Topic: Violent is the Word for Curly (1938)

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Dirty Work meaning the L&H Dirty Work?  IIRC, there are only four people in that short.  Is there another Dirty Work?

[GreenCanaries]

Dirty Work meaning the L&H Dirty Work?  IIRC, there are only four people in that short.  Is there another Dirty Work?

Yup (4 performers = Stan, Ollie, Adams and Lucien Littlefield - 5 if Jiggs the chimp is counted)

http://www.lordheath.com/index.php?p=1_231_Dirty-Work

Though it would've been interesting if "Jessup, the butler" appeared in the Norm MacDonald movie of the same name!!!

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I'll be damned.  You'd think, hailing from Boston as I do, that I'd remember an actor named Sam Adams, but I swear this is the first time I've heard it.  Like an idiot, I've always just thought of him as Jessup.

[GreenCanaries]

Is the chauffeur Al Haskell (PLAYING THE PONIES)? Thought I spied Claire Rochelle as one of the students (she's at the top right corner with the other students watching the ersatz football game), but I am not 100% sure on that.

Also: when Moe is brooming the car, dusts Larry's bottom and Larry replies, "Thank you!" -- does anyone else think Larry sounds like Jon Lovitz and/or his "Master Thespian" character?

[MrsMorganMorgan]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/33
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030942/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The rest of the shorts rocks the casbah as well.  The super service scene is fantastic, my favorite bits being Curly wrestling with the gas hose, Curly covering up the nude statue on the car, and Curly remaining in his stand up sleep position as the car explodes.  Also love the part where he's roasting on the fire and dives into the water.  I also think I have an old movie crush on Marjorie Deanne.

10/10

I especially like, "WELCOME, welcome to Mildew!"
"We have a lovely student body." "Yours wouldn't be so bad if you took off about 20 pounds!"
"Von Stupid? You must mean him."

And when they tackle the old lady with the ball....I choke every time I see it!!

Hey you guys; can I post a picture? My Mom's high school graduation picture looks so much like Marjorie Deanne. That's why I love this short so much I think.

[metaldams]

I especially like, "WELCOME, welcome to Mildew!"
"We have a lovely student body." "Yours wouldn't be so bad if you took off about 20 pounds!"
"Von Stupid? You must mean him."

And when they tackle the old lady with the ball....I choke every time I see it!!

Hey you guys; can I post a picture? My Mom's high school graduation picture looks so much like Marjorie Deanne. That's why I love this short so much I think.

Yeah, definitely post the picture if you'd like, you never have to ask.  I love old pics in general.

[MrsMorganMorgan]

Yeah, definitely post the picture if you'd like, you never have to ask.  I love old pics in general.

Okay! Once I find it, I might need your help posting it. If I run into problems I'll come back and ask!

[Tony Bensley]

"Swingin' the Alphabet" is a surreal episode. I find it odd that some other voice has been dubbed in in place of Moe's, but we hear Curly plainly enough.

My impression was that Moe's voice was also dubbed, at least at the beginning.  Interestingly, The Three Stooges re-recorded this song with Curly Joe De Rita in 1959.  According to the Wikipedia entry, some new lyrics were used, with the "Curly's A Dope" line omitted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swinging_the_Alphabet

Another interesting tidbit about this short, is that it's the only Three Stooges title in their long history to include the name of one of the Stooges, though I must confess, I've never quite got the VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY title, unless it has to do with the final gag.  Perhaps, Columbia was at a bit of loss for one, and somebody thought it would be a funny name?

Love this one, in any case!  I give it 9/10.

CHEERS! 

[Signor Spumoni]

My impression was that Moe's voice was also dubbed, at least at the beginning.  Interestingly, The Three Stooges re-recorded this song with Curly Joe De Rita in 1959.  According to the Wikipedia entry, some new lyrics were used, with the "Curly's A Dope" line omitted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swinging_the_Alphabet

Another interesting tidbit about this short, is that it's the only Three Stooges title in their long history to include the name of one of the Stooges, though I must confess, I've never quite got the VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY title, unless it has to do with the final gag.  Perhaps, Columbia was at a bit of loss for one, and somebody thought it would be a funny name?

