Available at Amazon.
Woman Haters, directed by Archie Gottler, 1934 (Wiki).
Punch Drunks*, directed by Lou Breslow, 1934 (Wiki).
Men in Black, directed by Raymond McCarey (Wiki).
Three Little Pigskins, directed by Raymond McCarey, 1934 (Wiki).
Horses' Collars, directed by Clyde Bruckman, 1935 (Wiki).
Restless Knights, directed by Charles Lamont, 1935 (Wiki).
Pop Goes the Easel, directed by Del Lord, 1935 (Wiki).
Uncivil Warriors, directed by Del Lord, 1935 (Wiki).
Pardon My Scotch, directed by Del Lord, 1935 (Wiki).
Hoi Polloi, directed by Del Lord, 1935 (Wiki).
Three Little Beers, directed by Del Lord, 1935 Wiki).
* Selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.
We'll be taking a look at the first 11 shorts that the Three Stooges made for Columbia Pictures, and released to DVD in an excellent set.
The earliest Stooges shorts can be fairly awkward, as there are moments that the boys will act somewhat out of character, like during Men in Black, where Larry hits Moe with a hammer, but doesn't get one in return. Woman Haters is a musical short from Columbia's "Musical Novelty" series, sung entirely in rhyme.
There's also the usual slapstick violence that you've come to expect from the Three Stooges, with two notable scenes from different films. During the making of Three Little Pigskins, Moe, Larry and Curly refused to perform a stunt in a scene where they stop to pose for photographers, only to be tackled by much bigger football players. Curly and Larry had already gotten hurt filming earlier scenes, so they didn't want to do this scene. Director McCarey was adamant that the boys do the scene, but lost that battle. Stunt doubles were quickly found, and after filming started, two of them were seriously injured, as were the four photographers.
Later, during filming of Pardon My Scotch, Moe was injured during a stunt involving a table that was supposed to split in half on cue. The table collapsed incorrectly, and after Moe fell, he broke three ribs. He stayed awake long enough to stand up and slap Larry and Curly before fainting. This footage was also used in 1943's Dizzy Detectives, one of many Stooges shorts to feature older vignettes inserted in with the new material.
Look for appearances from Walter Brennan and Lucille Ball (as a blonde) in some of the shorts.
The Three Stooges have long been an acquired taste, so these DVDs won't appeal to everyone. Still, highly recommended.
Disc 2 of this set will be reviewed soon!
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