Curly (An Illustrated Biography of the SuperStooge)
SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES (1961)
Film Pick of the Day
Friday, November 6, 2026
Adaptation of the children's Snow White tale, with an exception... instead of the Seven Dwarves, we have The Three Stooges. Too faithful an adaptation, the Stooges are given little opportunity for 'stoogery," resulting in a sappy, big-budget dud.
Upon the King's death, the Queen (Patricia Medina) takes control of the Kingdom with the help of her wizard aide Count Oga, and imprisons her stepdaughter Snow White. Several years earlier, the Queen arranged for Hordred the Archer (Buddy Baer) to kill the bordering kingdom's Prince Charming, to void his promised betrothal to Snow White. But the Prince was rescued by three travelling medicine show hawkers (Moe, Larry & Curly Joe), and Hordred kept his failure a secret from the Queen. Stricken with amnesia, the Prince was adopted by the Stooges and spent several years travelling with them as ventriloquist and magician, Quatro the Magnificent.
Returning to present-day, the Queen is threatened by Snow White's beauty and orders Hordred to kill her as well, but the archer frees her and tells Snow White to flee the kingdom. She meets the Stooges, and Snow White and Quatro fall in love. During a performance at the castle, the Queen discovers that Charming and Snow White are still alive, and orders the deaths of them and the Stooges. The Stooges escape with the Princess, and thinking that Quatro has been killed, take refuge in a high mountain cabin. But with the help of Oga and his magics, the Queen discovers their hideaway, and plots to kill Snow White herself. Meanwhile, Prince Charming has regained his memory, and organizes the kingdom's citizens into a coup against the Queen and Oga.
Filmed in CinemaScope and TechniColor.
Carol Heiss earned a figure-skating Gold Medal at the 1960 Olympics; the film's ice-skating backdrops were designed to showcase her talents.
Academy Award winner Martin Landau (ED WOOD, TUCKER, television's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) auditioned for the role of Count Oga; that audition footage was included on Fox's "Hidden Hollywood" DVD.
Reknowned voice artist Mel Blanc is the voice of Quinto the puppet. Patricia Medina was married to Joseph Cotten (CITIZEN KANE, NIAGARA).
Walter Lang directed the Stooges once before, in MEET THE BARON (1933 MGM), and went on to become one of Hollywood's greatest musical directors with THE KING & I (1955) among his credits. Personal problems led to a career slide by 1960; although SNOW WHITE was a big-budget project, it was a far cry from the calibre of Lang's prior projects.
Costar Edson Stroll (McHALE'S NAVY) was interviewed in The Three Stooges Journal # 108 (Winter 2003).
Details
Average Rating:   [ 4.38/10 ] 21 votes |
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| Featuring | Moe, Larry and Curly Joe |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Wednesday, June 21, 1961 |
| Studio | 20th Century-Fox |
| Production Type | Feature Film |
| Duration | 107.4 min. |
