Customer Reviews

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951

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3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This set contains:

1949
The Ghost Talks
Who Done It?
Hokus Pokus
Fuelin' Around
Malice in the Palace
Vagabond Loafers
Dunked in the Deep

1950
Punchy Cowpunchers
Hugs and Mugs
Do pey Ducks
Love at First Bite
Self-Made Maids
Three Hams on Rye
Studio Stoops
Slaphappy Sleuths
A Snitch in Time

1951
Three Arabian Nuts
Baby Sitters Jitters
Don't Throw That Knife
Scrambled Brains
Merry Mavericks
The Tooth Will Out
Hula La La
Pest Man Wins

These shorts are from the era when the Stooges were comprised of Larry, Moe, and Shemp. These are the probably the last of the great Stooges shorts. With television encroaching upon the motion picture industry, cost cutting measures were soon underway. One such measure taken at Columbia that had already impacted MGM and other studios was the decrease in scope of the short-subject department in 1952. Stooge short veterans producer Hugh McCollum and director Edward Bernds were casualties of this action, and this left only Jules White behind as a person in the short subject department with a feel for what made the Stooges special. Shooting schedules were shortened, old Stooge shorts were cut up and recycled into sparse new material, and fans were not fooled by all of this.

Do be aware that the first six volumes of the Three Stooges will be available in June on The Three Stooges Collection, Volumes 1-6 Bundle. This really is not a great buy, but is pretty much on par with what you pay for all six volumes when they are on sale. This might be the way to go if you don't have any of the volumes yet.

The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951 contains the following 24 remastered shorts, many of which are making their DVD debut:

1949:
The Ghost Talks
Who Done It? (originally intended to be a Curly short titled 'Pardon My Terror' and it shows)
Hokus Pokus
Fuelin' Around
Malice In The Palace (Of the four public domain stooge shorts, this one's probably my favorite. Curly made another cameo as a chef, but it was cut out of the film and Larry played the part.)
Vagabond Loafers (A remake of A Plumbing We Will Go with some old footage reused for the new version.)
Dunked In The Deep

1950:
Punch Cowpunchers
Hugs and Mugs
Dopey Dicks
Love At First Bite
Self-Made Maids (The 3 Stooges played all of the roles in this unique short.)
Three Hams On Rye (features the coughing up feathers gag from 'Uncivil Warriors')
Studio Stoops
Slaphappy Sleuths
A Snitch in Time

1951:
Three Arabian Nuts
Baby Sitters' Jitters
Don't Throw That Knife (The stooges hiding in a jealous husband's home in 'What's the Matador?' was the inspiration for this short.)
Scrambled Brains (This hilarious short makes probably the best argument that Shemp was not a poor replacement for Curly. Shemp naysayers should definitely watch this, one of Larry's favorite shorts.)
Merry Mavericks
The Tooth Will Out (If you're afraid of going to the dentist, you may want to skip this one. There's lots of drilling!)
Hula La-La
The Pest Man Wins (A remake of 'Ants In The Pantry')

In my opinion, this collection will easily be the best of the Shemp volumes. These were the peak years for Shemp and most of the funniest shorts he made with Moe and Larry will be included. The quality will begin to dip in volume 7, with the departure of director Edward Bernds and screenwriter Elwood Ullman, but there are still enough funny shorts to make up for it like Corny Casanovas, Three Dark Horses, Gents In A Jam, Goof on the Roof, etc. Decreasing budgets and increased use of stock footage will make volume 8 a flawed set, but some of the remakes like Bedlam In Paradise and Creeps actually improve upon the originals and the rare solo Shemp shorts will be great to watch. Volume 9 will be for diehards only, but home to several rarely shown shorts like A Merry Mix-Up, Horsing Around, and Flying Saucer Daffy. If a volume 10 is released, hopefully it will not include the insult Stop! Look! and Laugh!. Snow White and The 3 Stooges was a 20th Century Fox film, so it wouldn't be included, though the exclusion of that technicolor mistake wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Sony has been doing The Three Stooges proud in its continuing series of restored and remastered DVD editions. Volume 6 is highly recommended for comedy fans and a must for Stoogeheads. Many of the 1949-51 films benefit from witty scripts and direction, and are exceptionally funny.

