Volume One: 1934-1936
October 30, 2007

Amazon.com
Finally, the studio knuckleheads got it right! The way that the Three Stooges have been presented on home video has been a real slap in the face and a poke in the eye to fans. The Stooges have been anthologized, colorized, and public domained. Their shorts have been released and re-released in varying degrees of quality. In the immortal words of Curly, they have truly been victims of circumstance. This two-DVD set, then, is for what Stooge-philes have long been waiting. Spanning the years 1934-36, it presents the first 19 Stooges short subjects chronologically. These shorts hail from the Curly era, which makes them essential. The first, "Women Haters," comes billed as a "musical novelty" and is performed entirely in rhyme. More interesting is that Moe, Larry, and Curly appear as Tom, Jim, and Jack. In the second short, "Punch Drunks," they are again not quite a team, but teaming up to make a boxer out of put-upon waiter Curly. This is the one in which Curly "pops" when he hears "that 'Weasel' tune." And the hits just keep on coming.

Remember the prologue of The Twilight Zone: The Movie, in which traveling companions Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks trade favorite "Zones"? Many of the shorts gathered here are the ones most quoted or referenced by Stooges fans, such as "Men in Black," the only Stooges short to be nominated for an Academy Award, and the one with the immortal page "Calling Dr. Howard, Dr Fine, Dr. Howard." "Hoi Polloi" is the first Stooges short to tackle the "environment" vs. "heredity" conundrum by introducing the Stooges to high society, reducing the well-heeled stuff shirts into a slap-happy mob. "Pop Goes the Easel" introduces another recurring theme in the Stooges oeuvre as the boys pose as artists in the art school in which they take refuge from a pursuing cop. This short contains a signature Curlyism, "Look at the grouse," as does "Horses' Collars," in which the mere sight of a mouse completely unnerves Curly ("Moe! Larry! The Cheese!"). "Three Little Pigskins" is another mistaken identity gem, as the boys pose as three football players (look for a very young and very blonde Lucille Ball). Like the Little Rascals, the Stooges in these shorts were very much of their Depression-era times, but "Uncivil Warriors," "Restless Knights," and the decidedly un-PC "Whoops, I'm an Indian" get their anachronistic kicks by placing the boys behind enemy lines during the Civil War, in the medieval castle of a kidnapped Queen, and in the Old West. Collectors who have suffered through, say, "Disorder in the Court" on one of those $1 bin Stooges collections will be heartened to know that this set at last does these comedy classics justice. More than 70 years old, and they look better than ever! So spread out and get your n'yucks on! --Donald Liebenson

1934
Woman Haters
Punch Drunks
Men In Black
Three Little Pigskins

1935
Horses' Collars
Restless Knights
Pop Goes The Easel
Uncivil Warriors
Pardon My Scotch
Hoi Polloi
Three Little Beers

1936
Ants In The Pantry
Movie Maniacs
Half-Shot Shooters
Disorder In The Court
A Pain In The Pullman
False Alarms
Whoops, I'm An Indian
Slippery Silks

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SSQ7JW/?tag=imwan-20

Nyuk! Nyuk! I plan on getting all of the ones which had Curly in them.

Men will rejoice, while women will cringe.

Hey Moe, Larry, look at these! Sign me up for the complete batch!!! Classic slap stick comedy at its best!!!

Rick A.

The Three Stooges Collection Volume 2 1937-39 is due out on May 27th. It has been spotted over at Amazon.

[bigred]The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939[/bigred]
[lilred]May 27, 2008[/lilred]



Disc 1:
Back to the Woods
Cash and Carry
Dizzy Doctors
Goofs and Saddles
Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb
Playing the Ponies
The Sitter-Downers
Tassels in the Air
Three Dumb Clucks
Violent is the Word For Curly
Wee Wee Monsieur
Grips, Grunts and Groans
Termites of 1938

Disc 2:
A Ducking They Did Go
Calling All Curs
Flat Foot Stooges
Mutts to You
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise
Saved by the Belle
Three Little Sew and Sews
Three Missing Links
Three Sappy People
We Want Our Mummy
Yes, We Have No Bonanza

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00151QYYE/?tag=imwan-20

Perfect 55th B'day present for me from me (5/28) 'Certainly!!!!

