THE THREE STOOGES [3 episodes] ~ False Alarms (1936) / Three Pests in a Mess (1945) / Flat Foot Stooges (1938) [VHS]

THE THREE STOOGES [3 episodes] ~ False Alarms (1936) / Three Pests in a Mess (1945) / Flat Foot Stooges (1938) [VHS]
by Del Lord

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Charles Dorety, Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Stanley Blystone
Director: Del Lord
Writer: John Grey
Cinematographer: Benjamin H. Kline
Editor: Charles Hochberg
Producer: Jules White
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 18 minutes
Release Date: 1996-07-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures

VHS Movie Reviews of THE THREE STOOGES [3 episodes] ~ False Alarms (1936) / Three Pests in a Mess (1945) / Flat Foot Stooges (1938) [VHS]

Movie Review: Good '30s; poor '40s flicks
Summary: 3 Stars

A typical Stooges package, with elements of them at their best...and worst. Alot of their "best" is in the earliest offer here, False Alarms from 1936. The boys were on a roll that year; by '37-'38, they had their act down cold - I believe many fans and critics would disagree, but they were second to Laurel & Hardy in quality shorts in the '30s, and quite often *first* as laugh-getters. A fine example is Alarms, a fast-paced comedy, well-scripted, performed, edited. A great performance is by June Gittelson, one of three ladies anxious for a date - she is the least "glamorous" according to Curly and his reactions are quite funny. A nice touch is the less than careful handling of the Chief's new coupe - a mechanic early in the film advises him to take it easy for the first 500 miles - guess what happens?
As in many early comedies there are bits and pieces which do not translate well to present day. In this film, it is sad to watch Curly make a "false alarm" so as to summon his pals to the triple-date arrangement. Probably this should be edited out.
A nice follow-up to this one-reeler came in '39 with Flat Foot Stooges (a typically clever title having nothing to do with the proceedings). Charley Chase directed this entertaining story about the clashing of generations of thought as to firefighting: Chester Conkin does well as the old-timer at the Firehouse who believes in the old-fashioned way: horse-drawn wagons. Dick Curtis is the Sales Rep. with a decidedly crass method of convincing him to consider a motorized vehicle. A fire ensues. There's plenty of real action as the fighters discover that they have been misdirected - the fire is back at the station and the Chief's daughter is caught in the blaze!
Three Pests In A Mess from '45 has its' moments in the first half, as the Stooges try to peddle a new invention to no avail then get the attention of sultry Christine McIntyre who thinks they have won the Sweepstakes. When she realizes that Curly isn't exactly wealthy, the Stooges flee into an office where a mannequin stands. They believe that they accidently have killed a person and hysterically try to remove the "body", winding up at a cemetary.
This is a disjointed and depressing episode; it's unusual to see so much low lighting to create horror effects in the second half. The sight gags are well-executed but yield nothing mirthful.
Earlier in the review I mentioned that the scene in which Curly sets off a false alarm should have been cut. In this film there is a highly offensive racial remark by the character Larry, so typical of the times, and so obviously wrong for inclusion on this or any commercial package.

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Summary of THE THREE STOOGES [3 episodes] ~ False Alarms (1936) / Three Pests in a Mess (1945) / Flat Foot Stooges (1938) [VHS]

This collection is one of the shorter in the Columbia sets, running at 48 minutes. "False Alarms" (1936 and the 17th short of the Three Stooges series) and "Flat Foot Stooges" (1938, #31) both have the boys as firemen. In the first, there is only a series of incidents rather than a plot, most of which center on the viewer's anticipation of the fire chief's beloved new car getting demolished in one way or another before the last frame. In poor taste today is the fat young woman who is so desperate for a boyfriend she asks Curly to be so inclined, which he definitely is not.

Similarly, in "Flat Foot Stooges" the very realistic crosscutting to two characters unconscious in a burning room tends to take away some of the comedy as an entire town tries to get the ancient fire engine to a fire that happens to be back in the firehouse. The fact that the fire was caused by a duck laying an explosive egg after pecking at gunpowder does help to lighten the situation.

"Three Pests in a Mess" (1945, #83) is one of those two-reel films in which the second sequence is only loosely connected to the first. When some crooks think the Stooges are lottery winners, events lead to Curly's shooting a mannequin, which the Stooges attempt to bury in a graveyard as three men in spooky costumes stalk them. A wonderful sight gag has a terrified Larry actually slide under a closed door. (The VHS box tells you how it was done.) --Frank Behrens

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