The best shorts here were produced by Hugh McCollum and directed by Edward Bernds, who soft-pedaled the gratuitous roughhouse and allowed Shemp, Larry, and Moe to improvise freely. This brings new freshness to the standard slapstick format, and shows how professional and resourceful Howard, Fine, and Howard were. (You'll see many amusing instances when a scene is supposed to be over, but Bernds keeps the camera rolling to see what the Stooges will do.) The films also benefit from Columbia's resident stock company of the late 1940s: the lovely Christine McIntyre and Jean Willes, both equally adept at playing sincere heroines and crafty schemers; the suave Kenneth MacDonald, a definitive villain; the versatile Emil Sitka, appearing here in any number of guises; veteran comic Vernon Dent, playing the Stooges' foil with his usual authority; expressive comedian Dudley Dickerson ("This house has sho' goan crazy!"), and the superlative stuntman Jock Mahoney. It isn't easy to steal an entire film from the Stooges, but watch Mahoney in the clever PUNCHY COWPUNCHERS; you'll roar as he indulges in some athletic and hilariously clumsy slapstick.

Many of the Stooges' best-remembered scenes are included in this set: the pie fight, the spooky old houses inhabited by gangsters or mad scientists, the "plumbers" routine, "the window ledge," "the cats in the piano," "the talking suit of armor," "the feathers in the cake," the Santa Claus masquerade, the "dance instructors," the trio singing at least two variations of "Just Plain Jane," the Stooges playing themselves AND their own girlfriends... and the gags just keep on coming! There is so much quality material in these films that producer-director Jules White consulted them frequently in the 1950s, borrowing entire sequences and sometimes the complete storylines for later Stooge shorts.

Be advised that a few of the shorts will stop at nothing for a cheap laugh, thanks to the heavy hand of director Jules White. MALICE IN THE PALACE has some unfortunate stereotypical humor and a tasteless gag involving a meat cleaver. In BABY SITTERS' JITTERS White shows a toddler endangered by both the Stooges and by a loaded gun. But such lapses are rare in this set; most of the material is a joy for Stooge fans.

This DVD set should surpass Columbia's former VHS releases, which weren't as comprehensive, and occasionally were technically inferior (at least three titles derived from 16mm prints). The recent DVD volumes have been sparkling, and Volume 6 should be no exception.

This volume contains some of my favorite Stooges shorts, especially: The Ghost Talks (with the voice of Phil Arnold as Peeping Tom), Malice in the Palace (with the Emir of Schmo), and Three Arabian Nuts (with the Genius of the Lamp). However, I don't agree that this is the best of the Shemp volumes. For me, that title easily goes to Volume 5, with the hilarity of Brideless Groom, Sing a Song of Six Pants, Squareheads of the Round Table, Fiddler's Three, Shivering Sherlocks, and A Crime on Their Hands. These six shorts are EASILY among the best the Stooges ever made. Curly was beloved and was a comedic genius in his own right; however, the more I watch the Shemp shorts, the more I'm thinking that the best combination of Stooges might have been Moe, Larry, and Shemp.

Anyone who thinks Shemp was not a fine comedian in his own right is probably basing this on the weaker Shemp comedies of 1954 & 1955 (Cuckoo On A Choo Choo). And if they were not weak new stories, they were re-issuing an old short with a few minutes of new footage.

But this set will contain Shemps best work. The writers as well as the Stooges were ready to keep the series going with Shemp's different comic abilities. What really makes these work is that Shemp did not try to be Curly (like some of the other third stooge replacements), Shemp was allowed to be himself. And he added a new set of signature routines. How many of us would do a fake snore with the "Bee Bee Bee Bee" sound at the end. That was a Shemp thing, not Curly.

And since Shemp was the original third Stooge in the Ted Healy days, we are really looking at the original Three Stooges act!

I do find it interesting watching these in original release order, it is obvious that Columbia put some on the shelf while releasing others. For example: 1950's DOPEY DICKS & LOVE AT FIRST BIGHT clearly have title styles pre-dating 1949's VAGABOND LOAFERS as well as having 1949 copyright notices. They were obviously held back while VAGABOND LOAFERS, DUNKED IN THE DEEP, PUNCHY COWPUNCHERS & HUGS AND MUGS got released.

Holding back releases was not unusual and it got more common in the later 1950's. Consider that Shemp died in 1955, but his shorts continued to be released in 1956 (not counting the shorts that Joe Palma impersonated Shemp in long shots).

From what I can tell there are only two things missing from these 24 newly remastered shorts. One is the debris, grain, dirt and sound hissing that used to plague these wonderful shorts when they aired on television and the second is bonus material. This wonderful set contains all 24 shorts from 1949-1951 on two single sided discs packaged in slim cases. The disc artwork and packaging is fantastic to say the least, making this set even more attractive and highly collectible for any Knucklehead to own.

