There's three in total...
False Alarms:
(Short # 17 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)
This effort concerning firefighters reminds me to give a shoutout to those in that field dealing with those wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The Stooges as fireman was as humorous as expected. Their boss Stanley Blystone gives those screw-ups one last chance before they are… fired. Unlike typical, they have relative success with the ladies. Curly sneaks away to hang out with their gal-pal and two friends new to them. This includes a heavyset woman who is portrayed as “not attractive,” which is lamentable. Still, June Gittelson was amusing in that role, even if there were comments concerning her size & strength.
This had different, interesting gags so it felt fresh. This includes mishaps involving firehoses and a few quality sight gags. A wild ride you’d expect from Mr. Toad is also present. The expected carnage happened once the captain’s new car was introduced and Moe & Larry are once again too late to jump on the firetruck. Also nice is all the exterior shooting done in the Los Angeles of 1936. This isn’t the only entry revolving around firemen but I recall it as the best one. To assuage any fears about seeing fire in 2025, that element is never shown in the short.
Those that like Curly will like seeing him get the spotlight; as others have noted, already by this point he’s improved as a comedic performer.
Whoops, I'm an Indian!:
(Short # 18 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)
The Stooges in the pioneer Daniel Boone days was amusing. There are other efforts I definitely prefer but even in ones where I don’t love the story as much as others, there still is lines of dialogue that made me laugh, funny gags, and a nice premise where they get to spend time in the woods. They are on the run from the sheriff; they were caught cheating at a gambling game. After calamity while attempting to make a fire and hunt for food, they run a-foul of Bud Jamison’s Pierre.
They do dress like stereotypical Native Americans, Moe & Larry don face paint and Curly is in a wig as “an Indian squaw.” How offensive it is to you depends on taste and your experience. I’m a dumb white guy but it wasn’t too tasteless for me. Of course, Pierre falls for Curly in drag.
Technically it’s the “worst” of their 1936 efforts, although that’s not a huge insult when it was such a strong year for them and as some of the kids say, it was banger after banger after banger.
Slippery Silks:
(Short # 19 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)
Those wondering when the first pastry fight happened with The Three Stooges, it was the conclusion of Slippery Silks.
It will sound wacky that the first few minutes are the Stooges in the field of “artistic woodwork” then they inherit their late uncle’s gown shop then a pastry fight breaks out—it works in context. In that shop they are given “the most valuable piece of antique Chinese woodwork in the world” to make a duplicate. That goes as disastrous as expected, leading to a common sight in their oeuvre: a chase.
Once in the gown business, they put on a fashion show and after a few traditional outfits-they took the time to properly build the joke-some bizarre examples are shown—frankly, it’s no more bizarre than the hideous-looking “clothing” seen in any high-end fashion show for years! Howard, Fine, & Howard were truly trendsetters. Another common theme: the plot threads eventually connect, no matter how improbable.
The conclusion is the pastry fight; the few times they occurred (footage was later reused more than once) they looked similar… but that was alright as I’ll never not laugh. As it almost always featured “distinguished people” acting like immature fools, that is always worth a solid laugh. Plus, a woman is named MORGAN MORGAN.
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