Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray

The Three Stooges in 3D Blu-ray Review

Nyuk, nyukwatch out!

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, October 30, 2012

The Farrelly Brothers' The Three Stooges proved that old adage that you can't go home again, or at the very least can't attempt to recreate one of the most iconic comedy teams in the entire history of film. The Three Stooges were a staple albeit a B- or even C-level stapleof films for an astounding 25 years, from 1934 to 1959, but perhaps even more importantly in terms of mass market penetration, many of us grew up watching them on television, where their features and (especially) their shorts used to run regularly on weekday afternoon and weekend television. While no one could realistically be expected to adequately recreate the manic charms of the "original" Stooges (in whatever aggregation), there's also no denying that The Three Stooges are something of an acquired taste for many people. The sheerof the Stooges seems to turn some people off, while others (myself included) find them often hysterically funny, even when their bits become labored and repetitive. This new offering from Legend offers colorized and (not to state the obvious) post-converted 3D versions of the four Columbia shorts which fell into the public domain several decades ago and have been regularly released by bargain basement home video labels ever since. The good news is that Legend isa bargain basement level and has treated these shorts with a rather amazing amount of care and 3D feeding. Some will of course lament the colorization, though Legend has a long and rather honorable tradition of not overdoing the often slathered on look of this type of reboot. Few will find fault with the 3D rendering, which is amazingly precise and well done (more about both of these elements in the video section below).The four shorts included on this disc are:This 1936 outing is the only one of the four to feature Curly Howard along with Moe Howard and Larry Fine. It's an often insane little piece about a club dancer named Gail Tempest (Suzanne Kaaren) who has been accused of murdering a guy named Kirk Robin (get it?). There are some great bits scattered throughout this frenetic piece. One of the best has the court bailiff tryingunsuccessfully, of courseto swear Curly in for testifying, something that Curly can't quite achieve since everytime the Judge tells him to take off his hat, he puts it in his right hand, which the bailiff then tells him to raise, resulting in Curly putting his hat back on his head. Yes, it's just plainhumorbut that's what makes it so funny. Later in the short the Stooges, in recreating the night of the murder, perform a little musical interlude which also has some very funny sight gags. There's some surprisingly subtlesubtle being a decidedly relative term in any Stooge outinghumor as well, though. When the defense attorney addresses the jury early in the short and commends them for being such upright, deep thinking citizens, the camera cuts to twelve people who look like they've wandered out of a slightly better dressed version ofThis short stems from 1947 and, like the following three in this collection, presents Shemp Howard along with Moe and Larry. Shemp is the focus and the (literal) fall guy here, playing a voice instructor who is informed his rich Uncle has died, leaving him a sizable inheritance, but one which Shemp can collect only if he is married within 48 hours. That of course sets the Stooges off on a madcap adventure to find Shemp an appropriate spouse. A lot of this short centers around that most noble of instrumentsthe piano. Early in the short Larry is accompanying a "singer" named Miss Dinkelmeyer (Dee Green) as Shemp tries in vain to coax something even remotely resembling something vaguely tonal out of her mouth, and of course Larry suffers several injuries along the way. Later in the absolutely chaotic denouement, a piano is literally torn to shreds as the trio attempts to find a missing wedding ring. This is one of the more consistently violent Stooge shorts, and in fact Shemp evidently had his nose broken in one of the many melées that dot the film. There are also a couple of iconic moments with co-star Emil Sitka, including one gag that Tarantino fans may recall fromThis second 1947 short was released theatrically directly after, and while it's certainly enjoyable on its own merits, it pales somewhat in comparison to the earlier, more insanely frenetic, Stooge outing. The set up of this one is pretty simple, with the boys operating a tailor shop which is about to be repossessed by nefarious note holders who might as well be twirling their mustaches and threatening to reclaim their deed. In the meantime, the Stooges find out there's a bank robber on the lam with a sizable reward on his head, and who of course should wander into the tailor shop, leaving a suit with the combination to a safe containing the loot inside. That sets up the climactic all holds barred finale which leaves the tailor shop in a certain state of disarray. This is "okay" Stooge material, but comes off as somewhat tired and predictable, despite some fantastic sight gags (keep an eye on Shemp trying to iron a pair of pants).I was kind of shocked to be readingthe other day and stumbling across an obituary for Turhan Bey, an actor who was frequently co-starred with the likes of Maria Montez in exotic "Arabian" themed films that seemed to really capture the public's imagination in the forties. This short was produced in 1949, a bit after the Arabian filmic fad had declined, but it has the same sort ofexoticism as the feature films from earlier in the decade, albeit in a wacky and irreverent manner. The boys are running a café known as the Casbah Bah (think about it), when two turbaned gentlemen customers reveal they're after a priceless diamond that is supposedly locked away in the ancient tomb of a certain King Rootintootin, though it's evidently already been taken by another thief. The Stooges then get the wise idea to retrieve the diamond themselves and get the sizable reward money that's being offered. Needless to say, their "disguises" as they attempt to infiltrate the palace where the diamond is supposedly being kept aren't especially brilliant given the Eastern setting of the film. This is an undeniably funny outing for the Stooges filled with a number of great set pieces both in the café and, later, in the palace. Interestingly, this short evidently was set to also feature Curly in the supporting role of the chef, but his contributions were cut prior to release.