Thanks to Sony Studios "Three Stooges" Fans have 24 more reasons to celebrate with the recently released Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951. The 24 newly restored & remastered shorts from Sony Pictures are once again presented in chronological order completely uncut and politically incorrect and presented in Beautiful Black & White. Hip Hip Hooray!

Once again Sony Pictures have done an incredible job with the video & sound remastering and restoration with Volume six and fans should be very pleased with what they see & hear. In my opinion Stooge fans are in for a real treat with both the number of shorts included in volume six and the overall quality of the shorts themselves. In my opinion Shemp Howard is simply hilarious! It should be noted that 15 of the shorts found in this set have never been released on DVD and after viewing this set I can honestly say I don't remember seeing some of them. Sony Pictures should definitely be commended for their ongoing efforts and for finally giving "Three Stooges" fans the best possible quality shorts ever released.

The 24 digitally remastered & restored video transfers found in Volume six are simply amazing; no longer do these shorts look like they were made over 60 years ago and the newly restored soundtrack is the best I've ever heard these shorts sound. Poor Video & Sound quality from low budget DVD companies releasing "Three Stooges" material in the public domain was always a major concern for me and I wasn't sure what to expect from Sony pictures when they set out to remaster all 190 stooge shorts and put them in chronological order. I can honestly say that the poor picture & sound quality is a thing of the past and no longer a concern. The newly remastered soundtrack has breathed new life into these amazing shorts for me and I have heard words and sound effects that I never heard before. Volume six is an absolute treat and I'm glad I own it!


Volume Six Shorts Include:

(1949)
The Ghost Talks
Who Done It?
Hokus Pokus
Fuelin' Around
Malice in the Palace
Vagabond Loafers
Dunked in the Deep

(1950)
Punchy Cowpunchers
Hugs and Mugs
Dopey Dicks
Love at First Bite
Self Made Maids
Three Hams on Rye
Studio Stoops
Slaphappy Sleuths
A Snitch in Time

(1951)
Three Arabian Nuts
Baby Sitters Jitters
Don't Throw That Knife
Scrambled Brains
Merry Mavericks
The Tooth Will Out
Hula-La-La
Pest Man Wins

Sony Pictures has failed to include bonus material of any kind in these newly remastered sets so far and that's a big disappointment for me. I can only hope that loads of Bonus material will be included in the final installment after all 190 "Three Stooges" shorts have been completely restored & remastered.

And unlike the first few reviews, I waited to write this until AFTER I actually saw the release:

* * *

Sony continues to understand what movie buffs really want: the movies.

No loud, hateful, cloying menu music or menu video; no DVD "themes" (such as 'The 3 Stooges at Work'); no extras (which would be nice, but are ultimately unnecessary)--just a no-nonsense menu to get right to what we all want: complete, restored, straight-off-the-negative-looking movies, presented in chronological order. It boggles the mind that so many studios have NO CLUE about doing this.

Buy this set, buy it for your friends' birthday, for your kids, your parents... Maybe if Sony sees how popular this series is, we can prevail upon Sony to release everything else in their archives. I'd like to see EVERY movie the Stooges were in, and all shorts by all the other comedians that worked for Columbia in the 1930s and 40s.

Volume 6 has many films I have never seen, which makes it one of the most interesting releases so far. It is the set I've spent the most time re-watching, partly because of the "new" material, and partly because the films are put together so well. In fact, every time I re-watch these, I find them funnier than the time before. I am now buying this set for friends. By the way, the visual and audio quality is perfect. The movies couldn't have been better when first released.

6 stars out of 5! Get this!


The rest of this review is just a bunch of my observations, so you may want to skip it...

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I notice that all these later films seem more like stage plays, whereas the early films were more like little movies. The 1930s films make me feel like the "Anthropologist from Mars"--a voyeur, looking into the lives of curious creatures in a somehow familiar yet distant time and place, on a world that's a little cracked. The 3 Stooges seem largely unaware of the camera, and we are often taken outside. The late-40s films seem more like three funny guys doing schtick on a stage. Now, if you've ever seen Moe, Larry and Shemp doing their live TV routines (check out Youtube) you see that they are incredible stage performers, so this isn't bad--it's just different.

