Snow White and the Three Stooges is a conflicted little film. It's a fairy tale, a capitalization on Carol Heiss's (then) new-found fame as an Olympic figure skating champion and a Three Stooges vehicle, all at once. Because it attempts to be all things to everyone it seems odd that it didn't achieve a greater level of success upon it's theatrical release. As with most films facing this predicament, it has earned something of a "cult status" and rightfully so, since it's not without it's charms.
SWAT3S has been regarded as "the red-headed stepchild", if you will, of Three Stooges entertainment. The plot devotes much of it's time in telling the Snow White story rather than focusing on the slapstick comedy of Larry, Curly and Moe, and herein is where a lot of disappointment lay, during it's theatrical run, for those who were eager to see a Three Stooges film in color for the first time. The Three Stooges do get their fair share of screen time, however- even if that screen time is mostly geared towards having them be stand-ins for the seven dwarfs rather than mischief-makers. For those who aren't well versed in Stooges entertainment, or are willing to overlook the lack of traditional Stooges comedy, I suspect this won't cloud your judgement of this delightful film.
Now onto the rest of the cast: Carol Heiss is Snow White, Patricia Medina is the Wicked Queen, Guy Rolfe is Count Oga and Edson Stroll is Prince Charming. The real stand outs here are Medina and Rolfe. As the Queen, Medina revels in the sheer vanity and ruthlessness of her character while Rolfe as Oga acts as a foil to her plotting and is an unscrupulous villain in his own right. Is it any wonder, though, that the villains are always the most fun to watch? Heiss wasn't an actress and one can see that here in her performance as Snow White, but she suffices, and Stroll makes for a dashing, if not particularly noteworthy, prince.
The production design is lavish, colorful and truly befit for a fairy tale. Everything from the costumes to the set designs are enchanting and capture the atmosphere evoked by the tale of Snow White (although there is a certain level of "Disneyfication" going on). The costumes are glorious and a spectacle to behold; on a side note, I much prefer the appearance of this Wicked Queen to Disney's version of her. The sets are magnificent and have that surreal (if somewhat campy and unrealistic) sound-stage look to them that is so iconic of films from the era. We get to see the Queen's castle sitting high atop a snowy mountain and the quaint little home of the dwarfs (virtually a live-action replica of the one seen in Disney's film). Alongside the film's visuals, the soundtrack is appropriately majestic, at times lilting and sentimental and at others chilling and foreboding. And three more things worth mentioning: one is that there are some elaborate action set-pieces, including a suspenseful chase sequence and a decent amount of swashbuckling, lending an adventurous feel to the traditional Snow White story. Another is that you can expect to see Carol Heiss put her figure skating talents to use in several dazzling skating sequences that lend a lovely winter atmosphere to the story's proceedings. And third of all, again showing the aforementioned Disney influence, is a handful of musical sequences performed by Snow White and her prince. I suppose they're meant to act as character development, revealing the inner thoughts of our heroine and hero, and on that level they work. But I suspect some viewers, if not most, would find them tedious to sit through as they slow the story down somewhat.
Snow White and the Three Stooges has become something of a "forgotten" film. Despite a plethora of negative reviews and criticisms, the film remains a favorite of mine since the first time I saw it over a decade ago. If you're looking for a film geared around the Three Stooges then this might not be the film for you, as it's main goal is to tell a fairly accurate, though slightly fractured, version of Snow White. But for fans of fairy tales or vintage Hollywood this just may be worth checking out...
SWAT3S has been regarded as "the red-headed stepchild", if you will, of Three Stooges entertainment. The plot devotes much of it's time in telling the Snow White story rather than focusing on the slapstick comedy of Larry, Curly and Moe, and herein is where a lot of disappointment lay, during it's theatrical run, for those who were eager to see a Three Stooges film in color for the first time. The Three Stooges do get their fair share of screen time, however- even if that screen time is mostly geared towards having them be stand-ins for the seven dwarfs rather than mischief-makers. For those who aren't well versed in Stooges entertainment, or are willing to overlook the lack of traditional Stooges comedy, I suspect this won't cloud your judgement of this delightful film.
Now onto the rest of the cast: Carol Heiss is Snow White, Patricia Medina is the Wicked Queen, Guy Rolfe is Count Oga and Edson Stroll is Prince Charming. The real stand outs here are Medina and Rolfe. As the Queen, Medina revels in the sheer vanity and ruthlessness of her character while Rolfe as Oga acts as a foil to her plotting and is an unscrupulous villain in his own right. Is it any wonder, though, that the villains are always the most fun to watch? Heiss wasn't an actress and one can see that here in her performance as Snow White, but she suffices, and Stroll makes for a dashing, if not particularly noteworthy, prince.
The production design is lavish, colorful and truly befit for a fairy tale. Everything from the costumes to the set designs are enchanting and capture the atmosphere evoked by the tale of Snow White (although there is a certain level of "Disneyfication" going on). The costumes are glorious and a spectacle to behold; on a side note, I much prefer the appearance of this Wicked Queen to Disney's version of her. The sets are magnificent and have that surreal (if somewhat campy and unrealistic) sound-stage look to them that is so iconic of films from the era. We get to see the Queen's castle sitting high atop a snowy mountain and the quaint little home of the dwarfs (virtually a live-action replica of the one seen in Disney's film). Alongside the film's visuals, the soundtrack is appropriately majestic, at times lilting and sentimental and at others chilling and foreboding. And three more things worth mentioning: one is that there are some elaborate action set-pieces, including a suspenseful chase sequence and a decent amount of swashbuckling, lending an adventurous feel to the traditional Snow White story. Another is that you can expect to see Carol Heiss put her figure skating talents to use in several dazzling skating sequences that lend a lovely winter atmosphere to the story's proceedings. And third of all, again showing the aforementioned Disney influence, is a handful of musical sequences performed by Snow White and her prince. I suppose they're meant to act as character development, revealing the inner thoughts of our heroine and hero, and on that level they work. But I suspect some viewers, if not most, would find them tedious to sit through as they slow the story down somewhat.
Snow White and the Three Stooges has become something of a "forgotten" film. Despite a plethora of negative reviews and criticisms, the film remains a favorite of mine since the first time I saw it over a decade ago. If you're looking for a film geared around the Three Stooges then this might not be the film for you, as it's main goal is to tell a fairly accurate, though slightly fractured, version of Snow White. But for fans of fairy tales or vintage Hollywood this just may be worth checking out...