Customer Reviews

Three Stooges 60th Anniversary Collection [VHS]

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

 

 

First of all, I got this DVD, primarily for the public domain short films, "DISORDER IN THE COURT", "SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS", "BRIDELESS GROOM" and "MALICE IN THE PALACE", as they have never been presented on the DVD format, "respectively", until now. If you've bought the ultra-crappy editions put out by Madacy and Platinum Disc Corporation, you know what I mean. The Madacy edition has a dis-jointed audio track for both "BRIDELESS GROOM" and "SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS"...so out of sync, it's a rip-off. Then, the Platinum edition contains nearly 4 minutes of "BRIDELESS GROOM", and that's it! It is so sad to see that these people are allowed to put these DVD's on the market, with total disregard for quality. Which brings me to the item on hand, THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION: THE EARLY YEARS, from the good folks at American Home Treasures. This disc is such a fantastic curiousity. Most will complain that the films have not been "re-mastered", or cleaned up in any sort of way, but then again, we are dealing with public domain material, which has been around for ages. Now, we have a DVD that not only successfully compiles the aforementioned Stooge shorts in their entirety, but 8 more curiousities. The other shorts are some that I've never seen. Most of which, are pre-Columbia, MGM two-reelers with Ted Healy and his stooges, Howard, Fine and (Curly) Howard. Then there are some Vitaphone short films, containing the unsung works of Shemp Howard, working opposite several other contract players. A real gem is a film entitled "ROAST BEEF & MOVIES", that stars Jerry Howard, yep, Curly, pre-Stooges! The duration of the disc, runs a little over 3 hours and 40 minutes, containing 12 shorts in all. This is a real treat for die-hard Stooge fans, like myself, and I would highly recommend it. Also, for what you get, the price is unbeatable.

This is a great video. This is the ultimate Stooge fan collectors' video set. Narrated by Steve Allen, Volume One brings you the complete history of The Stooges. You'll roar with laughter at rare movie and stage clips and early TV appearances never before seen of The Stooges. Volume Two gives you four episodes. 'Disorder in the Court', 'Malice in the Palace', 'Brideless Groom' and 'Sing a Song of Six Pants'. This video lasts 120 minutes.

This disc contains four classic Stooges shorts -- "Brideless Groom," "Disorder in the Court," "Sing a Song of Six Pants" and "Malice in the Palace" (all of which are in the public domain) -- and 8 others that were done before the Columbia era and feature either one Stooge or the Stooges with Ted Healy, who they worked with in their early days. The Columbia shorts are great, especially "Disorder," a classic Curly short (the other three are Shemp). Those who aren't familiar with their early work will find some interesting stuff here, including several routines that popped up later in the Columbia shorts. The quality on all is as good as can be expected. But be aware that, since most of these aren't the classic Columbia shorts, the Stooges, as seen here, are in slightly different form from the familiar versions that came later. Still, from a historical standpoint, this disc is invaluable, as several of these shorts aren't available in complete form on DVD elsewhere, to my knowledge. Other than the fact that "Nertsery Rhymes" is b/w instead of color (as it was originally released), this disc is recommended for Stooges fans who are interested in the team's history and their early work. Another nice thing: It's over 3 1/2 hours long, so it's a nice value for the price.

"Disorder in the Court" is the most outrageous court scene you'll ever see. If you have a heart problem, don't forget to have some NTG on hand. The belly laughs could get dangerous. The other three include perhaps the funniest that Shemp ever did. "Malice in the Palace" is one of my favorites, in spite of being without Curly. "Sing a Song of Six Pants" includes a fight scene that is an all time classic - whirling pants hangers (with real thugs wearing them) that sometimes strike the good guys, as well as the bad guys. "The Brideless Groom" is the weakest of the four episodes, but the phone booth scene with Shemp and Moe hopelessly entangled in miles of phone wire is worth seeing.

