In 1961, the Stooges had a problem. It was a GOOD problem. During the late 50s, their popularity took a huge leap, because Columbia had sold many of their old film shorts to TV and they had become standard fare in kids-show blocks across America. My own parents didn't like me watching the Stooges, because they were afraid I'd poke my sister in the eye or hit someone on the head with an anvil. But it was just those kind of antics that made them popular.
But the problem was that Hollywood now saw them as kiddy-show heroes. And nobody wanted to make the kind of shorts that established the Stooges, doing the kind of violent schtick that defined who they were. So they were packaged into several awful movies to appeal to the little people, which were 180 degrees away from the style and content of their classic shorts.
This is a perfect example. What is Stoogey about this movie? Hardly anything. There's a teeny pie fight which isn't much of a fight, since only one guy gets hit. There's an occasional whack or pratfall. But it's as though someone's offstage warning Moe and the gang not to do anything that might make the mommies in the audience uncomfortable. They have to play sweet little "mountebanks" in a subordinate role to a flash-in-the-pan Olympic skater. They are a pale shadow of their real selves.
In the meantime, we get to watch a very lavish fairy tale with mammoth sets, script by the guy who wrote the WIZARD OF OZ film, and direction by one of Hollywood's prime musical directors. If you have little girls who love Disney Princess movies, they might like this. But Stooge fans will snore their way through sappy songs, lengthy skating numbers, and even a lackluster sword fight. Trivia bit: you'll recognize Mel Blanc right away as the voice of the ventriloquist dummy. And one of my favorite 60s character actors, Burt Mustin, has a few good lines in an early scene.
But the problem was that Hollywood now saw them as kiddy-show heroes. And nobody wanted to make the kind of shorts that established the Stooges, doing the kind of violent schtick that defined who they were. So they were packaged into several awful movies to appeal to the little people, which were 180 degrees away from the style and content of their classic shorts.
This is a perfect example. What is Stoogey about this movie? Hardly anything. There's a teeny pie fight which isn't much of a fight, since only one guy gets hit. There's an occasional whack or pratfall. But it's as though someone's offstage warning Moe and the gang not to do anything that might make the mommies in the audience uncomfortable. They have to play sweet little "mountebanks" in a subordinate role to a flash-in-the-pan Olympic skater. They are a pale shadow of their real selves.
In the meantime, we get to watch a very lavish fairy tale with mammoth sets, script by the guy who wrote the WIZARD OF OZ film, and direction by one of Hollywood's prime musical directors. If you have little girls who love Disney Princess movies, they might like this. But Stooge fans will snore their way through sappy songs, lengthy skating numbers, and even a lackluster sword fight. Trivia bit: you'll recognize Mel Blanc right away as the voice of the ventriloquist dummy. And one of my favorite 60s character actors, Burt Mustin, has a few good lines in an early scene.