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You remind me of the Three Stooges, he chastises them.
Hey, thats an insult, he replies.Curlys just being modest.
The Three Stooges, the Holy Trinity of slapstick, are in the pantheon of comedy teams.
The vaudeville team itself, in different incarnations, was launched a century ago!
Its high time they got their own museum exhibit and streaming channel.
Its up to 120 now.
About five a week are being uploaded chronologically, so hang on, Joe Besser fans.
Also currently accessible are the feature films with Besser replacement Joe DeRita, and theNew 3 Stoogescartoons.
But where to begin?
You Nazty Spy!
Munitions manufacturers plot to oust the pacifist king of Moronika and install a dictator.
They just need to find someone stupid enough to do what they tell him.
You Nazty Spy is the only Stooges short to inspire a sequel.
Both end with pitch-black gags that should serve as cautionary warnings for any aspiring despots.
Lady, an amscraying Moe responds, you must be psychic.
In Punch Drunks, the Stooges second short, its the song Pop Goes the Weasel.
An Ache in Every Stake (1941)
This ones a veritable Curly-palooza with several prized bits.
Another sees Curly take Moe literally when Moe tells him to shave some ice.
But perhaps best remembered is the Stooges take on Happy Birthday, which ends with a real bang.
This is the one with the musical number Swingin the Alphabet (B-A-bay, B-E-bee, B-I-bicki-by-B-O-Bo …).
The Stooges took a different approach.
Inept and uncouth, these working-class anti-heroes invaded the homes of the one percent and laid waste to them.
(Thats Clarence Donald Duck Nash voicing the cats in the piano.)
Men in Black (1934)
For duty and humanity.
Moe, Larry, and Curly are not overly bright med-school graduates installed at a hospital.
This was the Stooges third short and the only one to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Its best remembered for the iconic loudspeaker call for Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.
Curlys escalating frustration is exquisite.
Gents Without Cents (1944)
A Stooges short with a happyish ending?
Busy Buddies (1944)
The Stooges are restauranteurs who need $100 to save their establishment.
It does not go well for them.
Go take a bath, Moe commands.
But it aint spring yet, Larry protests.
This feels closest to what it would have been like to see the Stooges on the vaudeville stage.
They are chased from the scene, bullets being fired into their rears.
Brideless Groom (1947)
I know, weve been favoring Curly here.
Hes a voice teacher left $500,000 by his uncle on the condition that he is married.
He has just seven hours to find a bride.
Veteran Stooges foil Emil Sitka has the indelible line, Hold hands, you lovebirds.
And then theres Horsing Around with the talking horse.
There is a nice goof onMarty, and at one point, Moe channels Curly after a passionate kiss.
Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo (1952)
This one goes off the rails quickly.
Larry, making like Marlon Brando in a torn T-shirt, steals a railroad car.
He cant marry his fiancee until her beanpole sister gets married first.
Moe arrives on the scene as a railroad inspector and the beanpoles lost love.
Larry reportedly liked this, but anecdotal consensus ranks this as the Stooges all-time worst short.
Arent you the least bit curious?