Love this one, in any case!  I give it 9/10.
CHEERS! 

Hello, Tony.  I enjoy your contributions and I'm glad to have you aboard the good ship Moronika.

I remember that record, but I found it disappointing solely because it was Curly Joe, not Curly.  I don't recall anything else about the record.

About the title, "Violent Is the Word for Curly:"  it's a play on a 1936 Paramount film version of a novel titled, "Valiant Is the Word For Carrie." 

[Tony Bensley]

Hello, Tony.  I enjoy your contributions and I'm glad to have you aboard the good ship Moronika.

I remember that record, but I found it disappointing solely because it was Curly Joe, not Curly.  I don't recall anything else about the record.

About the title, "Violent Is the Word for Curly:"  it's a play on a 1936 Paramount film version of a novel titled, "Valiant Is the Word For Carrie."

Thanks, Signor!

It's too bad we never got I'M JUST WILD ABOUT LARRY; SHEMP! SHEMP! SHEMP! (After Silent Comedian Harry Langdon's TRAMP! TRAMP! TRAMP!); or HAPPINESS IS A THING CALLED MOE!  Naming the last after either Joe, of course, would have brought on instant litigation!

CHEERS!

Tony

[Signor Spumoni]

Thanks, Signor!

It's too bad we never got I'M JUST WILD ABOUT LARRY; SHEMP! SHEMP! SHEMP! (After Silent Comedian Harry Langdon's TRAMP! TRAMP! TRAMP!); or HAPPINESS IS A THING CALLED MOE!  Naming the last after either Joe, of course, would have brought on instant litigation!

CHEERS!

Tony

Ah-ha!  Well done, Mr. Bensley.  Anyone who can make jokes like that is someone who already knew about the title to this comedy.  You were asking why the word, violent, was chosen, not about the title itself.  My mistake.
I'm especially fond of the Moe pun you made. 

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of my Top 10 Curly Classics and the high-water mark of the Charley Chase era. "Violent is the Word for Curly" is beautifully constructed from beginning to end — highlighted by the immortal "Swingin' the Alphabet" with plenty of super service along the way.

Economical as always, Columbia used the same gas-station set in Chapter Four of its classic 1938 serial "The Spider's Web" (co-directed by James W. Horne) — except it was called "Dennis Service Station" instead of "Acme." The gas-station segment runs from 101:46 to 104:17.

10/10

[stoogesfan06]

Swingin The Alphabet, I'd say is the best musical number they ever did in the Columbia shorts

[Daddy Dewdrop]

I saw this one a lot when I was younger and may have ranked it higher at some point.  I still think it's a classic and I agree that "Swingin' The Alphabet" is the best song they ever did in a short.  Even after so many viewings, I still love it and rank it at #26 overall.

[J_Kasumi]

So... Violent Is The Word For Curly ...truthfully, I do find this short enjoyable. The opening bit of super service is classic, as a great intro to our beloved boys. The plot goes at a good clip until Mildew, then, it increases in speed, but, in a good way. I always crack up at how the Stooges are treated as if they're super smart intellectuals, which we know they're not. But, it's nice to see them try to be super smart. Swinging the Alphabet is a great and catchy song. I could go on and gush to the nth degree, but, I won't. That would just be overkill. I give it a ninety nine out of ten pokes.

[QuinceHead]

 

So... Violent Is The Word For Curly ...truthfully, I do find this short enjoyable. The opening bit of super service is classic, as a great intro to our beloved boys. The plot goes at a good clip until Mildew, then, it increases in speed, but, in a good way. I always crack up at how the Stooges are treated as if they're super smart intellectuals, which we know they're not. But, it's nice to see them try to be super smart. Swinging the Alphabet is a great and catchy song. I could go on and gush to the nth degree, but, I won't. That would just be overkill. I give it a ninety nine out of ten pokes.

So, in Stooge terms, you’re saying it’s putrid? 

[J_Kasumi]

So, in Stooge terms, you’re saying it’s putrid? 

If putrid means wonderful, then, yes.