Two More Stooges Shorts

First, Higher Than a Kite: 

(Short # 72 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

My apologies for not doing one of these in a few days; my schedule was the reasons why. These may not be done every day going forward but I’ll try not to make it infrequent. Higher Than a Kite I don’t remember seeing in decades (if ever) yet this wartime effort was quite amusing. The Stooges were in the RAF, after all!

Yes, the trio went to England to join the Royal Air Force, only they are stuck as mechanics on the ground because-in part-Curly confused “navigator” with “alligator.” They are tasked with fixing the Colonel’s automobile and “removing the squeak.” Of course such a setting allows for plenty of slapstick with wrenches, tire jacks, automobile backfire from the exhaust pipe… and Moe getting his head stuck in a pipe. The next three minutes were Larry & Curly attempting various ways to extract his head out.

After that job is bungled, the boys end up hiding… in a bomb that’s dropped in Germany. They found new ways to lampoon the Nazi jerks, including officers “Boring” and “Bommel.” Larry dresses like Carmen Miranda and jokes are mined from a photo of “Schicklgruber,” i.e. Hitler. That was an insult common in World War II as that was the original surname of Adolf’s father and even Germans thought it was a funny name. Thus, the Stooges used it in a few previous efforts.

Higher Than a Kite was another funny WWII short from the boys.

Then, I Can Hardly Wait: 

(Short # 73 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

A short I would have liked more… if Moe wasn’t more mean-spirited than usual. The boys are defense workers during World War II and the rationed meal divided by Moe only left Curly with a hambone. Curly bites into that, of course this results in a broken tooth. Moe’s even a jerk about that; flat-out heel behavior is not preferable to my tastes.

Shame, as there are funny moments throughout. This includes a triple-decker bunkbed and a dream sequence that is acknowledged as such from the beginning, unlike what has been standard for decades now. In Curly’s dream, Moe & Larry’s attempt at home dentistry does go awry despite several attempts to extract the tooth via elaborate methods that include tying it to a string and the other end of the string to a doorknob.

Also in the dream, they take him to the dentists Y. Tug and A. Yank. Whether the intention, it is a horrifying depiction of dentistry that includes one Dr. using ether to knock out the patient! I’ll note that the receptionist was portrayed by Adele Mara, who also had a bit part in another Stooge effort (Back from the Front). She later worked at Republic where prominent roles were had in two John Wayne films—Wake of the Red Witch and Sands of Iwo Jima. She was both discovered by Xavier Cugat and was married for almost 50 years to Roy Huggins, creator of such popular shows in the early era of television like The Fugitive, 77 Sunset Strip and The Rockford Files. What a life she had.

As Moe does receive his comeuppance-at least in the extended dream sequence-I can’t complain about I Can Hardly Wait too hard; although, Curly utters the films title three times in the span of like 90 seconds; if you like pointing at the screen like you’re Rick Dalton…