Customer Reviews

Soup to Nuts with the Three Stooges

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first 3 Stooges film ever made! The Stooges & Ted Healy were a Vaudeville stage act that went to Hollywood in hopes of making movies.

While Ted is one of the starring characters, the Stooges are merely supporting players that pop in from time to time (and there are long stretches without them). The boys play firemen (foreshadowing their later shorts) who have nothing to do with the plot. At one point Ted hears a siren and walks away from the story-line to go see the firemen. The Stooges are joy-riding on the firetruck with some girls, going to Coney Island. Ted hops along for a ride, and then leaves the Stooges when they pass a restaurant that the story-line is taking place at. We wish we could go along with the Stooges to Coney Island and leave Ted and the story.

SHEMP HOWARD is the third Stooge in this movie, he was the original part of the Vaudeville act "Ted Healy and his Stooges"(and a few other names they went by) before leaving the group to pursue his own acting career in the movies. Curly was to replace him on stage and in the Stooges later movies, but Shemp would rejoin the team after Curly's stroke.

MOE HOWARD (using his middle name HARRY in this film) and LARRY FINE are the other Stooges to TED HEALY's mischief. FRED SANBORN, a comedian who never speaks in this film, is sort of Ted's forth Stooge. He does not interact with Moe, Larry, or Shemp as a team, he only performs alone or along with Ted. Fred's heavy silent film make-up makes him look comically out of place. Watch for a young BILLY BARTY about midway through the film, doing acrobatics with a beachball!

This rare first appearance of the Stooges was almost lost. 30 some years ago nobody was interested in preserving the unstable Nitrate Negative until the Three Stooges Fan Club raised the money in the mid 1970's. Fortunately a Safety Film negative was made in time, the original Nitrate Negative deteriorated shortly after. A historic piece of film could have been lost if it were not for the fans!

The early sound-on-film editing is a bit awkward and makes the film feel choppy on scene cuts. But the early sound track is quite clear, unlike many early sound films. The picture is also very sharp with good contrasts. There are some occasional jumps in the picture, and brief light film scratches pop up now and then, but the presentation is quite good.

One disappointment is the lack of extras, other than a trailer for FOX's other Stooges film "SNOW WHITE and the THREE STOOGES". This being historically important as their first film, there should have been some interviews with family members (sons & daughters are still alive), and film historians relating the history of this film.

There is also some confusion about whether this film has been colorized, it has NOT. There is a typographical error on the back of the DVD case, in a box with the year and running time, stating that the film is in color. THIS FILM IS PRESENTED IN ITS ORIGINAL BLACK & WHITE VERSION.

***If you are looking for classic Three Stooges Curly antics, look elsewhere!***
This is the original "TED HEALY AND HIS STOOGES" team. It is a bit different from the Classic Columbia Shorts.

But it is a MUST HAVE FOR ANY TRUE, SERIOUS, THREE STOOGES FAN!!!!

At long last, "Soup To Nuts" finally sees the light of day, and the very long wait was well worth it! This film is an absolute must for Three Stooges fans as it was the true beginning of the Stooges as an act, even though Shemp, Larry & Moe were playing second fiddle to Ted Healy at the time.

For years, rumors circulated that the last surviving prints of "Soup To Nuts" had deteriorated to the point of no return and would never be released on video, but you wouldn't know it by viewing this. There are a couple of jerks and jumps here and there, but overall, the print quality is great.

This film would probably not interest Curly enthusiasts since it features Shemp as the third stooge; this was shortly before he left the act and Curly joined. Actually, the Stooges don't appear until about 15 minutes into the film, and the first appearance of the boys singing the often-used song "You'll Never Know" is included here in it's entirety. Along with it is the sandbag dropped from the ceiling gag, which was later reprised by the Stooges on the Ed Wynn Show in 1950.

It's been a long wait for this to become available and the price is definitely right, so go out and get it!

The only reason that anyone would want to see this is the fact that it has the first film appearance of the Ted Healy & the Three Lost Souls (later the 3 stooges). Not terribly amusing. Mostly a variation of the shopworn "mortgage on the farm" (in this case, store) where Ted healy's brash and obnoxious girlfriend works (these two make a good match, trust me). Shemp, Larry, and Moe are firemen who have little to do other than a few amusing fire sequences (more about them in a minute). It's never exactly clear why Ted Healy drops what he's doing and joins the stooges whenever they go to fight a fire, but, oh well.

