The Three Stooges Collection 1937-1939

BY Keith CarmanPublished Jun 6, 2008

It takes a lot of intellect to act this stupid. While the Three Stooges have been reduced to little more than simplified slapstick humour over the past half-century, when witnessing the comedic mishaps of Curly, Larry and Moe on this double-disc set of their most popular work, it quickly becomes clear that there was a great deal of thought put into their trademark eye-pokes, head-bashing and face-slaps. It’s impossible to deny that the Stooges are quite dumb and the majority of their idiotic encounters can be pared down to some base elements. Yet when scrutinising these 24 20-minute short films, it becomes quite clear that a great deal of choreography and timing were necessary to pull off the majority of their goofy stunts. Furthermore, the fact that this trio are still engaging and entertaining as they quickly approach a century on celluloid proves that the general consensus that they were violent, dense comedians is erroneous. Following the boys as they worm their way out of sticky situations such as finding jobs, inadvertently tangling with mobsters, betting on wrestling bouts, marriage, prison, gold prospecting and a variety of other ludicrous scenarios is equal parts ridiculous and wily. As this collection proves, the Three Stooges were avant-garde at the time, originators of buffoonery that provided an equivalent impact on farcical comedy as The Honeymooners would eventually have on modern family sitcoms. Even after years of watching their shtick being pilfered, no one has a witty retort or fall-down, get-up wipe-out like a Stooge. Despite the lack of extras or special features, one feels far from cheated with this second Stooges volume. There is plenty of material here, culled from what is considered their pinnacle of success.
(Sony)

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