Topic: We Want Our Mummy (1939)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/37
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032116/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Three shorts in a row, and I'm a bummer to be around.  Not this time my friends.  My version of the classic consecutive run starts later in the year, but WE WANT OUR MUMMY has the feel of that run, no doubt.  Gotta throw in a few little personal notes on this one before continuing.  This short has strong childhood memories for me, and it also has a classic 1930's horror feel to it, though of course Curly is much funnier than Lugosi and Karloff...I think.  Anyway, nostalgia and the fact I'm as much a poindexter on black and white horror films as I am The Three Stooges makes me a bit biased towards this one.

That out of the way, what does this short have that the last few shorts did not?  Energy, tons of energy.  WE WANT OUR MUMMY about as much as any Stooge short really follows the formula of throw as many gags and puns in rapid succession and don't give the audience time to think.  While that style does not always work and can be quite tiresome, I like it here.  Oh, and Curly, Curly friggin Howard, the guy is on fire here.  Now, I don't believe the man drank ten cups of coffee, split a bottle of speed with Lemmy, had five jolt colas, and snorted all of Peru in his nose, not literally mind you, but the way he acts in this short, he may as well done so.  This may be Curly at his all time high strung, and I challenge anybody to find me a short where he's crazier.

Let's see, now's the time for some random parts I like.  An all time favorite is Moe looking at Larry's head through a telescope and acting like he's looking at a wild jungle.  I love James C. Morton telling Bud Jamison the boys death would benefit humanity, I love the mention of the 1938 World Series, which was less than a month before this as shot, and I love Curly swimming in that mirage.  Crazy stuff, man.

I think you guys can tell I like this one.  How about you?

10/10

[Shemp_Diesel]

I always thought this short followed the pattern of most of 1939, that being it's good, not great. I think my strongest memories of this one might be how badly the Family Channel chopped this one up back in the ancient times when they aired the Three Stooges.


And only the stooges could take a taxi from the states all the way to Egypt.   


7 out of 10...

[JazzBill]

I like this short. It has some funny gags in it. The cheap ass desert scenery is pretty funny by itself. I like the World Series gag about the Cubs losing. Not only did they lose that 1938 series but they still haven't won one yet. All in all I call it a slightly above average short and rate it a 71/2.

[Paul Pain]

Shame... One of the few I haven't seen.

[Lefty]

I guess our local channel which showed the Stooges x-number of years ago got the tape from the Family Channel, as it was definitely the worst-edited short of all time, cut down to 7:30. 

Seeing it in full is always a pleasure, as it's a very funny short, and I agree that Curly was top-notch in this one.  "Hey, hey!"  That "mirage" scene was great.

[Paul Pain]

I guess our local channel which showed the Stooges x-number of years ago got the tape from the Family Channel, as it was definitely the worst-edited short of all time, cut down to 7:30. 

Seeing it in full is always a pleasure, as it's a very funny short, and I agree that Curly was top-notch in this one.  "Hey, hey!"  That "mirage" scene was great.

AMC sometimes cuts them down to FIVE minutes.

[Larrys#1]

I'm a little surprised by the number of 7/10 ratings here. I think this is one of the better episodes because the stooges are so full of life and energy, especially Curly. A lot of funny bits here including... Moe looking at Larry's hair through the telescope and thinking that a jungle and octopus are up ahead, the mirage bit, the stooges diving into the tomb, and Curly pretending to be a mummy.

My only complaint was that the ending was a bit abrupt. When the stooges dive into the tomb, they can't find a way out. Then suddenly, out of no where, we see the stooges out of the tunnel and calling a taxi. How did they find the way out all of a sudden?

Overall, still a great episode.

9.5/10

[Bud_Jamison]

Come on guys.  This is 10/10 masterpiece for the reasons Metal and other point out.  I suppose a Universal appreciation adds to this experience but how many here don't have that?  As was said, a crazier performance by Babe?  Where? Jamison & C. Morton 

[metaldams]

 

Come on guys.  This is 10/10 masterpiece for the reasons Metal and other point out.  I suppose a Universal appreciation adds to this experience but how many here don't have that?  As was said, a crazier performance by Babe?  Where? Jamison & C. Morton 

Amen brother.

