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Movie Maniacs (1936)

metaldams · 41 · 22513

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Offline metaldams

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/13
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027993/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Well, up to this point I'd have to say Del Lord is the best Stooge director, and definitely the director who got the series into a consistent high quality.  The first five shorts he did ranged from very good to classic, and after a slight dip in quality from those shorts with Jack White's ANTS IN THE PANTRY, Del Lord is back with another great effort.

I really can't find much fault with this one, except maybe for one thing.  I may need some of you guys who are not into old Hollywood as much as I am to chip in your opinion on this, but do the jokes in this short seem dated to you?  You see, I like old Hollywood movies, even going back to the silent era, so the pantomime scene where they are using their arms to gesture for the actors in a melodramatic manner is funny.  The joke about Curly and John Barrymore's profile being similar is great, and the whole Gable dialogue, complete with the "Mutiny on the Boxcar" joke, are all hysterical to me.  That said, I have an acquired taste, because today's average movie goer doesn't understand the old melodramatic style that's being parodied, the only Barrymore they know is Drew, and they've probably never seen "Mutiny on the Bounty."  Let's face it, there are probably a lot of Stooge jokes that are dated, and I'm sure plenty go over my head without me realizing it, but as an old movie lover, I can really appreciate this one.

I love the opening scene.  The way the boxcar is decorated with old newspapers is a nice touch, and the intro of the boys in bed together is wonderful.  I love the way Moe and Larry's feet are by Curly's face, a real funny touch. I also enjoy Curly's Barrymore part, and love the fact Larry and Curly get a few moments of slapstick together before Moe breaks things up.  We don't see that often, so that's a little moment I treasure.  The pencil gag is one of my all time favorites.  I love the way the pencils Curly keep pulling out get ridiculously bigger and bigger, as he's trying to make a point to Moe (in vain) that he can write to Santa Claus whenever he wants.  His frustrated reactions with each hit and each pencil getting bigger are priceless.  I also love the kissing scene with those pretty girls, which does a great job at showing how ineffective the boys are with the opposite sex.  "For me, it's a sacrifice."  Amazing to think that scene was considered too risqué and edited from television prints for years.

Overall, another great effort.

9/10
« Last Edit: November 29, 2014, 09:17:46 PM by metaldams »
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

     Well, unfortunately, some of the pop references are going to be dated...this short is 77 years old.  I don't know that there's anything to be regretted, each viewer will get out of it what he or she can.  I'm so old that I saw these things when they first came out on T V, and I still don't know what " kiss me my Caliban " references.  I assume it's a Barrymore movie, and I know Caliban is a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest,  but beyond that the joke is a closed book to me.  There's plenty of other stuff to like - miss one joke, here comes another.


Offline Shemp_Diesel

Yep, Del Lord does it again. As I said last week, 1936 was one of the high water marks for the stooges, not a bad film to be found from that wonderful year. I think Metal covered all the high points from this one, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the job Larry does on Moe's pants, especially when we can see the board hidden inside the pants, lol!  :P


9 out of 10...
Talbot's body is the perfect home for the Monster's brain, which I will add to and subtract from in my experiments.


Offline JazzBill

Everything is working on this little gem. Beginning to end the boys are in top form. A couple of my favorite lines are, "keep on sucking till you do suck seed" and "with me it's a sacrifice". Like metaldams, I don't know why they would edit the kissing scene. A couple sight gags I like are, Curly plucking his eyebrows with the big pliers and Moe slapping Curly, knocking his wig off and Curly catching it on the fly. I think I'm starting to get a crush on Hilda Title. It's a good thing I have large "on top of my favorites list" because this short is there too. I rate it a 9 1/2.   
"When in Chicago call Stockyards 1234, Ask for Ruby".


Offline metaldams

I think I'm starting to get a crush on Hilda Title.

I can assure you you're not the only one.  Her best stuff is in a couple of future shorts, and I definitely plan to pay tribute.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

     Well, unfortunately, some of the pop references are going to be dated...this short is 77 years old.  I don't know that there's anything to be regretted, each viewer will get out of it what he or she can.  I'm so old that I saw these things when they first came out on T V, and I still don't know what " kiss me my Caliban " references.  I assume it's a Barrymore movie, and I know Caliban is a character in Shakespeare's The Tempest,  but beyond that the joke is a closed book to me.  There's plenty of other stuff to like - miss one joke, here comes another.

