A Quartet of Three Stooges Shorts... Including Two in 3D!

Loose Loot: 

(Short # 146 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

In the first of two Stooges reviews for today, Loose Loot is another short that uses footage from 1947’s Hold That Lion. In this case, it is most (though not all) of the opening half. I might as well copy and paste from that review:

“The boys are to inherit the estate of “millionaire junk dealer” Ambrose Rose, who is their uncle. However, investment broker Icabod Slipp has control of the funds and is eluding attempts to give him a subpoena…. Kenneth MacDonald did a swell job as the villainous Slipp; one scene had him beat up all three Stooges individually.”

In Loose Loot, instead of escaping from our heroes via train, Icabod Slipp escapes to the Circle Follies Theatre. First, there’s a chase, then the tenor changes and MacDonald suffers a LOT of abuse from the vengeful Stooges. Kenneth does have help from Tom Kennedy in dishing out some retribution abuse. Kennedy is a “That Guy” era from way back in the silents to the 60’s. He usually had bit parts in big films… everything from Some Like it Hot and 42nd Street to the Marx Brothers film Monkey Business and a few Mae West motion pictures. More prominent was his character in the Torchy Blaine movies of the 30’s.

As there’s plenty of funny moments which are reworked gags that felt fresh in this context, Loose Loot managed to be quite delightful.

Tricky Dicks: 

(Short # 147 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Another title that sounds more risqué now than at the time. In this context, “dicks” refers to “detectives.” Wiki tells me that this spoofs the 1951 William Wyler picture Detective Story, starring Kirk Douglas; as that’s one not viewed by me, I’ll have to use Wiki to know that Tricky uses the “24 hours at a police station” format here.

There’s a dame named Slick Chick who delivers some snappy patter, then they borrow a scene from (get this) Hold That Lion, which revolves around a routine w/ a filing cabinet. However, the crux of the short is the trio having their game of gin rummy interrupted by their boss B.A. COPPER, who demands that they capture the thug who killed Slug McGurk. There are several suspects, including an Italian organ grinder who has quite the name I’ll reveal at the end but he has a British accent. The eventual killer appears and causes havoc.

Plenty of new routines and humorous puns are heard throughout; despite the small detail that Tricky Dicks takes place on only one set. That does not seem as important when there’s a nonstop onslaught of funny moments and wacky character names. A failed actor has the moniker GILBRAITH Q. TIDDLEWATER but the best was the Italian character. He was… Antonio Zuchini Salami Gorgonzola de Pizza. Now there’s a name that J.K. Rowling would give an Italian character!

Spooks!: 

(Short # 148 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The first of two Stooges reviews today, both in 3D! Yes, the brief fad in the early 50’s was so popular, they even did two episodes in that format, this and the next one to be released, Pardon My Backfire. I’ll talk more about that at the end but in a win for physical media, I have all 190 shorts on DVD and to Sony’s credit, on the DVD they have the two shorts in 2D and 3D; of course I viewed it in 3D—it was a blast, even if it was those red and blue glasses.

Once again they have the blue-collar job of “detectives;” this time, they are tasked with finding a Mary Bopper, daughter of George B. Bopper. The plot is basic: they disguise themselves in another blue-collar job… pastry chefs! It’s to allow for pies to be thrown in the conclusion but the storyline explanation is that they’re canvassing a neighborhood house by house, pastry available for discount. In any event, they quickly find the house; Mary is kidnapped by a Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (yes, two different dudes) and Jekyll wants to transplant her brain into that of a gorilla.

Like I said, a basic plot and some moments are reminiscent of those in the past. That seems irrelevant when it still felt fresh instead of a remake or something featuring stock footage. I laughed a decent amount as the house is a haunted one so the expected accoutrements are present: bats, skeleton, cobwebs, etc. Most importantly, more items are thrust in the direction of the camera than in Friday the 13th: Part 3D. Every Stooge fan should be delighted to see pies, Moe’s foot, and Moe’s two fingers thrown at the camera. That made this a fun novelty; it looks goofy in 2D, so if you’re able to peep the 3D version…

Everyone discovered how much longer it takes to film in three dimensions; there’s a reason why the first wave of that format didn’t last long. This was also the first widescreen (1:85.1) short from the trio. Amusingly, this played in front of the first 3D Western and the first 3D Technicolor release: 1953’s Fort Ti, set at real-life Fort Ticonderoga; that’s why the Stooges brought back their gag revolving around Fort Ti. Incidentally, Ti was directed by… William Castle! As explained in the past, before becoming famed for horror movies & gimmickry, he dabbled in many genres.

Pardon My Backfire: 

(Short # 149 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The second and last 3D effort from The Three Stooges. Unlike the horror-themed first (that genre is destined to forever be associated w/ the third dimension) this concerned the trio at their latest blue-collar job: auto mechanics. They are long engaged to sisters Bettie, Nettie & Hettie but don’t have enough money for marriage. Their father is aggravated by this and demand they make enough in a week or that’s it for them.

The usual buffoonery occurs as they attempt to fix an old jalopy at their shop. This includes a car horn stuck on for most of several minutes straight. Suddenly, they hear on the radio that three robbers and their moll are on the run. Guess who stops in their shop… the pace is quick and like in Spooks, objects are frequently thrusted or thrown at the camera.

Backfire greatly entertained me between the quick pace, the number of gags either greatly new or modified (at least one was presumably from the vaudeville era) and the cast that is large for this era of the Stooges. This includes Fred Kelsey as the father; he first appeared in the 1935 Horses’ Collars and a few more times in the Curly era but this was his last appearance period in this universe. I laughed often, making the high rating seem apropos.