Stoogephiles may want to skip ahead to track 18. This is where Ted Healy and the Stooges go into their vaudeville act to entertain guests at a costume party (thus the strange outfits on the cover of the DVD). This is fascinating for the Stooge fan. We see the early slapping slapstick, a routine that was later revamped with Curly in "Plane Nuts" three or four years later, and a really funny gag about "The Elevator Dance" that caps it all off. The value of this is not only the fact that it's the earliest filmed record of the Stoogery that was to come, but it's the only known film of the original Stooge stage act BC (Before Curly). The Stooges' actual wives also appear in the dance scene that occurs after this bit and an earlier fire truck sequence.

Rube Goldberg, who is best remembered for his cartoons of bizarre contraptions and inventions, wrote the script and it shows. The bizarre burglar alarm, the hat-tipping device, and the machine that puts sugar lumps in coffee are gags that largely fall flat to the modern viewer.

But as an early example of filmed stoogery, it's worth the low pirce. Good as a curio and collector's item, but unless you have a lot of friends who are hardcore stoogephiles or trivia geeks, don't invite the crowd over for beer and pizza for this one.

I've wanted to see this film for quite awhile, and I must say, I wasn't let down! This film is a riot. The plot isn't strong, but it doesn't need to be. Between early forms of Stoogery, Fred Sanborn's silent and musical antics (I may even be willing to argue he stole the show), Ted Healy's 'relationship' with an obnoxious girlfriend, and the 'Hat Tipping' device, this movie is more than just a good movie for a Stooge fan, but for anybody that likes the comedy of old. Jus' git it.

This movie is a real bomb. I couldn't watch the entire thing it was so bad. Its only value is to show how the Stooges got their start as extras under Ted Healy. Just for that fact, it's worth having.

The silent 'comedian' in this picture is anything but funny, and Healy himself bombs big-time. The only character who seems at ease with his part is Shemp Howard.

You could chalk up the poor quality to the fact that talkies were still in their infancy; but then again, the Marx Brothers were doing screen comedy quite well at the same time.

The seller is to be commended for offering this DVD at rock-bottom price. It is indeed rock-bottom! :)

Once you get past the fact that this is a Ted Healy and Charles Winninger movie and not a Three Stooges movie, you'll be able to appreciate it on its own merits.

Winninger gives the best performance, playing an easy-going but proud costume store owner suffering a financial reversal. The scene where him and restauranteur Gus Klein (played by George Bickel) share a bottle of "something stronger" is a nice comment on the public attitude toward prohibition. Healy's character may seem like a politically incorrect bully, but his girlfriend "Queenie" is every bit his equal in verbal fisticuffs.

As for the Stooges, you can see where they were heading, but weren't quite there yet. But their bits, based on their vaudeville routine, were amusing--particularly those at the Fireman's Ball. As for "Fourth Stooge" Fred Sanborn, his part is the oddest, a whispering fireman with a silly way of running who is always to late getting on the fire truck. However he gives a fine musical performance that more than acquits his being there.

This is not great cinema, or even a great Three Stooges movie. However it is a a pleasant film, a somewhat nostalgic look at the America of 80 years ago, and all-in-all, a worthwhile viewing experience.

The first thing to understand about this DVD is that, although it is promoted to Three Stooges fans, this is really a 1930 movie in which Moe (not even called that at this stage!), Larry and Shemp are bit players in pre-Three Stooges days. It is most interesting in terms of the evolution of the Stooges, and indeed the evolution of film itself. Bear in mind, this is only two or three years after the first talkie, and it is evident that microphone technology is still in its infancy. Actors dare not wander too far away from wherever the microphone is hidden, for fear they will not be picked up. In one or two scenes on larger sets (e.g., in the fire house), there is a certain hollowness. Bearing all this in mind, the quality of the sound -- and, indeed, the picture -- is terrific.

The Stooges (and there are more than three) are mere adjuncts to the relatively unfunny vaudeville player Ted Healy, whose "stooges" they originally were. He is one of the stars of the movie, but the Stooges aren't. One wouldn't get this DVD as an example of the Stooges' work, but for its historical value only. And in that context, it is a very good buy indeed. It is a pity that there are no extras; a commentary track by a knowledgeable film buff would have been valuable. It is also a pity that the packaging designer seems to have thought that this is either a colour or a colourised movie. The cover photos have been colourised; the movie certainly has not.

