Product Description
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In this fourth chronological collection of The Three Stooges, we
come to the final years of what has become regardedas the high
point in their career - their Golden Age. These 21 digitally
remastered shorts from the 1943-1945 era contain some of their
best work, including the classic MICRO-PHONIES (1943) which Curly
turns in a brilliant performance as opera diva Senorita
Cucaracha. Also included in this collection are two favorites
that are so outrageous that television programmers are always
hesitant about airing them: THEY STOOGE TO CONGA (1943) features
what is considered one of the most violent scenes ever filmed by
the Three Stooges and THE YOKE'S ON ME (1944) is what we today
refer to as "politically incorrect" in its portrayal of Japanese
soldiers. The Three Stooges Collection Volume 4 is
groundbreaking, hilarious and outrageous -- classic entertainment
from Larry, Moe and Curly at the height of their creativity.
Don't miss out on the fun!
.com
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In "C Goes the Hash," Moe, Larry and Curly offend a snooty
butler's sensibilities. "Such levity," he sniffs. "You remind me
of the Three Stooges." In a huff, Curly replies, "Hey, that's an
insult." No, it's the highest compliment. The best of these 21
shorts (and even the worst have at least some redeeming bits of
silliness) are essential for every Stooge-phile's library. This
chronological collection is book-ended by two key shorts. Violent
is the word for "They Stooge to Conga," jaw-dropping slapstick
porn that features an excruciating bit wherein Moe's head, ear,
and eye are punctured by Curly's spiked shoe. "Micro-Phonies" is
arguably the Stooges' very best short, in which Curly is mistaken
for an operatic singer. The lip-sync renditions of "Voices of
Spring" and the sextet from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor are
moments that even Stooge-haters love. Mistaken identity happens a
lot to the boys. They are mistaken for doctors in "A Gem of a
Jam," reporters in "C Goes the Hash," sweepstakes winners in
"Three Pets in a Mess," and Japanese soldiers in "No Dough,
Boys." In several of these wartime shorts it seems they can't
turn around with uncovering a "rat's nest" of Japanese and German
spies and saboteurs. Perhaps the stereotypical portrayals of the
Axis villains in "They Stooge to Conga," "Back from the Front"
and "Higher Than a Kite" can be forgiven today. However, as great
a performer as African-American character actor Dudley Dickerson
is, his cowardly, put-upon characters in "Conga" and "Gem" are a
little more problematic in our more enlightened times. Other
notable shorts are "Gents Without Cents," in which the Stooges
return to their vaudeville roots with their performance of their
signature "Niagara Falls" sketch ("Slowly I turn…."). "Busy
Buddies," in which Curly enters a cow-milking contest, is another
fan favorite. "Idle Roomers" marks the debut of the versatile
Christine McIntyre, one of the great additions to the Stooges
stock company. "If a Body Meets a Body" marks the first use of
the swing version of the Stooges' "Three Blind Mice" theme. The
first short produced following Curly Howard's mild stroke, it
also marks the beginning of the end for the Curly era. But this
thoughtfully produced collection ensures that the Stooges' legacy
is secure. These shorts, to quote Curly in "C Goes the Hash,"
are mostly "colossal, stupendous, terrific…even superlative."
--Donald Liebenson
.com
Stooges fans may experience a sense of the bittersweet mixed
with their elation over the arrival of Volume 4 in the digitally
remastered Three Stooges Collection; although the new set
continues to present the knucklehead's legendary comedy shorts in
pristine condition and chronological order, it's also the
beginning of the end in regards to the participation of Jerome
"Curly" Howard, who arguably remains the most popular member of
the trio. By 1943-44, a variety of debilitating issues
robbed Howard of his manic energy, which is more than evident in
shorts like "If a Body Meets a Body" and "Micro-Phonies," both
from 1945. Unfortunately, brother Moe Howard's requests to halt
production was nixed by Columbia, which resulted in a further
decline in Curly's that would eventually lead to the
stroke in 1946 that forced his retirement from the team. And
while the knowledge of Howard's issues casts something of
a pall over the set, there are still plenty of laughs to be had
over the course of the two-disc set. Chief among the highlights
is "Dizzy Detectives," which pits the boys against a rampaging
ape man; "Spook Louder," (Stooges vs. mad scientist with death
ray machine; viewers should note that the short features some
World War II-era anti-Japanese sentiment); "Gents Without Cents,"
which features their version of the "Niagara Falls" routine; and
"Dizzy Pilots," which chronicles the Stooges' contributions to
the aviation industry (all disastrous, of course). As with the
previous Collection releases, seven of the 21 shorts included in
the set are making their DVD debuts; the flawless quality of the
DVD presentation, as well as the sheer a of nyuks on hand,
make Volume 4 a must-have for every self-respecting Stooge-phile.
--Paul Gaita