They're really stepping up the schedule. Volume 3 is up at amazon with an August 26th release date!

Lookin' good ...

[bigred]The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 3: 1940-1942[/bigred]
[lilred]August 26, 2008[/lilred]



"A Plumbing We Will Go" is possibly the best comedy ever made by the Stooges and alone is worth the price of admission. Here the Stooges attempt to repair the plumbing in a wealthy household. Of course they don't know what they're doing, as is always the situation. They end up crossing the electrical system with the plumbing with some hilarious sight gags resulting. You'll also see the Stooges taking advantage of Moe's strong resemblance to a certain German leader as the Stooges exit the depression and enter the war years.

1940
You Nazty Spy!
Rockin' Thru the Rockies
A Plumbing We Will Go
Nutty But Nice
How High is Up?
From Nurse to Worse
No Census, No Feeling
Cookoo Cavaliers
Boobs in Arms

1941
So Long Mr. Chumps
Dutiful But Dumb
All the World's a Stooge
I'll Never Heil Again
An Ache in Every Stake
In the Sweet Pie and Pie
Some More of Samoa

1942
Loco Boy Makes Good
Cactus Makes Perfect
What's the Matador?
Matri-Phony
Three Smart Saps
Even as IOU
Sock-a-Bye Baby

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AXOFR0/?tag=imwan-20

Yes! This is the one w/a fair chunk of the shorts I've been waiting for. The Hitler parodies are outstanding, and feature some beautiful wordplay that the Stooges aren't really well known for.

Alan

I saw A Plumbing We Will Go a few weeks ago on a WPIX special where they aired old classic episodes of TV greats.

Remind me not to hire Larry Curly or Moe for any plumbing woes.

This is so cool. Yep! I'll be putting in for the 3rd installement very soon.

I'm glad they're moving these along quickly
As Alan mentioned, The Stooges were more than just the eye-poke, slap in the face, and occasional saw across the head. There are some really funny, clever exchanges, and The Stooges could hold their own with practically anybody.

Don't forget the snooty, bejeweled dowager getting hit in the face with a cream pie--or Moe solving problems by applying of a pair of needle-nosed pliers to either Larry or Curly's nose.

I hadn't heard that these had been released. Volumes 1 and 2 are now on order...coitenly!

Walter,
You definitely won't be disappointed in the job that was done on these DVDs. The visual clarity on these new ones are really beautiful.

"Moe is their leader."
- Homer J. Simpson

Curley is the best but I hope they include the Shemp and Joe Besser films too.

I guess the whole catalog should be out there for purchase, but if I were to buy it, I'd stop at the Shemp ones. I think it really got bad when they brought in "Curly Joe" DeRita.

My favorites were always the Shemp years. Some of the 1950s shorts were not only straight rehashes of earlier plots, but included earlier footage cut in with new footage! I remember a couple of shorts right after Shemp died that included a double - always with his back to the camera, and always quickly sent out of the scene. After Larry died Emil Sitka took over for Stooge stage shows with Moe and Curley Joe.

By the numbers: there were 190 total shorts from Curly to Shemp to Joe from 1934 to 1959:

--97 with Curly 1934 to 1947
--77 with Shemp 1947 to 1956
--16 with Joe Besser 1957 to 1959

I don't think there were any shorts made with Curly Joe DeRita, just feature films. So as far as the shorts on DVDs go, it looks like we're talking 6 more box sets after the first 3...

I'm in. Moe, Larry, the cheese...

according to CDUNIVERSE.com - on the heels of vol 3 in August - Vol 4 will be released on October 7th - 1943 - 1945....