Topic: The Three Stooges Collection Vol. 8, June 1

[xraffle]

Well, the sales figures for Vol. 8 at Amazon is significantly lower than the previous 7. So, I have a hunch that many people chose to pass on this set, which is sad.

[Mike Lipincranz]

Agreed.......Although not the best of the litter, not terribly funny at times and sometimes leaves one shaking your head, but they are still part of the "190" and belong in the group and present closure to all diehard fans requests for a number of years now.........We should thank SONY.

[RICO987]

Well, the sales figures for Vol. 8 at Amazon is significantly lower than the previous 7. So, I have a hunch that many people chose to pass on this set, which is sad.

Too bad sales statistics cannot show us who bought all of the previous 7 volumes and then did not buy Volume 8.  I mean, were there many random purchasers of the first 7 sets where some only bought a few of the volumes or was this entire set mostly purchased by only the die-hards like us on this website?  If the latter is true, I cannot see why you would buy the first 7 and then not buy Volume 8, if only for the sake of having a complete set.   

[falsealarms]

Well, the sales figures for Vol. 8 at Amazon is significantly lower than the previous 7. So, I have a hunch that many people chose to pass on this set, which is sad.

In the days leading up to the release, the sales rank was as high as 30ish and frequently 50-100. Did better than that at DVD Empire, where it was often a top 5 pre-order.

[joshferrell]

Stooge-Adam,  More than likely 99% of the Stooge fans that own volumes 1-7 will also get Volume 8 (sooner or later).... so don't let it bug you to much.



joshferrell,  Are you the same fellow from the "For Elvis CD Collectors Only" site?  You never typed so poorly over there!

Paul Allen  (THEMEMPHISFAN)

yes I am..lol.....I was tired when I typed this.it was in the middle of the night because I had just finished watching the films...then my keyboard started acting up..I have one of those battery operated keyboards so i had to replace the batteries

[Final Shemp]

To me, having a Three Stooges shorts collection without Blunder Boys just seems wrong.  If I had to justify a purchase of volume 8, that short would be it.

Even without that short, a complete collection of Three Stooges shorts was something I knew I could never have said no to.  Besides, I had only seen 5 Joe Besser shorts before, so I was curious about the other 11.  Not much classic material there, but that goose did lay a few golden eggs.  I thought Merry Mix-Up was a delight.

[Paul Allen]

Plainly and simply put, anybody who would buy/collect the first seven volumes, but then not want Volume 8 is a real moron and a much bigger stooge than Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, and Joe ever thought about being!!!!!!!!

Not my opinion.... just fact.


Good day  -  Paul Allen

[metaldams]

I actually disagree with you guys about being upset with people who don't buy volume 8.  Me, personally?  I'm a big Stooge fan, so yeah, I want all the volumes, but other people may be more casual Stooge fans and don't care about Shemp remakes and Joe Besser shorts.  It's their shelf space and money, and we all have the right to pick and choose what we want.

I am into tons of movies and music, but things I'm more casual into I end at certain eras and don't feel the need to be completist.  For the sake of my sanity, I feel it's the proper thing to do.  I only go completist with things I REALLY love. 

[Paul Allen]

metaldams,  I'm not "upset" with people who don't buy Volume 8. I just don't see their logic.

A "casual" Stooge fan would have surely stopped after the 4th or 5th volume. Actually, some "casual" Stooge fans would've been satisfied with just any random one or two volumes.... and that's clearly understandable.
But, for anyone who's been following the progression of these releases and purchasing them for the past couple of years, it seems odd to me that Volume 8 would be avoided by them.
It can't be about the money. Heck, if they've already spent about $140 on 7 volumes, what's another $20 bucks for one more final volume (that contains 3 discs for the same price as the 2-disc sets).

I don't get it.

More than likely, the people that already have volumes 1-7 and are now saying they don't want Volume 8, will eventually change their minds and get it in the future. 


Paul Allen

[metaldams]

metaldams,  I'm not "upset" with people who don't buy Volume 8. I just don't see their logic.

A "casual" Stooge fan would have surely stopped after the 4th or 5th volume. Actually, some "casual" Stooge fans would've been satisfied with just any random one or two volumes.... and that's clearly understandable.
But, for anyone who's been following the progression of these releases and purchasing them for the past couple of years, it seems odd to me that Volume 8 would be avoided by them.
It can't be about the money. Heck, if they've already spent about $140 on 7 volumes, what's another $20 bucks for one more final volume (that contains 3 discs for the same price as the 2-disc sets).

