is a gag in which the Stooges imitate a train. They would do so again in the short films You Nazty Spy! (1940), Nutty but Nice (1940), Sock-A-Bye Baby (1942), I Can Hardly Wait (1943), Gents Without Cents (1944) and Fiddler's Three (1948). Lou Costello does a similar bit in the Abbott and Costello movie Hold That Ghost (1941), which features Shemp in a small role. 

The dialogue exchange about money that ends with "You don't know your arithmetic." "You don't know my father." This same exchange was later used in the Stooges shorts, Half-Wits Holiday (1947) and Pies and Guys (1958). 

A 1933 issue of The New York State Exhibitor stated, "Metro has a two-reel Technicolor short, 'Nertsery Rhymes,' which should go a long way towards saving some weak feature. Ted Healy, his three stooges are featured along with a couple of extravaganza numbers that will send people out talking. Show has more appeal than a lot of features. Sell it as much as the feature."  

The following are some exhibitor's reviews from the Motion Picture Herald.

 "NERTSERY RHYMES: Colortone Musical Revues — Here is a comedy with music and color that stands out like a wart on a nose. The highlight is the singing, which will haunt you for weeks. Worth repeating. A distinct addition to any program. Running time, 19 minutes. - A.H. Edwards, Orpheum Theatre, Orwigsburg. Small Town and rural patronage."

"NERTSERY RHYMES: Ted Healy— Not up to the previous comedies of this series. The story is slow and there is very little singing and practically no dancing. The scenes are beautiful, but it takes more than good scenes to make good shorts." 

"NERTSERY RHYMES: Musical Comedies— The best of the Colortone Reviews so far. This one is a riot of beauty and comedy. Give it your preferred time, and if you have not played it, go back and pick it up. Ted and his stooges furnish the comedy and the girls set the balance. - C.L. Niles, Niles Theatre, Anamosa, Iowa. General Patronage." 

"NERTSERY RHYMES: Musical Comedies - This is one of the best musical comedy shorts, we have had the pleasure of witnessing 100 per cent entertainment. Running time, 18 minutes. - William Crute, Victoria Theatre, Vancouver, B.C. Neighborhood patronage." 

This short can be watched on YouTube below. 



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://mediahistoryproject.org/
https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/199