You make a good point about viewers getting what they can out of it.  I think I have a tendency to over analyze things at times and that sometimes can lead away from enjoyment, something I need to reign in.  Obviously, when it comes to MOVIE MANIACS, there's plenty to enjoy.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

Did a little research on Hilda Title, and she, according to imdb, made only eight film appearances, with six of them being Stooge shorts! One of the two non short appearances was in START CHEERING, so we're talking about a film career linked almost exclusively to The Three Stooges.  Her career ended in 1938, I wonder if it just petered out or if she just started a family and quit? Anyway, a definite cutie.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

      Am I remembering correctly that Mildred Harris, the puppet-actress, was at one point Mrs Charlie Chaplin?


Offline metaldams

      Am I remembering correctly that Mildred Harris, the puppet-actress, was at one point Mrs Charlie Chaplin?

Correct, for a short while when she was a teenager.  She didn't live to be very old, dead at the age of 42.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Kopfy2013



I may need some of you guys who are not into old Hollywood as much as I am to chip in your opinion on this, but do the jokes in this short seem dated to you? 

Metal: Now that you bring it up yes those jokes could seem dated. But that is okay it was a short about movies.  If ones wanted to analyze the shorts they can do research on Barrymore and "Mutiny on the boxcar"

To me this is a very enjoyable and entertaining short. It is not hilarious But it does not need to be. I just want to be entertained and I was.

Note. Eve Reynolds one of them missing players was on this short
Niagara Falls


Offline Dr. Hugo Gansamacher

  • Birdbrain
  • ****
  • "Pleese! You zit!"
If only modern passenger-train cars rode as smoothly on the rails as does the box car in which the Stooges travel, which never even shakes!

It's good to see Bud Jamison in the role of boss again. His character's name this time is "Fuller Rath," though he doesn't seem particularly wrathful. He is certainly less irascible than Vernon Dent's character in Crash Goes the Hash, who bears the name "Fuller Bull." Surely the two fictional names should have been assigned the other way around!

"Carnation Pictures—from Contented Actors": I had vague recollections of the Carnation Milk slogan to which this alludes, but I don't know if I saw it in advertisements as a child (I grew up in Seattle, in the thick of the Carnation Company's commercial territory) or only saw parodic references to it like this one later on. According to Wikipedia, the original slogan dates to 1907.







Offline Dr. Hugo Gansamacher

  • Birdbrain
  • ****
  • "Pleese! You zit!"
Some minute observations:

(1) The sign on the Stooges' box car says "C. M. & St. P. R. R." This seems to be a slightly mangled initialism for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad--the C. M. St. P. & P. R. R.

(2) In the box car, Curly unknowingly spills a container of baking powder into the batter from which he makes a second pancake. The only consequence that this set-up has is that the batter generates a big bubble, which Curly punctures with a fork. In Husbands Beware, Shemp's excessve use of baking powder produces gigantic biscuits that are harder than wood (are there other shorts in which the same setup is used?). You would expect something more to be made of the set-up!

(3) When the Stooges try to demonstrate what they know about kissing, the girl that Curly tries to kiss says, "Oh, Mr. Howard!" There is no way that she could know that his surname is Howard. If she had any idea of his name at all, she would have to think that it was Smith, as the telegram that Moe hands to Mr. Swinehardt refers to "Mr. Frank Smith." I looked in the page on the movie and under "Stooge Goofs" I found this explanation (faulty character codes removed):

Quote
According to BeAStooge from the message board, the original script had the Stooges as staff scriptwriters for the studio. The kissing scene was shot before the film was revamped, and they forgot to change the "Mr. Howard" reference.

By the way, I seem to recall reading somewhere that Jerome Howard was actually quite a chick magnet. I suspect that this is why the two girls who are using the ball washer on the golf course in Three Little Beers never stop smiling while Curly is talking to them.

(4) The irascible German movie director Mr. Swinehardt—surely it is he rather than Mr. Fuller Rath who seems to be the one at Carnation Pictures who is full of wrath—is played by Harry Semels, who figures in my memory mainly as the irascible French landlord in Wee Wee Monsieur. This is his second appearance in a Stooge short, following his first in the immediately preceding Three Little Beers, as the second irascible (or at least irate) Italian groundskeeper ("Why you choppa choppa choppa?").


Offline Shemp_Diesel

I forgot to mention Harry Semels until you brought him up, Dr. Hugo. This is definitely my favorite performance by him in a stooge short, love they way he says "Action" after being irritated by Moe for interrupting his love scene (at last they are doing it right). Probably better though is his line "This is an outrage" from Half Shot Shooters which I'm sure we'll get to later in the week.
Talbot's body is the perfect home for the Monster's brain, which I will add to and subtract from in my experiments.