I don't get it.

More than likely, the people that already have volumes 1-7 and are now saying they don't want Volume 8, will eventually change their minds and get it in the future. 


Paul Allen

You're an Elvis fan, so maybe this will let you know where I'm coming from.

I own the 50's, 60's, and 70's box sets.  Nothing more, nothing less.  That's a good chunk of Elvis for all but completists.  That said, I don't own part II of the 60's because I'm not crazy about the movie stuff and I don't own the gospel box because I'm not interested in the gospel stuff.  I realize owning those two sets would complete that particular reissue campaign (out of the zillions there have been), but I choose to stop where I have because I'm 100% satisfied.

While I understand where you're coming from and can see your point, I also understand some people may really not care for Joe Besser and want to spend the 20 or 25 dollars.  Joe B. to them is movie Elvis to me.

[Stooge-Adam]

If I'm a fan of something, I buy every season (warts and all). Now this is something that bugs *me*. I can understand if it's a money issue and certainly people have the right to choose what goes in their collection. It's really just something the irks me. My sister owns seasons 3-5 of "Highlander". That's all she wants. And that drives me crazy, lol. I'm almost tempted to go ahead and buy the rest of the series for her just because it bugs me to look at her shelf and see an incomplete series sitting there.

I'm not telling anybody that they HAVE to buy Volume 8. I'm just lightheartedly saying it bugs me that they don't. There's a part of the Stooge's history that they're happy to ignore on DVD.

[joshferrell]

I just hope that whatever the sales are on this set that it dosn't stop Sony from re-releasing the movies on a decent box set..I know most on here will say that they already have them but I think that they should have updated remastering done to them and maybe the movie set will have commentary on them since we didn't get them on the other sets..
          also we can't forget about the movie trailers,so a movie set would be nice if they did it right heck maybe there are outakes in their vaults somewhere and we can't forget about those unreleased three stooges cartoons from the early 60's,not the new three stooges but the other ones..so there's alot more potential for a movie box set for bonus features..

..also the early Ted Healy shorts would be nice as well..not sure who owns those though..

[Dunrobin]

I just hope that whatever the sales are on this set that it dosn't stop Sony from re-releasing the movies on a decent box set.

I'd be very surprised if Sony didn't anticipate lower sales on volume 8.  Sure, we die hard/completists will buy it, but I can understand fans stopping with vol. 7.  Joe Besser is actually despised as a "third Stooge" by quite a few Three Stooges fans (we used to have flame wars over Besser - anyone remember the opprobrium "diaper man" getting thrown around?) and there's not much to miss with the final Shemp episodes, so I can certainly imagine those fans skipping the last volume.

I can somewhat understand where Paul and Stooge-Adam are coming from, as I had to have the complete set even though I don't really care for a lot of the episodes in it.  It would drive me crazy not to own the whole set, but it doesn't bother me if someone else chooses otherwise.  To each his own.

I'm just psyched that I finally have the complete Columbia canon, in chronological order and in far better quality that I had dreamed possible back when I first started collecting episodes off of TV50 (Detroit) and TBS on a VCR.  I can die happy now.   

Major kudos, Sony, and thank you!    

[7stooges]

I just hope that whatever the sales are on this set that it dosn't stop Sony from re-releasing the movies on a decent box set..I know most on here will say that they already have them but I think that they should have updated remastering done to them and maybe the movie set will have commentary on them since we didn't get them on the other sets..
          also we can't forget about the movie trailers,so a movie set would be nice if they did it right heck maybe there are outakes in their vaults somewhere and we can't forget about those unreleased three stooges cartoons from the early 60's,not the new three stooges but the other ones..so there's alot more potential for a movie box set for bonus features..

..also the early Ted Healy shorts would be nice as well..not sure who owns those though..

The Ted Healy shorts are owned by Warner Brothers. The four availabe shorts from that era were released by the Warner Archives recently on a DVD collection of MGM shorts.

