Topic: Three Missing Links (1938)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/34
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030868/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

      Our discussion of the greatest body of work in the history of western civilization continues with THREE MISSING LINKS.  We're thirty three shorts in now, so it's a bit hard to believe it took this long for Jules White to get his first on screen directing credit for The Three Stooges.  He would go on to direct more shorts than anybody else, and in the Shemp era, often the same short twice!  Ah, but we're getting ahead of ourselves now.  Jules White has a reputation amongst the intelligentsia of film comedy to be an unsubtle hack who directed dog shorts and Buster Keaton's worst MGM feature (SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK), and if you have the Buster Keaton Columbia DVD set and listen to the commentaries, you'll catch a few disparaging remarks about how something is a "typical Jules White gag."  You know what, that's fine, because in the world of Buster Keaton, perhaps subtlety is a virtue and there are directors better suited than Jules White, but for The Three Stooges, Jules White is the man.

      What's great about watching these in chronological order is that we get to see how Jules directs his first short in the Charley Chase era, an era where we get to pause long enough for alphabet songs, pig Latin explanations, Our Gang like pet washing machines, and actually caring that some old dude would rather see horses than fire engines.  No time for any of that in a Jules short.  The second the boys enter the screen, there's janitorial slapstick all over the place, and when they are no longer janitors, there's still slapstick all over the place.  There's plenty of sped up camerawork, profiles of Monte Collins funny nose (a favorite actor of White's), a crazy medicine doctor, and not one, but two gorillas, one who happens to act like Curly Howard because, well, it is Curly Howard.  This short is a bit childish and cartoonish, but it in a good way.

      As far as the boys themselves, they're all in good form.  Curly doing the chicken with its head cut off routine may be one of his most impressive feats of physical comedy ever.  Check out the way he squirms on the ground, it's fantastic.  I also have fond childhood memories of the tent scene, Larry sleeping while standing and Curly having a childish temper tantrum.  I also love the part when Larry says he knows he doesn't snore because he stayed awake all night and didn't snore.  Great stuff.

8/10

[Final Shemp]

Well since you bring up the whole Buster Keaton/Three Stooges/Jules White point, I'd like to address it since the Keaton fan dismissal of White with the eye rolling description of "the Three Stooges director" was something I was pondering the other day.  First I find Keaton and the Stooges to be apples and oranges, noth very different but a very tasty afternoon snack for what you're craving.  But the dismissal of White solely as "the Three Stooges director" is a misidentification of him.  Jules White wasn't just a Stooges director, he was head of the entire shorts department.  His work work there stemmed far outside of them, but the only reason he's assosiated with them is because their output was so large for the department and they had the syndication package that lasted decades.  When Keaton went to Columbia, he was always going to work under White.  There was just no way around it.

But since White was so high up in the company he was more product savvy than art savvy.  Buster would have liked to have taken as long as needed to get the right shot.  But White was a studio man that needed the shot today, and the humor needed to be as mainstream as possinle to reach the widest possible audience so he used what already worked.  No, the reason Buster and Jules didn't make a great combo was a classic case of artistic integrety vs. financial backing.  It had nothing to do with his history with the Stooges, and I'd wish those who speak ill of White due to the position Keaton was in  would stop associating the Stooges with it.

As for the short itself, it's a pretty good one.  Been a while since I watched it though, but I recall laughing quite a bit.  Always remember Mel Gibson laughing over this one in Lethal Weapon 2 before the actual short, though.

[metaldams]

Well since you bring up the whole Buster Keaton/Three Stooges/Jules White point, I'd like to address it since the Keaton fan dismissal of White with the eye rolling description of "the Three Stooges director" was something I was pondering the other day.  First I find Keaton and the Stooges to be apples and oranges, noth very different but a very tasty afternoon snack for what you're craving.  But the dismissal of White solely as "the Three Stooges director" is a misidentification of him.  Jules White wasn't just a Stooges director, he was head of the entire shorts department.  His work work there stemmed far outside of them, but the only reason he's assosiated with them is because their output was so large for the department and they had the syndication package that lasted decades.  When Keaton went to Columbia, he was always going to work under White.  There was just no way around it.

But since White was so high up in the company he was more product savvy than art savvy.  Buster would have liked to have taken as long as needed to get the right shot.  But White was a studio man that needed the shot today, and the humor needed to be as mainstream as possinle to reach the widest possible audience so he used what already worked.  No, the reason Buster and Jules didn't make a great combo was a classic case of artistic integrety vs. financial backing.  It had nothing to do with his history with the Stooges, and I'd wish those who speak ill of White due to the position Keaton was in  would stop associating the Stooges with it.

As for the short itself, it's a pretty good one.  Been a while since I watched it though, but I recall laughing quite a bit.  Always remember Mel Gibson laughing over this one in Lethal Weapon 2 before the actual short, though.

You make some very good points, and I agree with most of what you said.  The main thing I'd change is the sentence about Buster and Jules not making a great combo.  Not that it's wrong, but I'd substitute the name Jules with the words "the entire Hollywood studio system."  I'm sure Buster wanted to make money, but this is also a guy who would risk his body on a regular basis for his art and was not afraid to shoot what is considered to be the most expensive shot in the silent era, that being the train being destroyed on the burning bridge in THE GENERAL.  Not exactly a Jules White or any other studio director shot, but like you said, apples and oranges.  Buster's independent run just didn't happen for any actor anymore once the studio system really gelled in the talkie era, and I think the bitter Keaton fans just like to use Jules White and Stooge style comedy as a symbol for independent Keaton's antithesis.  Actually, Jimmy Durante, more than The Three Stooges, probably gets even more associated as Keaton's antithesis since they both teamed together, come to think of it.  Whatever, I see room for both the Stooges and Keaton in my life, and the intellectuals who study Keaton films in college aren't likely to come around to the Stooges anyway.  Their loss.

