The Enduring popularity of Three Stooges

[BAYLOR]

When I was a kid I used to watch the stooges religiously. Their stock in trade, slapstick and sight gags combined with exaggerated sound effects and props . Much of their of their work was done at Columbia pictures There was Moe . Larry, Curly in the earlier incarnation of the trio Shemp had been with the act in the earliest days when they were managed by Ted Healy but he left left and came back in 1946 when Curly took a stroke . When Shemp died in 1955 he was replaced by Joe Besser who while a good comedian, never quite meshed with the group. Later he was replaced by Joe Derita when they started doing feature films. He stayed with group until the end.

More recently there was the 2012 Three Stooges film which which was a fun film.

Why do you think The stooges remain so popular . Any stooge fans here ?

 

[Brian G Turner]

I think I may have seen some when I was very young, but I really can't remember any impression of them.

How would you rate the 2012 film as an introduction to them? I could be tempted to hire that out for the family.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I have to confess to not being a massive fan. My daughter's not hugely interested either because she loves Laurel and Hardy also when asked can reel off a long list of silent film stars. (I only know Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton)

 

[J Riff]

I know far too much about these guys. Since the fifties they have never left. There are moments, buried in their shorts, that are absolutely brilliant.
Of course, they were short-changed like almost nobody in the history of show biz. For ex. they never once had their own set, in 25 years, and were denied feature films repeatedly.
The timing is so good it's invisible. You have to understand the cheapness of the studio - how the Stooges had to write their own stuff, redo old skits, and risk serious injury. They were injured badly a few times, all still viewable in the actual shorts. Moe falling off that table when the wire broke... he smashed his ribs in, yet got up, delivered his line, slapped Curly and Larry, and passed out.
I was following them closely waaaaay back in the day and they were wonderful giving people in person. They tried to change their act when TV came along, so as to not scare children. They were an adult vaudeville act that made the transition to the modern world. The list of guest stars is impressive, and they all gave stellar performances. The Curly episodes are the most popular, but anything up until Shemp died is considered vintage Stooges.

 

[Michael Colton]

Do they have enduring popularity? They are considered classics, but I wouldn't say they would qualify as 'popular' any longer. We probably have at least three generations over thirteen that have never seen and probably never will see any of them.

 

[BAYLOR]

Do they have enduring popularity? They are considered classics, but I wouldn't say they would qualify as 'popular' any longer. We probably have at least three generations over thirteen that have never seen and probably never will see any of them.

I think their comedy antics do have a timeless quality .

 

[Venusian Broon]

I can't remember them being shown much in the UK to tell you the truth. Even in the 70s when the telly needed all that 30's and 40's stuff to fill in even the tiny schedules that they had. Ones that were regularly screened were Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chaplin (helped I suppose that Stan and Mr Chaplin were both British) and going a bit further back I seem to remember the Beeb showing a great amount of Harold Lloyd.

The Marx brothers, Abbot and Costello, Flash Gordon I remember being on a lot too, but the Stooges...no distinct memories of them unfortunately.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'm far more likely to reference Laurel and Hardy in my comedy career than the Three Stooges or Tommy Cooper. My daughter is eleven and goes for most of the others but shrugged at the Three Stooges. Did they do some black and whites? Think we used to get them in the afternoon on either Channel Four or the Welsh Channels.

 

[J Riff]

They will be around forever and evah, NyukNyuk Nyaaaah!!!!
There's lots of documentaries, take one in. Like I said, they were ripped off, like most people in showbiz in them days. (ahem) Ripped off and abused but dey was troupers. Without the big$ backing that Marxes and others got, they outlasted and outdid them all. You have to dig a bit, into the 250 odd shorts, but the gold is there. I will post a list of suggested viewing, so's you can yuk it up without searching youTube for weeks on end.

 

[BAYLOR]

Early on the stooges were oblivious to their own popularity, Harry Cohn at Columbia kept them that way. He keep them on yearly yearly contracts and consequently was able to get away with paying them little money . The stooges helped boast the box office of columbia films . In this era with internet he, wouldn't been able to get away with any of that.

