Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! Gotta Love ‘The Three Stooges Collection: Volume Two’

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 16, 2008

Sometimes, the fans are right. With dozens of video collections of The Three Stooges available over the years, it’s about time for Columbia Pictures to roll out a definitive collection of all of their shorts in chronological order.

Available now is The Three Stooges Collection: Volume Two, 1937-1939. This is the second wave of Stooge shorts on two DVDs. More are to follow in August when Volume Three is released for 1940 through 1942.

Instead of just collecting fan favorites or a sampling of stooge comedies over the years, here’s a chance to check out the films in the order they were released. Some very famous and often-played episodes like 1939’s Three Sappy People (in which the Stooges impersonate famous psychiatrists for a big payday), there are all the films from these years – the good and the bad.

These are the Curly years when the Stooges were in their prime. Their slapstick was fresh and the humor was quick. Whether your favorite is Larry, Curly or Moe (mine, for the record, is Larry), you can revel in these shows. They are remastered and uncut in their original running times (which are 15 to 20 minutes each, often edited down for television broadcast).

So much has been said over the years as to what it would take to revoke your man card. It could be anything from not watching the Super Bowl to not liking the latest Michael Bay action flick. But one of the few definitive male tests is the affinity for The Three Stooges.

The real beauty of these early Stooge episodes is that they don’t care about political correctness. Behind the scenes, Curly was a womanizer, and this trait bleeds through into the short films. The films appeal to men of all ages, but they weren’t kids’ films. There’s booze, babes and brawling, all of which would be shunned for children’s programming of today.

I watched these shorts with my kids, whom I’m priming at a young age to keep their man cards. Slapstick humor is glorified and as long as you are a competent parent who explains that you can’t just poke someone in the eye or run a sharp saw over someone’s bald head, they can be a great bonding experience for fathers and sons.

I’ve seen plenty of Three Stooges shorts in my day, but they made so many with both Curly and Shemp that dozens have slipped through the cracks. I was shocked at how many of the shorts on these discs I hadn’t seen. Watching the chronological Stooges in their early years makes me appreciate Curly even more and see things as if they were brand new.

The only drawback to this two-disc video collection is the complete absence of special features. As awesome as it is to relive the Stooge classics, it would have been nice to have some sort of bonus material. Still, that’s only a slight drawback as nothing could be better than the original Stooge classics on DVD.

The Three Stooges Collection: Volume Two, 1937-1939 is a must have for any Stooge fan. And if you’re not a Stooge fan, you definitely should have your man card revoked.

THE UPSIDE: All the Stooge shorts for two whole years.

THE DOWNSIDE: No special features.

ON THE SIDE: I never realized how hot some of those supporting cast members were back then. Check out the nurses in Calling All Curs or the widow’s daughters in Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (played by the same actresses). Wowza! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

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