[Final Shemp]

Very true.  I must admit I haven't seen Buster's works with Jimmy Durante due to a lack of interest.  I just don't really unserstand the pairing (though Durante and the Stooges...love the hell out of Meet the Baron).

Though I imagine it's possible they might have made better than I'm imagining.  It took me forever to watch 48 Hours because I couldn't imagin Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy working as a comedy duo.  Then I finally watched the film and said "oh, I get it now."  From what I'm hearing about them though, that's most likely not the case.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Aaah yes, the first Jules White directed short. It's an interesting discussion Metal and Final Shemp were having about Jules and Buster Keaton. The thing that always struck me as funny was how Jules seemed to get knocked by stooge fans, nevermind his work outside of the boys.

Yes, it seems very common to find talk on other message boards & websites where someone is talking smack about Jules as if he never directed any great shorts. But I would go so far as to say he is my favorite stooge director (Del being a close 2nd and then Mr. Bernds).

As for Three Missing Links I would file it under the good category. As much as I would love to praise Jules, I think it took him a few shorts to hit his stride. By the time we get to Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise I think White hit his first homer & of course it only got better from there going into the 1940s.


As for Links, I rate it a solid 7...

[JazzBill]

I never realized this was the first short Jules White directed with the boys but I like it a lot. I believe it to be a step up from the last couple of shorts. I have always been a fan of Jules rock-em sock-em style of comedy, which is why I prefer the Stooges over Keaton and the rest of the comedy acts of that era. Every one here has some good points so I guess it just comes down to a matter or preference. I thought the comedy shorts Keaton did for Columbia were very good. I especially  liked "Pest From The West". I wish he would of made more shorts for Columbia. As for Three Missing Links, I think it is an above average short. I think Monte Collins over the top acting works very well with Jules White. I guess Jules  thought so too because I've heard that Jules thought Monte was very funny.  This short is on my list of favorites and I rate it a solid 9.

[Larrys#1]

Hard to pinpoint why, but this particular episode  doesn't tickle my fancy. The stooges are at their prime and give great performances, but it's hard to say.... it just isn't one of the episodes that I find myself interested in watching as much as the others. I think maybe it's because I found that the whole Curly/Gorilla scene dragged on longer than it should have. That weakened the episode for me. I think also, it's because I didn't really care for the whole stooges in Africa thing. I could be in minority here....

6/10

[Kopfy2013]

A very enjoyable short. I do not remember liking this much in the past. Watching it today I really enjoyed it.

There is good action. A lot of great one-liners.

Nobody mentioned Mirabel.  I would've given her the love candy.

Curly really shines in this short.

From my memory I was giving it a seven as I continued to watch it I was thinking eight the final score will be a nine.

[seven2nds]

Short was o.k.  I am not a big fan of the sped up footage.  Curly in the ape costume was great.  Especially when he was smoking the cigar in front of the tent.

I am enjoying the back and forth re: Jules v Buster, etc.  It's all fascinating.  I am relatively new to the Stooges.  I wasn't a huge fan as a kid.  I only really got into it through AMC.  Most of this info is new to me.  The banter is great. I'm becoming a little Stooges obsessive.

4/10

 

.g.

[BeatleShemp]

Probably one of my favorite scenes in all of the Stooges shorts occurs here. And that would be the setting up the tent gag. When Moe hits Curly in the wrist with the sledgehammer, I fall to the ground rolling every time, because Curly is in complete silence and not screaming. I love it, how he's just grimacing from the pain. And then it gets better when Curly brings the hammer down into the mud, with this big mud explosion in Moe's face. I laugh so stinking hard at that every time. I think the ending has a great twist when Curly eats the love candy and this gorilla who wants to kill him suddenly runs the other way when Curly gets all hot for it. Loved it.

[Paul Pain]

This was a strange short... very strange.  Maybe Jules White was crazy or something...

My favorite part is the lion licking Moe's feet and getting poisoned, making an agonized cry... and then going right back to licking him again.

[mikesointly21]

Does anyone understand the reference when Curly asks the director “You mean they TFFFT?” and the director replies, “Yes they TFFT!”

Was he sneezing or is that a dated joke from the time this short was made?

[joe strubachincoskow]

Does anyone understand the reference when Curly asks the director “You mean they TFFFT?” and the director replies, “Yes they TFFT!”

Was he sneezing or is that a dated joke from the time this short was made?

Actually it was "Pffft". It's a common sound to make to indicate something disappearing or "going up in smoke" or "here today, gone tomorrow".

[mikesointly21]

Ahhhhh ok ... makes more sense now. Thanks!!

[Dr. Mabuse]

A solid Stooge debut for director Jules White, with a shout-out to Monte Collins in one of his best supporting roles. I wasn't a big fan of "Three Missing Links" the first time around, but it gets better with repeated viewings. Curly is a comedic dynamo — even in a gorilla suit.

8/10

[Shemp_Diesel]

I guess the best parts of this one for me happen in the opening minutes when the boys are trying to "quietly" clean the office. Moe's crazed shouts of "Gimme the bucket" always stick out as a highlight.

When the stooges get to Africa, I think the best part may be Jane Hamilton as the leading lady (insert wolf whistle)...

[Daddy Dewdrop]

I used to rank this one a bit higher when I was younger as it seemed to play on TV quite a bit.  Nowadays, it's not quite as funny, but still good enough to rank at #54 overall.