While I admit it is great to see the Stooges MGM shorts make their DVD debut, I was not happy with what I saw here from a standpoint of quality. I felt the same way toward the end of the cycle when Columbia was releasing the Curly shorts to video and opted for washed out 16mm dupes instead of going back to the 35mm masters that do exist in mint condition. The quality is average but the worst crime on this disc is that two of the shorts NERTSERY RHYMES and ROAST BEEF AND MOVIES were originally released in an early technicolor process but show up on this disc in black and white!! (possibly for copyright reasons??) The MGM shorts (the above mentioned two plus BEER AND PRETZLES, PLANE NUTS and THE BIG IDEA)would be the only reason to purchase this disc but better material is out there (MGM released them in pristine condition on laserdisc some time ago and they've aired on TNT). Most people have never seen these MGM shorts and do be warned that they are unlike what you come to expect out of the Stooges. The shorts are dominated by Ted Healy, a childhood friend of Moe and Shemp's who is partially responsible for forming the team. In 'The Big Idea' for example, the Stooges have two brief walk on's. Beer and Pretzles comes closest to their later work while Plane Nuts gives you an idea of their vaudeville act with Healy. It is cool to see some solo Shemp stuff represented here though. If you have the $ to blow on this disc to have them for now...have at it. If you would rather wait until better material comes along (and we know it will)....hang in there.

"Disorder in the Court" is a good early Stooges comedy. It's also one of the best "Curlys." The boys, working as musicians, are called as witnesses in a murder trial. The Three Stooges make short work of the courtroom's stuffy respectability. The "Curly on the witness stand" segment rivals anything in classic comedy films, from the Marx Brothers down. After the bailiff has trouble getting Curly to understand the oath, the judge tries to explain, "He asked if you swear..." Curly interrupts and replies, "No, but I know all the woids!" Curly's testimony includes so much jive-talking musician language that the defense attorney instructs him to "drop the vernacular." The perplexed Curly, looking at the hat he is holding, says, "Vernacular? That's a derby!" To get around these problems of semantics, the guys suggest they "act out" their testimony. Incredibly, the judge agrees, and complete pandemonium ensues.

The Three Stooges are arguably the greatest representatives of low comedy in the history of film. Moe, with his trademark sugar bowl haircut and his usual cranky demeanor, is the master of the eye-poke and the face-slap. Larry, his explosion-in-a-matress-factory hairstyle and his handog attitude, is mainly caught in the middle between Moe and Curly. The rotund Curly, his familiar "dirty tennis ball" crewcut, his "woo woo" expressions, and his "nyuk nyuk" laugh, has an otherworldly quality that defies written description. Curly Howard (a real example of a clown who laughed through his tears) could very well be given the "most under-rated comic genius of the 20th century" award.

This little video also includes "Malice in the Palace," a "Shemp" episode. The boys go after the Rootin'-Tootin' treasure stolen by "Omigosh, Emir of Shmoe." Generally, the Shemp comedies are less effective than the Curly episodes, but that is admittedly a personal preference issue. At least Larry has more to do in the Shemp episodes. This video can serve as a basic introduction to the Stooges for anyone visiting from another planet. It's also a good place to start the next generation of viewers in the zany world of Stooge mania. Even if you have seen these comedies countless times before, watch the video for a few minutes when you feel tired and cranky, and enjoy the absolute nonsense.

This is a great collection. It runs 2 hours and contains the complete history of the Stooges with little known facts and trivia. Very well done.

Buy this if you are interested in Ted Healy's productions from really early Stooge days. If not, skip it. The quality (audio and video) of the DVD is shabby...hence, the low price. There are only 4 of 12 shorts really worth owning, available on other, higher quality products.

The quality of the tape with the three shorts is very poor. Other stooge titles that I've purchased do not have this problem. The second tape with interviews was fine. If your interested in these three shorts I would buy them separately in another tape instead of getting this anniversary collection.

This DVD is great value for the price.Even more worthwhile if your interested in film history.
Four of these shorts are well known classics featuring either Curly or Shemp Howard as the third Stooge.
Some of the other shorts on this disc feature members of the Three Stooges in solo film before they came together as a team.
A couple feature the full Stooges line-up with Ted Healy.
I find the Ted Healy stuff very poor quality,but interesting if you are interested in seeing how their early vaudeville performance would have been like on stage.