And I'm also hoping that a set of the Curly-Joe features shows up soon, just to round out the Stooge collection (or at least a release of "Have Rocket Will Travel", as that's the only one that hasn't appeared on DVD yet). Back around the time volume 4 was being released, I remember hearing rumors that Sony expressed some interests in releasing the final Stooge volumes with bonus features. They also hoped to eventually release the Shemp, Joe B, and Joe D solos, as well as the Stooges features in which the boys acted as comic relief (i.e. "Rockin' in the Rockies").

[Stooges#1]

I fully understand not everyone wanting volume 8 because of Joe Besser and all those remakes, but for some that was never an option.

Like for example, I live in Australia and have chosen priority International for all 8 volumes. I could not find anything to buy together with volume 8 to spread the shipping out. Volume 8 alone ended up costing me $55, and not even one time during shipping or any time after I got the volume and watched what was on their (namely remakes and Joe Besser) did I question myself over that price. Moe, Larry and Shemp remakes and then Moe and Larry with Joe Besser was worth every last cent.

[Seamus]

Plainly and simply put, anybody who would buy/collect the first seven volumes, but then not want Volume 8 is a real moron and a much bigger stooge than Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, and Joe ever thought about being!!!!!!!!

Not my opinion.... just fact.


Good day  -  Paul Allen

<Raises hand sheepishly>

[FineBari3]

I don't have all of the DVDs yet, but I am going to buy vol. 8 next, just in case enough weren't made. I usually wait until a good sale somewhere, and I don't need to have them the day they were released. As long as I get the remaning two and complete the set, I will be happy.

Sure, I probably won't look at vol. 8 more than once or twice, but I have to complete the set and have all of the shorts in chronological order.

[Seamus]

metaldams,  I'm not "upset" with people who don't buy Volume 8. I just don't see their logic.

A "casual" Stooge fan would have surely stopped after the 4th or 5th volume. Actually, some "casual" Stooge fans would've been satisfied with just any random one or two volumes.... and that's clearly understandable.
But, for anyone who's been following the progression of these releases and purchasing them for the past couple of years, it seems odd to me that Volume 8 would be avoided by them.
It can't be about the money. Heck, if they've already spent about $140 on 7 volumes, what's another $20 bucks for one more final volume (that contains 3 discs for the same price as the 2-disc sets).

I don't get it.

More than likely, the people that already have volumes 1-7 and are now saying they don't want Volume 8, will eventually change their minds and get it in the future. 


Paul Allen

I don't get your "I don't get it" attitude.  Even most of the folks on this site would agree that Volume 8 represents the worst of the Stooges (with the possible exception of the troubled first half of Volume 5), and it's not all down to Bessar either.  The remaining Shemps are mostly cut-and-paste jobs, the writing by this stage has gone from wonderfully silly to downright childish, and even Moe and Larry's acting and timing isn't what it used to be (Moe in particular is overacting terribly by this point).  Volume 7 had enough freshness and genuinely good stuff to justify my purchase.  Volume 8 is another story.  It's a pretty simple rationale.  Metaldams pretty much nailed it with his Elvis analogy. 

I've also noticed that most of the Volume 8 anticipation in this thread revolved around simply "having all the shorts," rather than the merit of the shorts themselves, and that says a lot.  I mean, is owning Volumes 1-7 but passing on Volume 8 really more baffling to you than:

Sure, I probably won't look at vol. 8 more than once or twice, but I have to complete the set and have all of the shorts in chronological order.

I totally respect FineBari's reasoning, but personally, I only buy stuff that I think I'll watch again.  That's kinda the point of owning a DVD, right?  The idea of buying a DVD you're only gonna watch once simply for the sake of having it is a sort of fan psychosis.  We've all got it for some obsession or other.  But calling other people weird because they don't share the insanity is pretty weird itself.

But anyway, this thread is for praising Volume 8, not burying it!  I'm still curious to see what everyone thinks of these shorts.  Carry on!

[Blystone]

This topic boils down to "completism" vs. quality. My personal opinion is that Moe and Larry should have retired the act after Shemp died, but they didn't.

There are very few lousier films in the entire Hollywood canon than the Joe Besser Stooges "horse" shorts. I suppose that Ed Wood's films qualify... and come to think of it, the whole Besser Era was like putting Ed Wood in charge of what was left of the near-dead Columbia Shorts Department.

