Search - The Three Stooges: Lost Comedy Treasures on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 9/18/2023...

A must for people of this era but be warned that the sound and film quality is lousy and the plotlines are not great if others want to check it out.

Three Stooges Out Takes and shorts

Matthew Montchalin | Happy Valley Oregon | 11/18/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I wouldn't have known what this DVD selection was just from reading the description available at Amazon, but being exceptionally curious, and being furthermore motivated by the inexpensive price, I went ahead and bought it to find out just what these "Lost Treasures" were. -They are an assortment of rare Three Stooges clips, shorts, and outtakes from The Three Stooges over the years, including some rare television appearances, the TV pilot that they were in ("Jerks of All Trades"), and a few skits when they appeared as guests in some variety television shows. Not a bad concept, compiling a handful of treasures directly from the vaults, with the result that the public manages to get a sample of certain shorts that hadn't seen the light of day for decades. Anyway, some of these selections were fairly entertaining in your typical Three Stooges sort of way. When the Three Stooges are shown on television, they interact with other guests that happened to be there with them. Some of the clips are unfortunately grainy, and grey or dark, but others are very sharp indeed. I guess you have to be a Three Stooges fan to really get into this DVD, but I still found it enjoyable anyway. I suppose I would have given it a higher mark if I were as obsessed with the Three Stooges as some fans are."

A Gem

MoeHailstone | NY State, USA | 01/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is an amazing find for Three Stooges fans, though only diehards may really be interested. Here is what exactly is on this:

- The Operation sketch (THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW Jan. 11, 1959)
- The Stand In sketch (THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW Feb. 22, 1959)

- Movie trailers: GOLD RAIDERS, STOP! LOOK! AND LAUGH!, HAVE ROCKET WILL TRAVEL, SNOW WHITE & THE THREE STOOGES, THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT, THE OUTLAWS IS COMING

- Commercials: ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION PSA, SIMONIZ CAR WAX, DICKIE WORK PANTS

- Clips from: DANNY THOMAS MEETS THE COMICS, HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE, NERTSERY RHYMES, PLANE NUTS, JERKS OF ALL TRADES, SWING PARADE OF 1946

Things like the footage from the Steve Allen Show, the movie trailers, and the ads from the 1960s are truly rare items. You won't see them elsewhere."

Valuable rarities

Anyechka | Rensselaer, NY United States | 09/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't a disc that most casual or new fans are going to be that interested in, and even the average hardcore fan isn't going to want to watch it over and over again, but there are some fascinating rarities on here, things that you won't find anywhere else. And unlike the other Goodtimes disc, 'Kings of Laughter,' here the clips are actually labeled and given brief descriptions instead of just presented as a clipshow. These clips aren't in chronological order either, but at least now they have IDs instead of leaving the viewer to wonder about or have to independently find out their origins. The clips themselves:

'Hollywood on Parade' (1934), one of their final screen appearances with Ted Healy. This was one in a series of 26 one-reelers made between 1932 and 1936; this one in particular was the ninth installment of the series. Due to erroneous mislabeling by the Criterion syndicate when Paramount sold this series to television in its early days, it has often been incorrectly labeled as having been made in 1932. This also stars Ben Turpin (a prominent silent comedian who had naturally crossed eyes) as a waiter. The most memorable part of this otherwise routine short is the slap-fest among the Stooges, Healy, and Bonnie Bonnell (a woman who often appeared with them on vaudeville and was Ted's girlfriend for a time).

'Plane Nuts' (1933), in which they perform a vaudeville routine with Healy. This one is of high historic interest, giving an idea of what they might have looked like onstage around this time period. A lot of fans are only familiar with them through their shorts and don't really know anything about how successful and funny they were on vaudeville and Broadway in their early days.

'Nertsery Rhymes' (1933), in which the Stooges appear as children who won't go to sleep, with Healy as their irritated slow-burning father, who is trying to get them to sleep by telling them nursery rhymes. He's hoping that he can sneak off with the fairy princess after they go to sleep, but to no avail. This one is also of historic interest because it's shot in two-strip Technicolor. However, I've seen better (and older!) examples of early Technicolor than this. Here the print isn't so good, and everyone's skin has a kind of pasty unnatural look to it (almost like artificial modern-day colorisation). Although given that a lot of these clips were sitting away in vaults, unseen and unrestored, for decades, this shouldn't really strike anyone as a big surprise.

Various clips from 'Swing Parade of 1946,' a film that also had clips featured on 'Kings of Laughter.' They were loaned out to Monogram Studios, a studio that was even more poverty-row than Columbia, for this movie. This looks like a rather funny movie, even if the non-Stooge scenes might be dreadful (as in the case of a number of the features they guest-starred in prior to finally being allowed to have their very own features). It's also worth noting that Curly looks and acts a lot healthier than in the Columbia shorts being made at this same time; it's not really obvious that he was a very sick man and that this would end up being one of his last film performances.

Ample clips from the long-unseen and unaired 1949 tv pilot 'Jerks of All Trades.' This is a pretty funny film, although the studio audience's laughter can be kind of distracting, coupled with the lack of sound effects. The poor A/V quality is also a downer; the print on the 'All Time Favorites' disc is somewhat better, even though one shouldn't expect too much from a film that sat around gathering dust for decades.

A number of movie trailers, for the 1951 feature 'Gold Raiders,' the awful 1960 clip show 'Stop! Look! and Laugh!,' and a number of those awful DeRita-era features. Apart from 'The Three Stooges Meet Hercules,' which I found to be halfway decent and entertaining (in its full length), the other trailers just confirm that these features from this late point in their career were rather embarrassing and geared to children. It's not a good sign when you're laughing because of how bad something is, not because it's actually funny.

A couple of commercials from the DeRita era, for Simoniz car wax, a PSA for the Arthritis Foundation, and Dickey's work clothes.

Three tv appearances, two from 'The Steve Allen Show' in 1959 and the other from 'Danny Thomas Presents' in 1965 (the lattermost in color). These were kind of amusing, and DeRita didn't grate on my nerves as much he usually does, but they just don't appeal to me that much, as humorous as they are (particularly the second one from Steve Allen's show, "The Stand-In"). It's one thing to like or at least appreciate their early shorts where they recreated their vaudeville act, but they were much much younger and fresher then, and still with their original lineup. Having a third Stooge who didn't have much of a personality or screen presence didn't help matters much either. Although perhaps their tv appearances are just an acquired taste, after being so familiar with primarily their shorts as opposed to routines they put on before a live audience.

Overall, this is a worthwhile collection of rarities, just not something that should be high up on one's list of which discs to purchase. Most people have to be fans of a person or group for awhile before feeling ready to take the plunge into more obscure and rare material."