Speaking of the Universal twist, it's not like at this point there was that much mummy action to parody.  If you think about it, THE MUMMY was made in 1932 and there's really that one scene in the beginning where Karloff's a bandaged mummy.  The rest of the film he's a more earthly, for lack of better term, character.  The whole mummy chasing people around thing didn't really begin until the sequels in the early 40's, so it's not like this film had much to play off of.

[ManiacMan]

It may be the fact that I love classic Horror films but I think is undoubtedly one of the best films The Stooges ever made. Especially love the scene where one of the Gangster's remarks "Boy wasn't he homely" because Curly's reaction was just priceless. Also love that years later, The Stooges made a prequel to this with Shemp except for some reason the King (Vernon Dent in not one of his better performances) was not a midget. Love the sets too in this one. Nobody ever gives credit to some of the wonderful Art Directors/Set Designers at Columbia. They had very little money to work with but they did their jobs quite well.

[TiskaTaskaBaska]

I wrote the best possible post and lost it during the verification process......get rid of that!!!

This one is so full of fun stuff and quotables....

"You take it easy or I won't let you carry it at all!"

"My throat feels like a bale of hay." "Hey hey!!" (with little dance)

"Mirage, mirrage, whatever it is; I'm going swimming!"

The best ever seashore and beach pantomime.

The crocodile flinching when Curly pats him.

The double-water jet spray from Curly's ears accompanied by a very exuberant "WOOP woop woop woop woop!"

Moe as the echo: "Mind your own business!"

"This has been Alie Van Woodwin and his Swinging Bedouins. Do you need money? Borrow on your camel or elephant. No red tape; no cosigners."

I've always enjoyed this one. While it's no Ducking, it's better than some that have poor story lines or bad execution (Saved by the Belle; Flat Footed Stooges). Curly kissing and dropping the Paul Payne guy in the opening scene is awesome....   The scenery is fun and different; the energy exhibited by our boys is great (Curly's backwards tumble into the well is exemplary). All in all, a 9.

[Kopfy2013]

Very good short, thoroughly analyzed by the group. I give it a 9. Story is good. There are many one-liners. Curly's physical comedy is great.

[jwolf6589]

I did not think that this episode was very good.

5/10

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/37
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032116/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Three shorts in a row, and I'm a bummer to be around.  Not this time my friends.  My version of the classic consecutive run starts later in the year, but WE WANT OUR MUMMY has the feel of that run, no doubt.  Gotta throw in a few little personal notes on this one before continuing.  This short has strong childhood memories for me, and it also has a classic 1930's horror feel to it, though of course Curly is much funnier than Lugosi and Karloff...I think.  Anyway, nostalgia and the fact I'm as much a poindexter on black and white horror films as I am The Three Stooges makes me a bit biased towards this one.

That out of the way, what does this short have that the last few shorts did not?  Energy, tons of energy.  WE WANT OUR MUMMY about as much as any Stooge short really follows the formula of throw as many gags and puns in rapid succession and don't give the audience time to think.  While that style does not always work and can be quite tiresome, I like it here.  Oh, and Curly, Curly friggin Howard, the guy is on fire here.  Now, I don't believe the man drank ten cups of coffee, split a bottle of speed with Lemmy, had five jolt colas, and snorted all of Peru in his nose, not literally mind you, but the way he acts in this short, he may as well done so.  This may be Curly at his all time high strung, and I challenge anybody to find me a short where he's crazier.

Let's see, now's the time for some random parts I like.  An all time favorite is Moe looking at Larry's head through a telescope and acting like he's looking at a wild jungle.  I love James C. Morton telling Bud Jamison the boys death would benefit humanity, I love the mention of the 1938 World Series, which was less than a month before this as shot, and I love Curly swimming in that mirage.  Crazy stuff, man.