The other problem with completism is— notice the state of the U.S. economy lately? Maybe, just maybe, you have a little less disposable income than you did a couple of years ago (raise your hands, please, anyone in this condition). I sure have better things to do with what's left of mine than to spend it on a DVD set of the Stooges at their worst.

[FineBari3]

The other problem with completism is— notice the state of the U.S. economy lately? Maybe, just maybe, you have a little less disposable income than you did a couple of years ago (raise your hands, please, anyone in this condition). I sure have better things to do with what's left of mine than to spend it on a DVD set of the Stooges at their worst.

Yup...that's why I wait for sales (usually at Deep Discount), or also when I get gift cards (Big 4-0 soon). 

***UPDATE***

I just ordered this from Deep Discount, which cost me $14.90. They are running a 25% off sale if you use the code 25OFF, plus free shipping.

Amazon has it for $17.49, plus shipping. B&N has it for $21.24, plus shipping.

[Paul Allen]

Okay, okay.  I'm gonna' swallow my pride and admit that Volume 8 is the odd ball of the bunch. For those that don't want it, you've helped me to understand where you're coming from.

I haven't even started to view mine yet, but I'm glad I have it for my collection. It really is too bad that so many remakes were made in the mid-to-late 50's, but I find it fun and interesting to compare the originals with the remakes by watching them back-to-back. Afterall, it is what it is.

1 HOI POLLOI (Curly)1935-08-29  vs.  HALF-WITS HOLIDAY (Curly)1947-01-09  vs.  PIES AND GUYS (Joe)1958-06-12

2 ANTS IN THE PANTRY (Curly)1936-02-06  vs.  PEST MAN WINS (Shemp)1951-12-06   

3 HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND DUMB (Curly)1938-05-20  vs.  MISSED FORTUNE, A (Shemp)1952-01-03   

4 3 DUMB CLUCKS (Curly)1937-04-17  vs.  UP IN DAISY'S PENTHOUSE (Shemp)1953-02-05   

5 A PLUMBING WE WILL GO (Curly)1940-04-19  vs.  VAGABOND LOAFERS (Shemp)1949-10-06  vs.  SCHEMING SCHEMERS (Shemp)1956-10-04

6 FRIGHT NIGHT (Shemp)1947-03-06  vs.  FLING IN THE RING (Shemp)1955-01-06   

7 OUT WEST (Shemp)1947-04-24  vs.  PALS AND GALS (Shemp)1954-06-03   

8 HOLD THAT LION! (Shemp)1947-07-17  vs.  BOOTY AND THE BEAST (Shemp)1953-03-05  vs.  LOOSE LOOT (Shemp)1953-04-02

9 BRIDELESS GROOM (Shemp)1947-09-11  vs.  HUSBANDS BEWARE (Shemp)1956-01-05   

10 SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS (Shemp)1947-10-30  vs.  RIP, SEW, AND STITCH (Shemp)1953-09-03   

