Topic: Which Three Stooges short have you watched the least amount of times?

[QuinceHead]

Hey everyone,

Got another question for ya -- which Three Stooges short have you watched the least amount of times?

For me, it's Women Haters.

I think I've watched it in its entirety maybe two, possibly three, times in my entire life.

I don't know if it's the rhyming, or the fact that the boys aren't playing "themselves," or what, but it's always left me cold, then restless -- I just can't make it through in one sitting! 

After that, I'd have to say it's the majority of the Besser shorts.  I can remember back when I used to watch the Stooges on WSBK, Channel 38 in Boston, whenever the dreaded "Hello, Hello, Hello -- Hello!" would come on, I'd say to the screen, "Goodbye!" and either change the channel or just shut the set off.   

Anyone else care to say a few syllables?  Utter a few adjectives??

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

[12Medbe]

There are a couple

- Sweet and Hot (Joe)
- Beer Barrel Polecats (Curly)
- Hot Stuff (Palma/Shemp)
- Horsing Around (Joe)
- Monkey Businessmen (Curly)
- Outter Space Jitters (Joe)

[benjilbum]

Most of the Besser's, and some of the more obscure later Shemp's. A few of the later Curly's are hard to watch because of his obviously failing health.

[QuinceHead]

Most of the Besser's, and some of the more obscure later Shemp's. A few of the later Curly's are hard to watch because of his obviously failing health.

Well as far as the later Shemp shorts go, technically you've probably watched most of them already because so many of them consist of recycled footage! 

And yeah, you're quite right about the later Curly shorts.  Aside from Micro-Phonies and Three Little Pirates, most of them are painful to watch.

Plus there's the blatant anti-Japanese sentiment of The Yoke's On Me which makes for uneasy viewing now-a-days, but was arguably justified back then, considering that we were at war with Japan after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that they instigated.

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

[benjilbum]

Those two late Curly's are very good. I also like Three Loan Wolves, which I know most of you don't. The Tooth Will Out? I love the part where they sing in their great harmony with the false teeth. But the part with the old man in the dentists chair is (in my opinion) the worst Stooge scene I know of. Distasteful and unfunny. But even Babe Ruth struck out a few times. Otragur-gur.

[Rich Finegan]

I can remember back when I used to watch the Stooges on WSBK, Channel 38 in Boston, whenever the dreaded "Hello, Hello, Hello -- Hello!" would come on, I'd say to the screen, "Goodbye!" and either change the channel or just shut the set off.   

Anyone else care to say a few syllables?  Utter a few adjectives??

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

During what years were you watching The Stooges on WSBK, Channel 38, Boston?
My least-viewed Stooges shorts are still those that Ch. 38 was missing in the 1970's. By the time they finally upgraded their film package in 1977 and acquired all the missing titles and nice new prints of the many damaged ones, I had seen most of the shorts numerous times, but some not at all on Ch. 38.
I know, I could just have my own mini-marathon on video or DVD any time and watch each of these a hundred times just to "catch up" but still as of now, due to Ch. 38 not having them in the 1970's some of my least-seen shorts are:
Back to the Woods
From Nurse to Worse
All the World's a Stooge
They Stooge to Conga
Busy Buddies
Uncicvil War Birds
The Ghost Talks
Rip, Sew and Stitch

[Shemp_Diesel]

Horsing Around, Triple Crossed, Flying Saucer Daffy. Hmmm, I sense a common thread between the shorts I listed, I wonder what it could be.   

 

[benjilbum]

Some of the best memories I have go back to 1975-1976 when I use to come home from work and watch the Boys with my now late brother on WFLD       (ch. 32 Chicago). We'd swill beer and laugh our a***s off. We got to the point where we could quote entire films by memory. I still can with some. Anyway, my point is they use to show 3 every day, and a perfect afternoon would be 2 Curly's and a Shemp. He use to say "sometimes you feel like your going nuts they're so funny"! I felt that a few times.

[QuinceHead]

During what years were you watching The Stooges on WSBK, Channel 38, Boston?

I'd say from 1980 to the early 1990s, Rich.  After I graduated college, things got rather hectic, and I had practically memorized the shorts by that point, having seen them so many times.

I remember religiously watching them from 11:00 am to 12:00 am every Sunday morning, after I got back home from either Raynham's County Place flea market or the Norton Flea Market.

I also was a devotee of the New Year's Eve Marathon that Channel 38 ran every year without fail.

