Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Three Stooges and the Ventriloquist., January 22, 2003
I'm going out on a limb with this review. This is a funny little movie. Paul Winchell and his wise cracking dummy, Jerry Mahoney, are a hoot. Almost as good is the lovably wacky Knucklehead Smiff. Notice how lunch counter-man Knuck deals with Winch's slice of suspicious raisin bread. The spliced in scenes of various Three Stooges comedies are fun, if somewhat diluted for staunch Stooge fanatics. Everything moves along nicely. The laughs are frequent. Does anyone really care that it's all low budget nonsense? Observe as Winch teaches Jerry appropriate table etiquette, especially the correct method of consuming an ear of corn. The plumbing segment is also hilarious. First time viewers beware, about three-quarters along the way, there is a terrible bump in the road. The Marquis Chimps do Cinderella in hokey costumes. What was the producer thinking? Even for a cheesy movie freak such as me, this 10-minute interlude is too much schlock. Fast-forward through this mistake, and preserve your sanity. This little movie is good for nostalgia buffs, and middle-age kiddies everywhere. From this point forward, you are on your own. ;-)
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Winchell & the Stooges: Who could ask for more?, August 27, 2001
When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s my two favorite ventriloquists were Jimmy Nelson (with dummy dog Farfel and boy dummy Danny O'Day, who starred in the famous Nestles Qwick commercials) and Paul Winchell (and his wonderful dummy Jerry Mahoney). And then there were the zany Three Stooges. This film was released at the height of the Three Stooges revival, when the Columbia short subjects department had closed down and the release of the films to television created a huge hunger for more "product." What better way to wet the appetites of youngsters than to release a compilation -- and have it hosted by Paul Winchell, whose dummies with their moving hands (very clever puppetry) and zippy personalities created huge laughs. And what better way to bring it ALL together than to have the Winchell segments directed by one of the Stooge's directors. The result: a truly funny, slapstick buffet of the best of Paul Winchell at his height and some (often ham-handed) edited Stooges shorts. Winchell's bits hold up quite well. Modern day kid audiences have heard Winchell (up until recently) as the voice of Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh cartoons (it's the voice he used for Knucklehead, his dorky dummy). Some of the best Stooges bits are here, but they are edited heavily, with backgound music inserted at times -- and the music does not help the Stooges's comedy. Forget about this being a nostalgia tape. If you want to see what a toprate ventriloquist is like, at the peak of his creative and comedic powers, and see a respectible overview of the Three Stooges this is a great tape to see. ONE NOTE: Winchell's segments really do mesh quite well with the Stooges segments due to his own timing and his director's skills. (PS: I have a conflict of interest on this one. I never met Paul Winchell but I am a fulltime ventriloquist -- and I am biased towards ventriloquism and dummies...which is probably also why I follow politics).
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Stab In The Back..., February 14, 2003
I didn't like this film from the first time I saw it over 20 years ago. This is basically a rehashed hodge-podge of some 1930's shorts featuring Curly, hosted by comedian/ventriloquist Paul Winchell and "featuring" The Marquis Chimps; the average Stooges fan already owns most if not all of the shorts included here, so you won't be seeing anything new by any means. I'm not knocking Paul Winchell, because he was also popular in his own right at the time and cannot be faulted completely for agreeing to this film; the brainiacs at Columbia must've felt that a combination of Winchell's kiddie matinee schtick and the Three Stooges would obviously sell, but the result is nothing short of bizarre and pointless. The Stooges were not with Columbia in 1960 when this was produced, as the boys were unceremoniously handed their walking papers in 1957 after 24 years at Columbia, who took the Stooges to the cleaners every chance they had (and obviously STILL are). This was a blatant attempt on the part of Columbia to capitalize on the massive success the Stooges enjoyed in the late 50's & early 60's when the old shorts featuring Curly were released to TV; in fact, the Stooges themselves were so infuriated with this move that they immediately sought legal action to stop it's release. Columbia was then forced to withdraw the film and "apologize" publicly to the Stooges and their management. Ironically, Columbia then re-signed the Stooges to a feature film contract shortly after this and went on to make 6 features; something the boys had been wanting to do throughout their initial 24 years at the studio! Fast forward 43 years...once again the Stooges are getting "dissed" by Columbia with the re-release of this stupid film...only now, all of the Stooges are dead and unable to defend themselves. The only reason I or basically anyone would buy this DVD is for the inclusion of the short "A Bird In The Head", but that's exactly what Columbia WANTS. In yet another shrewd marketing scheme, they're sticking it to the fans and preying on their loyalty in the assumption that they'll purchase this DVD just to get this included short! "Stop Look & Laugh" is a real stab in the back to the Stooges as well as their fans. Don't waste your time or money with this.
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