Customer Reviews

The Three Stooges - Three Stooges in History

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Yes, it is hard to understand why you get three two-reelers on each Three Stooges videotape but a DVD only gets you up to five. However, there is certainly a thematic approach to this DVD that you rarely find with the videos as all of these shorts are set back in time, when the days of olde when knights were bold being the chief attraction, and you do get shorts with both Curly and Shemp in the mix:

"Squareheads of the Round Table" (1948) is set in the Middle Ages where the Stooges are trying to help Cedric the Blacksmith in winning the hand of the Princess Elaine (Christine McIntyre). The boys pretend to be troubadours to help out and then stumble on a plot to kill the King (Vernon Dent) hatched by the Black Prince, which means dressing up as knights and throwing fruit (it actually makes sense).

"I'm a Monkey's Uncle" (1948) is set in the Stone Age with the boys having trouble with hunting and cooking before they go a-courting as Moe introduces Larry and Shemp to his gal Aggie and her sisters Maggie and Baggy. When some other cavemen show up and want the girls, the Stooges have to fight back and save the day.

"Restless Knights" (1935) is one of the earlier Columbia Shorts and offers the sight of Walter Brennan as the father of the Stooges. Again, the setting is in the Middle Ages where the boys visit the court of the King of Anesthesia and have to avoid being executed. There is a long wrestling match, which does not really seem appropriate, but that happens a lot with the Stooges.

"Matri-Phony" (1942) goes back to ancient Erysipelas, during the reign of the emperor Octopus Grabus. The Stooges are known as Mohicus, Larrycus, and Curleycue, as well as the biggest chiselers in town (they run a stone works). The emperor (Vernon Dent) has his eye on a new woman for his harem (Marjorie Deanne), and the boys hide her out. Taken prisoner Curley ends up in drag making moves on the emperor.

"Fiddlers Three" (1948) is set in the Medieval Fairy Tale Times with the Stooges serving as the jesters for Old King Cole (Vernon Dent again). The main thing here are the skits in which the boys do nursery rhymes: Shemp as Jack Be Nimble, Larry as Little Miss Muffett, Moe as Simple Simon. When the princess (Virginia Hunter) is kidnapped, the boys go off to the rescue. This one has the boys doing lots of Shakespearean tongue twisters.

Nothing here is really classic Three Stooges comedy, but these are all solid efforts. Seeing Walter Brennan as the Stooges father is certainly a hoot, and it explains where the boys learned to slap each other around.

Only 5 two reelers on this DVD, several of which I have always considered to be Shemp's best. But only 5? Columbia knows a Stooge lover such as myself will always purchase even though it is obvious that the technology allows for much more data to be put on to a disk. When the Stooges signed that contact that gave away all future compensation rights from any possible new medias, Columbia hosed them and the tradition of hosing all their descendants and loyal fans continues.

If you are a Stooges collector this is for you. If you are a fan of just Curly, you may want to pass on this one. Try "Curly Classics, Cops And Robbers or All The World's A Stooge". This DVD has 3 Shemp episodes and 2 Curly. The 2 Curly episodes are obviously the highlight of this set. "Restless Knights" from 1935 is one of the funnier Stooge shorts and has a riotous wrestling scene. "Matri-Phony" is another classic as the Stooges try to save a red headed beauty from being forced to marry the King "Octopus-Grabus". The Shemp episodes provide some entertaining moments...the funniest of the three would have had to have been "Fiddlers Three" where the stooges play the "Fiddlers Three" entertaining Ole King Cole.

Columbia put a lot of effort on this DVD. All 5 of these shorts look the best I've ever seen. It looks like Columbia has been doing some restoration on these shorts. "Restless Knights" looks very good and I'm shocked because this was a short from the 1930's. So, I encourage you to buy this DVD. You will be amazed by the quality of these shorts.

Costume comedy isn't for everyone, though it's pretty well-done in these 5 shorts. As they've already been outlined, I won't provide another review with plot synopses, just give my views on each short.

'I'm a Monkey's Uncle' (1948)--Very charming and entertaining, not to mention I've always loved prehistory. There are a lot of good inventive gags and scenarios playing upon this era, such as how the boys have to catch their own food, use butter for hair grease, and the weapons they fight back with in the last scene. However, as original and entertaining as it is, it doesn't have much of a real plot, and it doesn't really go anywhere. However, just because a short doesn't have much of a clearly outlined plot doesn't mean that it's automatically bad. Here it's strong enough to overcome that one quibbling detail.

'Squareheads of the Round Table' (1948)--A clever take-off on the King Arthur/Camelot genre. Naturally there's a lot of great inventive violence and punishment because of all of the Medieval implements lying around. It also stars the beautiful and talented Christine McIntyre as Elaine, and has a solid supporting cast as well. Many people hold this one as a classic, and it's easy to see why.

'Fiddlers Three' (sometimes erroneously referred to as 'Fiddler's Three') (1948)--Another short set in a castle. This has a practically identical plot to 'Squareheads,' but for a different king, princess, and villain. It's also the second of three Stooges shorts in a row taking place in a castle, since Columbia had this castle for the latest screen adaptation of 'Lorna Doone' and apparently wanted to milk it for all it was worth while they still had it. I somewhat prefer this one to the above, though there are a few minor things some people find lacking about it. The "daily laugh" scene does go on a bit too long, which makes it get a little weird, and some people feel the recreation of the nursery rhymes also are a bit awkward. Also, what's the point of calling this short 'Fiddlers Three' if only Larry is playing the violin? Even though he was the only one who knew how to play the instrument in real life, the others at least could have pretended while a record were being played.

'Matri-Phony' (1942)--Not quite a classic, but really entertaining. This one takes place in Roman times, and involves some nice gags involving the implements in the pottery shop the boys run. It's funny and original enough, just not one of their most top-notch classics.

'Restless Knights' (1936)--The sixth short they did at Columbia. It starts out really good, but kinda loses its focus about midway through, and ends kind of unevenly and abruptly. It's just not paced as well as it could have been. The wrestling scene also goes on a bit too long. Another problem with this short is that, this early in their two-reeler career, you can see they haven't quite perfected their screen characters yet. Probably the weakest of the 5 shorts.

All in all, these are pretty good shorts, just that when it boils down they're not really among the boys' most classic and greatly-regarded work.

Shemp had been called a much more talented comedian than Curly.

That shows you what reviewers know...Shemp is always going to stand in Curly's long, wide shadow. To Stooge fans, it's either watching Curly or waiting to watch Curly.

In this [really short] DVD you get more Shemp than Curly...I'd pass.