My least-viewed Stooges shorts are still those that Ch. 38 was missing in the 1970's. By the time they finally upgraded their film package in 1977 and acquired all the missing titles and nice new prints of the many damaged ones, I had seen most of the shorts numerous times, but some not at all on Ch. 38.
I know, I could just have my own mini-marathon on video or DVD any time and watch each of these a hundred times just to "catch up" but still as of now, due to Ch. 38 not having them in the 1970's some of my least-seen shorts are:
Back to the Woods
From Nurse to Worse
All the World's a Stooge
They Stooge to Conga
Busy Buddies
Uncicvil War Birds
The Ghost Talks
Rip, Sew and Stitch

I had no idea that Channel 38 at one point was missing shorts from their Stooges runs!    The crummy quality of the shorts, I do remember, though!

Although I seem to remember that Three Little Pirates was one I didn't see very often, even "in rotation"!

Aren't some of the shorts censored nowadays too for political correctness, especially the racial/blackface bits?

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

[stooge1029]

Sweet and Hot. Watched it for the first time when I got volume 8, probably will never watch it again. As for Curly I think Ive only seen Rhythm and Weep twice, I always skip that one.

[BeAStooge]

Aren't some of the shorts censored nowadays too for political correctness, especially the racial/blackface bits?

The only time Columbia issued edited prints for syndication was in 1958, when a few "not suitable for children" cuts were made, e.g., the kissing lesson in MOVIE MANIACS (1936) and the grain alcohol scene in A BIRD IN THE HEAD (1946). These prints remained in general TV circulation into the early '70s.

Since the mid-1970s, Columbia (and Sony) has not censored, cut, or withheld any of the shorts for political correctness.

Any censorship you may have seen was done by, and at the discretion of, the broadcaster, i.e., local station(s), Family Channel, etc.

[archiezappa]

For me, it's "The Three Troubledoers" and "Outer Space Jitters."  When I got the new DVD sets, I had never seen either of those.  I was surprised to know that I had seen every Shemp episode.  I have now seen "Troubledoers" 3 or 4 times.  I've only seen "Outer Space Jitters" once.  I'll probably watch it again, though.

[QuinceHead]

The only time Columbia issued edited prints for syndication was in 1958, when a few "not suitable for children" cuts were made, e.g., the kissing lesson in MOVIE MANIACS (1936) and the grain alcohol scene in A BIRD IN THE HEAD (1946). These prints remained in general TV circulation into the early '70s.

Since the mid-1970s, Columbia (and Sony) has not censored, cut, or withheld any of the shorts for political correctness.

Any censorship you may have seen was done by, and at the discretion of, the broadcaster, i.e., local station(s), Family Channel, etc.

I'm glad to hear that Columbia / Sony does not believe in censorship due to prejudices / mores of the times with regards to the Stooges!

But I'm not surprised to "hear" that broadcasters disagree with this view.

For instance, I've seen shorts (not recently, mind!) where things like blackface gags (and the black baby punchline in Uncivil Warriors) are edited out.

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

[bindu]

During what years were you watching The Stooges on WSBK, Channel 38, Boston?
My least-viewed Stooges shorts are still those that Ch. 38 was missing in the 1970's. By the time they finally upgraded their film package in 1977 and acquired all the missing titles and nice new prints of the many damaged ones, I had seen most of the shorts numerous times, but some not at all on Ch. 38.
Back to the Woods
From Nurse to Worse
All the World's a Stooge
They Stooge to Conga
Busy Buddies
Uncicvil War Birds
The Ghost Talks
Rip, Sew and Stitch

Hi, folks.  My first post.  Didn't really want to join another web forum (they kill a lot of time!), but as a longstanding Stoogemaniac who has been browsing this site for several months now, I finally gave in when I read this thread.
 
I too was a Stooge-viewer in the Boston area from the early 70s on.  I also recall that there were some "missing" shorts in the early days.  I don't think it was until 1980 that I finally saw:
Back to the Woods
From Nurse to Worse
Busy Buddies
Uncivil Warbirds
Fright Night
and probably Rip Sew & Stitch as well.

Stone Age Romeos and Guns-A-Poppin were also late to be checked off my list.
I think I saw Triple-Crossed for the 1st time in 1979, and A Plumbing We Will Go in 1978.
But I'm quite sure that the last two "new" Stooges episodes for me were A Snitch in Time and Blunder Boys.  If WSBK had these films in the days of my youth, I somehow missed ever seeing them.  I finally got VHS copies from a fellow fan sometime in the late 1980s. (And what a pair of films!)

So if the lead-off question was meant in the sense of "What are the films you have seen least because they were unavailable for viewing?" then those would be them!

But if it means, which films would you purposely avoid?.....hmmm.... For starters (literally) I have to agree with the earlier poster who singled out Woman Haters. To me it's a failed "pilot" - it has its moments, but ultimately, it turned out to be a dead end for them. (I much prefer their later misogynistic outing with Shemp, Gypped in the Penthouse.)