Offline Kopfy2013

To me the best line was when Moe was trying to resuscitate Curly and asked him for his name so that he can  tell his mother and Curly says "My mother knows my name" .......  Classic.
Niagara Falls


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

I think it's in An Ache In Every Stake (renamed perfectly around here as The Iceman Dumbeth ) that Moe, mixing the cake, goes " dash of baking powder, dash of baking powder, " flings in a good third of a big can, then, with a shrug, dumps in the rest.  The cake comes out so airy, presumably from the baking powder, that Larry deflates it with a fork, and what the Hell, we all know the rest.  Is it fair to say that this is the pinnacle of all the baking powder gags?


Offline Dr. Hugo Gansamacher

  • Birdbrain
  • ****
  • "Pleese! You zit!"
I think it's in An Ache In Every Stake (renamed perfectly around here as The Iceman Dumbeth ) that Moe, mixing the cake, goes " dash of baking powder, dash of baking powder, " flings in a good third of a big can, then, with a shrug, dumps in the rest.  The cake comes out so airy, presumably from the baking powder, that Larry deflates it with a fork, and what the Hell, we all know the rest.  Is it fair to say that this is the pinnacle of all the baking powder gags?
Well, it's not a pinnacle: it's just a transitional peak in the ascent to the big explosion of the gas-filled cake. But thanks for the reminder. 
[pie]


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

The mixing of the cake is the set-up, and the final explosion is the punch-line.  The one couldn't happen without the other.  It is a long time coming, for sure.


Offline Squirrelbait

I really enjoy this one, especially because of 'Swinehart,' and watching Larry and Curly do the scene in the movie.

Highlights:
Curly making breakfast (did you see a wheat cake?)
Larry ironing Moe's pants
The Stooges various attempts to sneak past the gate men at the studio
"If at first you don't succeed - keep on suckin' til you DO suck seed!" (One of my favorite Curly lines ever)
Watching Curly do the 'machine gun' move with his hat
The *taboo* kissing scene that was banned from TV for many years
"SWINE! SWINE!" "Yeah, swine - pig, it's all the same. Swinehart, Pighart, Heartburn who cares?"
Larry and Curly filming their scene for the movie
The ending when they're run out of the studio, and wind up in the lion's den.

If I'm not mistaken, there was also an alternate ending where they would've burned the studio down. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyway, another big hit for the Stooges!
Rating: 8.5/10

If there's no other place around the place, I reckon this must be the place, I reckon.


Offline Dr. Hugo Gansamacher

  • Birdbrain
  • ****
  • "Pleese! You zit!"
"If at first you don't succeed - keep on suckin' til you DO suck seed!" (One of my favorite Curly lines ever)
Surely that line could not be used today without being interpreted as lewd!  :-[



Offline metaldams

Surely that line could not be used today without being interpreted as lewd!  :-[

Y'all just ejaculated a mouthful.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Paul Pain

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There is something about this short... watching the Stooges cause total chaos in Hollywood is perfect because they are the opposite of refined.  Moe's insults in this are at their normal peak levels as he decimates the pride of the director.
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TiskaTaskaBaska

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Offline metaldams

Whoa; this is such a guy's discussion board....

Well, true, I guess.  Sorry if I offended, but if you watch UNCIVIL WARBIRDS, Moe actually does say the "ejaculated," line.  That's what I was referencing, and no matter how many times I hear it, it still doesn't sound right.  I'm sure it will be discussed when we get to that short.
- Doug Sarnecky


TiskaTaskaBaska

  • Guest
Well, true, I guess.  Sorry if I offended, but if you watch UNCIVIL WARBIRDS, Moe actually does say the "ejaculated," line.  That's what I was referencing, and no matter how many times I hear it, it still doesn't sound right.  I'm sure it will be discussed when we get to that short.

No; not offended. I have six older brothers and they taught me to respect all things "MAN"; belching the alphabet, being gassy, Three Stooges, hot rods and horsepower. So I feel right at home, and oddly honored to be in the company of guy nerds who out-nerd me. I will have to check out Uncivil Warriors; just got the Curly/Shemp collection on Saturday!


Offline metaldams

No; not offended. I have six older brothers and they taught me to respect all things "MAN"; belching the alphabet, being gassy, Three Stooges, hot rods and horsepower. So I feel right at home, and oddly honored to be in the company of guy nerds who out-nerd me. I will have to check out Uncivil Warriors; just got the Curly/Shemp collection on Saturday!

I've been out-nerding people my whole life, thank you very much. I actually told a co-worker today I am planning on taking a week off.  She asked if I was going anywhere, and I told her I just plan to stay home and indulge in my nerd hobbies.  My idea of Heaven.

Speaking of guys, my brother was putting my five year old nephew to bed recently.  The kid randomly starts saying, "Wait for it....wait for it" and just blasts out a massive fart.  My brother tells this story like a proud papa.
- Doug Sarnecky