11 ALL GUMMED UP (Shemp)1947-12-18  vs.  BUBBLE TROUBLE (Shemp)1953-10-08   

12 SHIVERING SHERLOCKS (Shemp)1948-01-08  vs.  OF CASH AND HASH (Shemp)1955-02-03   

13 PARDON MY CLUTCH (Shemp)1948-02-26  vs.  WHAM-BAM-SLAM! (Shemp)1955-09-01   

14 SQUAREHEADS OF THE ROUND TABLE (Shemp)1948-03-04  vs.  KNUTZY KNIGHTS (Shemp)1954-09-02   

15 FIDDLERS THREE (Shemp)1948-05-06  vs.  MUSTY MUSKETEERS (Shemp)1954-05-13   

16 HOT SCOTS, THE (Shemp)1948-07-08  vs.  SCOTCHED IN SCOTLAND (Shemp)1954-11-04   

17 HEAVENLY DAZE (Shemp)1948-09-02  vs.  BEDLAM IN PARADISE (Shemp)1955-04-14   

18 I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE (Shemp)1948-10-07  vs.  STONE AGE ROMEOS (Shemp)1955-06-02   

19 CRIME ON THEIR HANDS (Shemp)1948-12-09  vs.  HOT ICE (Shemp)1955-10-06   

20 GHOST TALKS, THE (Shemp)1949-02-03  vs.  CREEPS (Shemp)1956-02-02   

21 WHO DONE IT? (Shemp)1949-03-03  vs.  FOR CRIMIN' OUT LOUD (Shemp)1956-05-03   

22 HOKUS POKUS (Shemp)1949-05-05  vs.  FLAGPOLE JITTERS (Shemp)1956-04-05   

23 FUELIN' AROUND (Shemp)1949-07-07  vs.  HOT STUFF (Shemp)1956-09-06   

24 MALICE IN THE PALACE (Shemp)1949-09-01  vs.  RUMPUS IN THE HAREM (Shemp)1956-06-21   

25 DUNKED IN THE DEEP (Shemp)1949-11-03  vs.  COMMOTION ON THE OCEAN (Shemp)1956-11-08   

26 OILY TO BED, OILY TO RISE (Curly)1939-10-06  vs.  OIL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (Joe)1958-12-04   

27 LOVE AT FIRST BITE (Shemp)1950-05-04  vs.  FIFI BLOWS HER TOP (Joe)1958-04-10   

28 PHONY EXPRESS (Curly)1943-11-18  vs.  MERRY MAVERICKS (Shemp)1951-09-06   

29 CORNY CASANOVAS (Shemp)1952-05-01  vs.  RUSTY ROMEOS (Joe)1957-10-17   

30 HE COOKED HIS GOOSE (Shemp)1952-07-03  vs.  TRIPLE CROSSED (Joe)1959-02-02   

31 WHAT'S THE MATADOR? (Curly)1942-04-23  vs.  SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS (Joe)1959-06-04   

32 IDIOTS DELUXE (Curly)1945-07-20  vs.  GUNS A POPPIN! (Joe)1957-06-13


To the buyers of only Volumes 1-7 that I referred to as "morons", I do apologize. But you're still a bunch knuckleheads!!   


Thanks - Paul Allen

[xraffle]

I guess I’m the only one here that finds Vol. 8 somewhat entertaining. While the Shemp remakes were very difficult to sit through and watch, I found some of the Besser shorts surprisingly funny. Like I said, the only painful one to watch was “Sweet and Hot.” While Vol. 8 is the weakest volume of them all, I’m still glad I bought it to complete my collection AND to own the Besser shorts restored and unedited. These will definitely get rewatched. I’m the kind of person that likes to mix up the shorts a bit when I watch the stooges. Sometimes, I may watch all Curly shorts. Sometimes, I may watch a few Curly’s and a few Shemp’s. Or maybe, I may watch a few Curly’s, a couple of Shemp’s and maybe one or two Joe’s. One thing I will not do again is watch all these in chronological order. It gets a bit depressing that way, especially when watching the sick Curly and late/remake Shemp shorts. Mixing up the shorts is the way I like watching the stooges. I can still have a stooge marathon, but they don’t have to be watched in order.

[BeatleShemp]

I have to admit, I started appreciating the Besser shorts.  I find myself enjoying several of them, finding something funny in every short he was in.  And I also think that the writing of the shorts weren't that great, not the Stooges.  They made the best out of what was written for them.  And there were some Joe shorts that were better than the Shemp remakes.

[mankey8284]

I finished watching all of Vol. 8, and it is the weakest one of all of them, but I thought some of the shorts were pretty funny. There were a few that lacked any laughs, but for the most part they were funny. I think that Larry really shines in this collection, he seems to have never lost his humor over the years. It was hard to watch the Shemp remakes, but it was fun to see Shemp one last time. I would tell people to buy it if your a huge Stooges' fan but for people who are just a regular fan, they may not see it in the same light as us huge fans did.

[Paul Allen]

Food for thought about all of the Columbia shorts:  Some of them are so bad that they're GREAT!  That might be the best way to think of (and enjoy) the later Stooges work.

I recently purchased bootleg DVD-R's of Shemp's solo shorts that included "Mr. Noisy". I laughed-out-loud at some of the poor overacting and really LAUGHED-OUT-LOUD at the completely unathletic and uncoordinated actor they used as the baseball player!

I loaned the DVD's to my brother and told him that I know he'll enjoy them because some of them are sooo bad that they're GREAT!  He called me back later.... laughing!  That's what our boys are all about!!  

Let's not over-analyze the "quality" of these shorts. Let's enjoy them for what they are - slapstick, corny, silly, funny, timeless movies... and that's all they were ever meant to be. I'm very pleased to own all 190!  


Thanks - Paul Allen