As with most comedy films of this period, there is very little plot to speak of, just a series of connected gags, and the connections are often tenuous. Such as it is, the script is by the legendary Rube Goldberg, better known for his cartoons featuring impossibly complicated "inventions" designed to do stuff that was actually quite simple.

By all means buy this item. I think it's quite good value, but be aware of what it is -- and what it isn't.

I managed to catch this on Turner Movies one night and loved it. The interplay between Ted Healy & the Stooges is good. The storyline is at times, very weak. But it shows the building of the Stooges. Least we not forget that there were FOUR Stooges in this film! Fred Sanborn was the "silent" Stooge and at times I wanted him to do more than whisper and wiggle his eyebrows.

Do I recommend the film? YES for any Stooge fan! IT IS A MUST!

Now MGM, get off yer cans and release "Meet The Baron"!

Well, folks, I dunno' . . . maybe I'm just a little nutty myself, but I really like this film. For the record, I also like the movie "Meet the Baron" and a couple of the Fox Laurel & Hardy movies; on the other hand I think "Dancing Lady" is very BORING, and I think "Swing Parade" is BEYOND boring and a terrible waste of talent, especially in the finale. So that's where I stand...

~ ~ ~

The slap-dash manner of throwing in everything AND the kitchen sink is very entertaining to me. After all, the script was a Rube Goldberg construction, and I don't think it lets us down as such. Oddly, I did not care for the kitchen sink element of "Hellzapoppin", a contrived affair, whereas "Soup to Nuts" just seems breezily convoluted.

The story moves along briskly with one colorful character popping up after another, and the jokes doggedly marching along. If you don't like one gag, you'll laugh at the next. Well, smile anyway... Happily enough, there are indeed a number of Rube Goldberg's "inventions" on display throughout the film.

The Three Stooges appear suddenly in the first shot of the movie, and the whole scene is very funny. They sing and do the sand-bag routine that they would reprise in the 1950s on the Ed Wynn Show. Here it is more logically framed and much better timed with a stronger ending. I find Ted Healey very charming and funny, too. His girlfriend (Frances McCoy) is perfect: darling and hilarious, and remains one of the great mysteries of film--absolutely nobody seems to know whatever happened to her!

There is actually quite a lot of Stooges, and they have as merry madcap a fire department you could please. If you think of the movie being in 3 parts, they are in two-thirds of the film.

The quality of this film is GREAT, both image and sound. Imagine: a 1930 movie that no one cared about, saved at the last minute and looking so good. OK, it's just not a "great" film, so 4 stars out of 5; but the restoration is 5 stars. (One curiosity is that the end music is quite long, but there is no picture!)

We should be so lucky to see the Laurel & Hardy movies again in such pristine condition. Hallmark should be shot.

If you love zany slapstick from the early years, you might enjoy bits and pieces of this melange of madness: you've got firehouses, costume shops, crazy inventions, restaurants, all as backdrops for alot of frantic antics. One thing is certain: there's exactly *one* funny line of dialogue and it's nice that Larry Fine has it. I won't spill the beans (or the nuts).
This is really a showcase for Ted Healey, a real showman with an impressive baritone singing voice and a knack for off-mike muttering (once in a while something mildly amusing is audible). Of course, he's the original Stooge Supervisor but in this 1930 movie he and "the boys" do not have much time together on film. Harry [aka Moses/Moe], Shemp, and Larry, have alot of nutty business, but without the benefit of technology, meaning the kind of editing and sound-effects available later in the decade from the one company that could really put together a slapstick short - Columbia, they sometimes get lost in the din.
Stooges fans and historians can get a strong sense of the Stooges live on stage from this awkward entry.
A big problem is that practically every character is supposed to be funny, including one called "Whispering Willie", a ghoulish little figure (who also manages to play a mean zylophone!) who has one decent gag in the latter half of the film. His part is overdrawn - it's like watching a Keystone Kop pratfall every twelve seconds. Also, there's an ill-conceived scene involving a burning building and people in need of rescue. The actors continue to wisecrack while lives are at stake. Bad stuff.
Also for Stooge-philes, there are plot elements which one could reasonably assume found their way onto later classics like "False Alarms" and "Flat-Foot Stooges"; later, for a few bits on The Ed Wynne Show.