The short subject format extended their careers far longer. If they had done feature films instead , It's likely their popularity probably would have fizzled completely . Harry Cohn rightly figured out that their type of slapstick worked best in the short format . Soup to Nuts a feature film they did for 20th Century Fox in 1930 wasn't very good. Their type of comedy didn't work well in the longer format.

 

[BAYLOR]

And who could forget the insanity of such Stooge Shorts as Disorder in The Court which is a wonderful send up of court room dramas

 

[J Riff]

I tried, but it is nigh impossible to categorize the Stooges episodes. Some of them have obscure titles, and use perhaps 3 sets, whatever films were on at Columbia at the time.
Still, there are lots of things for people who have never seen them (is that really possible?) -to look for. The guest stars and regular crew are just as good as the boys. Maybe try Punchy Cowpunchers 1950 w/Shemp, a typical western, in which Jock OMaHoney and Christine MacIntyre steal the show.

Then leap back to 1934 and Curly, for Men in Black, a hospital romp. (Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard!)
Impossible to avoid Moe as Hitler (Moronica for Morons!) You Nazty Spy 1940.
Cash and Carry 1937, Mutts to You 1938....
Hopeless. There's too many. Once you are 'on' to the Stooges, watch for the variations in multiple slap, eye-poke, etc. which get more inventive as the years go by. Another thing is animals, some of the best episodes guest star dogs, cats, parrots, monkeys, horses, lions.
Any show that ends with a monkey running amok with a machine-gun will always be okay in my book.

 

[BAYLOR]

We could be getting a sequel to the 2012 FILM.

 

[J Riff]

To start with, Stooges comedy is not 'slapstick' which is like the clown at the circus bit. They were an adult nightclub act, a farce, later a studio act with scripts, stunt doubles and the lot. The physical clobbering was no different than Chaplin, Fields, Marxes, anybody - they were just better at it.
Realistically, The 3 Stooges brand of 'violence' was about as far as it should have gone - it was obviously in fun. The stuff kids watch today is much
much worse, some of it. Kids are inured, they see graphic stuff alla time, if I had brats around I would keep a sharp eye on their viewing habits.
Mind, the Stooges were this way back in the day, they always told live audiences that they should never try their stunts at home. Derspite this, I'm aware of a few dimbulbs who imitated, went around clobbering people or kicking them, and Curly got belted a few times by idjit fans, which is the main reason he wanted out.
I don't see a need for another film, it's too difficult to set Stooges into modern culture, without attaching them to blatant idiot fare like Jersey Shore.

 

[BAYLOR]

To start with, Stooges comedy is not 'slapstick' which is like the clown at the circus bit. They were an adult nightclub act, a farce, later a studio act with scripts, stunt doubles and the lot. The physical clobbering was no different than Chaplin, Fields, Marxes, anybody - they were just better at it.
Realistically, The 3 Stooges brand of 'violence' was about as far as it should have gone - it was obviously in fun. The stuff kids watch today is much
much worse, some of it. Kids are inured, they see graphic stuff alla time, if I had brats around I would keep a sharp eye on their viewing habits.
Mind, the Stooges were this way back in the day, they always told live audiences that they should never try their stunts at home. Derspite this, I'm aware of a few dimbulbs who imitated, went around clobbering people or kicking them, and Curly got belted a few times by idjit fans, which is the main reason he wanted out.
I don't see a need for another film, it's too difficult to set Stooges into modern culture, without attaching them to blatant idiot fare like Jersey Shore.

People are still going to be watching them 100 years from now.

 

[BAYLOR]

A Plumbing We Will Go that one really cracks me up and it never gets old.

 

[AllanR]

You Natzi Spy is full of atrociously great puns.

 

[BAYLOR]

You Natzi Spy is full of atrociously great puns.

And I,ll Never Heil Again. . The Stooges were the first to spoof and make fun of Hitler and the Nazis. Its wonderful satire.

 

[nixie]

I don't remember ever seeing the three stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Norman Wisdom, Harold Lyodd and Charlie Chaplin are the ones I remember most. Albert and Costello, Marx brothers I have vague recollection of.

 

[AllanR]

Albert and Costello

Their "Who's on first" routine is certainly well known.