The Film:

The DVD:

Available at Amazon for $19.99

Review by Michael Kaminski

There have been few comedies that have made me laugh harder than any typical Three Stooges short. Crude, simplistic maybe, but utterly charming, it is rather amazing to see people still laughing at a trio of numbskulls hitting each other with banana cream pies and slapping each other with lead pipes.

Originating as a vaudeville act in the 1920’s, the comedy team technically made their screen debut in a role in 1930’s feature-length SOUP TO NUTS, but it wasn’t until the short films with Columbia pictures starting in 1934 that they found their niche and their fame with two-reelers involving the three attempting to do some task—usually under precarious newfound employment—and accidentally get mixed up in some kind of villainous plot that sees them unwittingly in over their heads, along the way peppered with sight gags, stunts, vaudevillian banter and a bevy of over-the-top physical abuse utilising anything up to and including dynamite.

Like the Looney Tunes, there’s just something inherently funny about this sort of comic violence, but also like Looney Tunes, there’s more than just rubber hammers, stunt men and trick photography here—there’s a genuine wit in the writing and a genuine charm in the characters of these two-reelers. And, unlike any of the other slapstick comedy teams of this era, the Three Stooges had a higher sense of imagination and fun—their films weren’t confined to the present day, or even the present reality. They could have shenanigans in the times of the pioneers or the old west, or suddenly find themselves face to face with killer gorillas, ancient mummys, bank robbers and mad scientists. That sort of mad-cap “anything goes” approach I think was key to energy and goofy sense of fun that I have always associated with their films.

They were, essentially, the live-action equivalent to Tex Avery’s later animated ’toons, but looking back they also offer something even more amusing: a window into a pivotal era of America, after the Depression but before World War II. Retrospectively, there’s a great charm in seeing three average joes scrounging to make a living in 1930’s USA, with all of its antiquated styles and customs.

Like a wonderful fusion of The Marx Brothers and Looney Tunes, the Three Stooges are perhaps the best representatives of 1930’s comedy, and their two-reelers—especially from this earlier period—are among the cornerstones of the slapstick comedy genre.

The Stooges have had a long and sordid history on video—they’ve often been released, but only in slip-shod presentations, offering a few random shorts, sometimes linked by theme and sometimes not, often with many shorts repeating. While studios like Disney went to their vaults and did wonderful chronological releases of their early treasures, Stooges fans have had to put up with colorization and public domain. But not any more—beginning earlier in the year, Sony/ Columbia finally began the process of releasing every Three Stooges short, chronologically, all of them remastered.

This second volume collects all twenty-four films the trio made between 1937 and 1939, some of them never released on video before—the material here is arguably among their best. While their first years had some gems, here is when the Three Stooges really hit their stride, when the writing became cleverer, the pacing faster and the gags more extreme, and every single ten-to-twenty minute film here is absolute classic comedy. This set also displays the vast diversity of the shorts: Cash and Carry, a stunt-gag extravaganza, Playing the Ponies, more broad in its humor, Back in the Woods, a period-fantasy filled with politically-incorrect cultural stereotypes, We Want Our Mummy, bringing the Stooges to the tombs of Egypt, and Three Missing Links, bringing the Stooges to the jungles of Africa. At over six hours of shorts, there’s not a single dud here.

The Video: All of these classic two-reelers have been remastered—and the result is absolutely stunning. The picture is clear and sharp, with great detail and great contrast levels. This is the best the Stooges have ever looked. Occasional damage or grain crops up in low levels once in a while but this is appropriate to the age of the material. If you want to really scrutinize, I could detect a few instances where the most mild of compression artifacting is visible, but this is absolutely minimal. Overall, the picture quality is first-rate. In fact, it’s so good that a lot of the seams are now visible, like wires and stunt-men.

The Audio: The audio on these is equally impressive. Rich and clear, free from excessive hiss or distortion, the original mono tracks are presented here in the best manner ever heard.

The Extras: My only complaint about these sets is that there are no extras. And that’s a real shame, because there is tons to talk about, from the techniques they used for the gags, the manner in which the movies were made (re-using sets from A-list pictures, etc) to the way their style evolved and the personal history of the players involved. I’m sure Sony could easily find some Three Stooges historians to offer commentary on select episodes, at the very least.

While disappointing to not find supplemental material here, the strength of the collection itself easily outweighs it. There’s just so much material here as it is, and it all looks and sounds fantastic. This is the release Three Stooges fans have been waiting for, and it carries my highest recommendation. For those unfamiliar with the trio, this set offers a great introduction to 1930’s slapstick, and with its unusually low price, it’s hard to stay away. Here’s hoping the third volume is not too long off.