DVD #1: At first viewing, "The Ghost Speaks" seemed overly cutsie, with the stage blocking and acting at times unmotivated--like they're just "following the script"; but afterwards I found myself thinking so much about the ghost's engaging (and illogical) tale of woe (he has a very appealing story-teller's voice), the insouciant skeletons, the out-of-place animals, and the lazy denouement, that I had to re-watch it. Several re-watchings later it has become my favorite short subject. "Who Done It" has the best fight-in-the-dark sequence I've ever seen; "Malice..." has the best Hotdog/Catfish eating scene, even funnier than Abbott and Costello (although Larry calls the catfish a rabbit, which starts the routine on a confusing note); "Punchy Cowpunchers" is excellent overall, with some astounding stunt falls by Jock Mahoney; "Dopey Dicks" is another really well-put together movie, very satisfying and with a great ending; "Self Made Maids" is probably the closest to a Jerry Lewis movie they ever made, particularly the ending.

DVD #2: I'm sure you'll have your favorites... "Baby Sitters..." doesn't read like it will be very good, but it gave me more laughs than any of the others. Shemp is particularly good and seems to be improvising (and enjoying himself). "The Tooth Will Out", although written and Directed by Ed Bernds, does not have Bernds' usual accomplished touch; after a brilliant and surreal first half, it becomes probably the most sadistic film they ever made. On the other hand, it also showcases remarkable teamwork by Shemp and Moe in a long and apparently improvised sequence. If you watch it for that, you'll make it through. "Hula La-La", also by Bernds, is very funny and very different with one of their most charming endings. Larry really plays the piano in this film, and if they had done some real dancing and singing it might have been a classic. The final film, "Pest Man Wins", isn't quite as well put together as the 1936 "Ants in the Pantry", but it's still laugh-out-loud, and here we finally get to see the true ending of "Half Wits Holiday".

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Another excellent release by Sony, and another set of really funny and very interesting movies, rarely seen outside of Southern California, by the most famous (or infamous) comedy trio of all time.

There are 190 'shorts' in all. This is one of the excellently done COMPLETE Stooges collection. After Shemp is Joe, and his 'shorts' with Moe & Larry. I never complained about Shemp or Joe as replacements. I enjoyed them for who was in them, not who was missing, and so after the years until now, I have always enjoyed all of the 190 'shorts', even though I have my favorites!
This is the first volume of all 'Shemps', and is worthy of any Stooge collectors' DVD library!
After growing up with them in the 1970s on WSBK38 in Boston, I still enjoy them, and still are my favorite comedy program on TV!
Unlike many, or most, of the other DVD series coming out, these have been very well done in remastering, and speed of release.
Another opportunity for Stoogeaphiles and others to enjoy the timeless comedy of the Three Stooges!

As the Stooges adapted to the new centerpiece of Shemp (who, technically, was the original centerpiece back in their 20's vaudeville days), the team forged ahead into the 50's. I remember such delightful Stooges shorts as "Malice In The Palace", "Self-Made Maids", & "Merry Mavericks", where Shemp deftly applied his years of skill as a salty-faced comic. "Maids", in particular, was a noble attempt to do something different as the boys donned drag--not an original concept in the Stooge shorts--but with pleasing results.
It's unfortunate that Columbia began reducing budgets for their short subjects department later on, which showed in the recycling of stories & production values on screen. Particularly painful (and bizarre) was when Columbia--even after Shemp's death--decided to "fulfill" his contract by making shorts with old stock footage of Shemp's face inserted & action shots of Moe & Larry running around with Shemp body doubles (some fans call these "the fake Shemps").
So let's just enjoy Volume 6 when the quality was still there.

I have read all of the previous reviews. The descriptions of the shorts are very good. I applaud you for remembering them so well.

On the other hand, I have to say that I do have all of the previous sets in this series. I can't name all of the titles. What I can do is remember when and where I watched the Stooges for the first time.

I walked home from elementary school everyday in the early 60's. Since our yard was adjacent to my grandparent's yard, Mom would have me stop there so my grandmother's housekeeper could watch me until Mom picked me up.

Some days I would run almost all of the way home so I wouldn't miss any of the Stooges. Cora Mae would pop popcorn and sneak me a forbidden Coca-Cola. She and I would sit on the living room floor and laugh to the point that I would almost pee myself. She would laugh at me laughing.

I almost believed those memories were just fantasy until these collections were released. Now I get to relive those days with my seven-year old daughter. She chooses the Stooges over Sponge Bob and laughs just as hard as I did/do.

It doesn't matter which are the best shorts. They are all great in there own right. I enjoy returning to a time where we could laugh till we were gasping to breathe. I am grateful that I can share this with my daughter.