I think you guys can tell I like this one.  How about you?

[WhyYou]

Might sound strange,but thing I always wondered about w this one is why the opening titles are different from all the other Stooge shorts.Instead of black background and white letters,has white background and black lettering.Aside from that,is pretty good,like nearly all of the "spooky" Stooges shorts.Good storyline,and the boys are in top form.Aside from Bud Jamison though,the supporting cast isnt quite up to snuff.I give it a 9 out of 10.And totally agree about the Family Channel editing of the films.They werent even worth watching on there.Reckon they didnt want to give kids the idea of smashing people on the head with hammers,or of twisting someones nose with a pipe threader.

[BeatleShemp]

This short is pure Curly genius, period.  The Stooges are all great, but watching Curly in his solo moments in this short never gets old.  I love watching him hallucinate and pretend to swim, and then he gets separated from Moe and Larry and even delivers an eye gouge to the mummy.  Then when he's dressed as Rooten Tooten, his silent take leading up to and including the "Ya and I won five bucks!!!" was just hilarious.  Love this short.

[Paul Pain]

I, Paul Pain, the heartthrob of millions and Moronika's resident meteorologist, have finally seen this short.

There is some pretty darned funny stuff here.  Only in the world of the Three Stooges could you take a cab to "Cairo," which in their world is a spot in the desert, not a bustling city of several million.  And who else would be the driver than Eddie Laughton, a man who in many roles fit perfectly into their universe!

The Stooges are always entertaining as detfectives, but what about those wacky "Excelsior!" shoes they're wearing.  Of course they're dimwits, but the action continues.  James C. Morton gives one of the greatest remarks ever uttered about the Stooges with his comments about the boys' death being a blessing to humanity.

The scenes in "Egypt" are a riot.  Curly does fantastic pantomime, we have the boys in a chase scene with murderous villains, and Curly looks absolutely ugly as Queen Hotsy-Totsy.  Curly also gives one of the best yells ever when Moe throws the water jug on his head.  Ted Lorch and Dick Curtis are fantatistic, particularly Dick's comment about the World Series.

Dick Curtis's face when Curly speaks about winning $5 is as good as his reaction to "do you take this collar to be your lawfully wedded harness?".

Alligators, murderers, midget kings, mysterious wells, and cabs that can get to Egypt at a cost  $2,198.55.  Maybe the story begins in Europe?  Otherwise, the boys had to go by amphicar!

10/10

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

Classic stooge short that is full of energy and fast paced, Curly is definitely the star of this short and this is one of his greatest performances, I especially loved the desert scenes where Curly is swimming in the sand and Moe is looking at his telescope right into Larry's hair thinking it was something else, another great scene is Curly being dressed up as a mummy and him and Dick Curtis's character having a brief discussion about the World Series, I find it strange that this was James Morton's last Stooge short he appeared in, he was always a great foil to the boys and wish he'd gotten to appear in many of the early 1940's shorts.

I give this short a 10/10

[metaldams]

About to watch this one, but man, it's been a while.  I make a Lemmy reference, he's passed away since. JazzBill makes a reference to The Cubs still not winning a World Series.  Can't believe this was five years ago.

[Dr. Mabuse]

My introduction to the Three Stooges was in September 1969 on Kansas City station KMBC. I was 5 years old and the film was "We Want Our Mummy" — a total delight and one of my all-time favorites. Watching Moe, Larry and Curly for the first time was truly magic and I couldn't get enough of them.  "The Flintstones," which followed the Stooges on weekday afternoons, paled by comparison.

10/10

[stoogestats]

Do we know what other films might have used this set?

[Daddy Dewdrop]

I have sort of a love/hate relationship with this short.  If I catch it in the proper mood, I rank it among the best, but if I'm not in the mood, I think it's just okay.  I think Curly's manic energy is at its best here, but overall it just doesn't generate the yuks.  I want to place it higher, but #69 is where it's at and where it'll stay (for now).