In general, though there are many memorable gags and lines, the early Curlys don't interest me as much as, say, those from 1939 to 1945.  Restless Knights is another one I'd take a pass on.  The wrestling scene and the drawn out "clubbing" scene at the end are snoozers for me.  A Pain in the Pullman gets to be a pain with the ongoing JOHNSON! bit.

Of the middle Curlys, I think the two "dog films" - Mutts to You and Calling All Curs - are rather weak.
Of the late Curlys, I really don't enjoy The 3 Troubledoers.  Curly just seems pathetic in this one, and by the same token, his romantic subplot with Christine M. is kind of sad.
 
Shemp being my fave, I can't complain much about the films of his tenure, though I'm not a big Western fan, so things like Punchy Cowpunchers and Merry Mavericks place low on my list.

As for the much-maligned Joe era, I guess it's their relative scarceness that keeps me watching even the sappiest ones!  (I think the space films are especially good.)  But Muscle Up a Little Closer is pretty much a stinker, except for the middle part in the warehouse.  Then there's the short everyone loves to hate: Sweet & Hot - although I think it's worth watching for Moe's psychiatrist shtick alone.  And finally, I'd say that once Greta Thyssen gets all her clothes back on in Sappy Bullfighters, things go downhill fast!

[Hammond Eggar]

I'd have to say it's "A Merry Mix-up," since I've NEVER seen the short.  I became a loyal and diehard Stooges fan back in the 1980s, thanks in-part to WTBS (now just TBS) and KRRT here in San Antonio, Texas.  I was taping the shorts and trying to build a complete collection with all 190 titles.  I know I had, roughly, 90-95% of the shorts produced.  "A Merry Mix-Up" was one of the few I never saw or taped.  I'm still a bit behind on the DVDs.  I'm only up to Volume 6 right now.  As such, I know I've never seen "A Merry Mix-Up" ever, and look forward to correcting that soon.

[WhyYou]

Would have to say "Horsing Around",and its follow up,whose name escapes me.Those were automatic turn offs.Horsing Around ushered in a sad time for the Stooges.Not only was it the beginning of the Joe Besser era,but also of the Stooges sitcom era.Because of Besser's demands,his character,etc.,almost all of the shorts done with him pretty much resembled TV sitcoms,and pretty bad ones at that.Except for some of the remakes,which were a little bit better.Know am in the minority,but there were a fair number of Curly clunkers too.Ones with Shemp were the most consistantly good.

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

There may be shorts with Joe Besser that I have never even seen. I think that the only one of the Besser shorts that I have watched more than once is Sweet and Hot, because it has Moe's wonderful German psychiatrist character in it, from whom I take my alias. 

[Dog Hambone]

Got another question for ya -- which Three Stooges short have you watched the least amount of times?

I mentioned this a few years ago & got ganged up on, but I still don't care much for I'LL NEVER HEIL AGAIN and YOU NAZTY SPY. I usually just skip over them. I understand what they were up to with bashing Hitler (before the USA even got directly involved with WWII), but I just don't find them very funny or entertaining.

Also, SWEET & HOT (sorry Hugo). It just seems like mostly a vehicle to feature the lady singer.   

[shemps#1]

Sweet and Hot was so bad even Besser acknowledged its crappiness.

As for which short I have seen the least, it would probably be some of the "missing 60".

[3DStooge]

Not only did I see "Quiz Whiz" the least amount of times, I've never even watched it in it's entirety! Great to know if it's on this website, those of us with "dial-ups" can watch it! So far only 3 websites with big movie  collections use Realplayer. Why aren't there more?

[Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum]

I guess I'm too recent, and casual, of a Stooges fan to have a good answer to this.

I've seen every short (not necessarily in its unedited entirety) at least once. There may be a handful that I've only seen once, but I couldn't tell you which ones. Some of the later Shemp remakes are the ones I've most likely not bothered to revisit. Plus I'm sure I haven't managed to cover the whole Curly era a second time. It all doesn't have that much to do with which ones I like the least.

I've seen all the Besser shorts several times, because (1) I find that era interesting, and (2) there aren't very many of them!

[xraffle]

Least number of times?? Hmm. It has to be one of the Besser shorts. Probably either Sweet & Hot or Horsing Around.

[Rhinosaurus]

Any of the post-stroke Curly shorts, it makes me sad to think what these shorts could have been if Curly was at full health..

After purchasing Volume 8 I actually enjoy most of the Besser shorts, Moe and Larry really step it up for their age at the time during those shorts.  Also, I don't consider Sweet and Hot a stooge short because it is a musical, sort of like Woman Haters.

[Moron4392]

Hello:

The ones I have watched the least are "The Entire Joe Besser" Era.  Thought they were the least funniest.


Diane Elizabeth Hoekstra
Moron4392

[stoogerascalfan62]

Woman Haters, Three Loan Wolves, Triple Crossed-don't like the way Larry's treated in the latter two.