Topic: Three Little Pirates (1946)

[metaldams]

I was gonna mention that as well. Simply put: Some people are born with an earlier "expiration date" than others, and perhaps Curly was one of those people. Combine that with some bad habits and you have death at age 48. I definitely don't think "high living" was the lone cause of Curly's health problems. A contributing factor, for sure, but not the only reason. Getting back to the "rock star" analogy, we now have countless guys still alive [some, albeit, in body only ] who abused themselves way worse and way longer than Curly [IE Gregg, Keef, Ozzy, Lemmy, etc etc]. Some of these guys have now reached the "seventy" mark, and they're STILL performing!

And as for the studio and their way of handling things, it's VERY easy to look back on something that happened sixty years ago and say "They shoulda/ woulda/ coulda.......", and to pretend like we know everything that went on back then, but the fact is we DONT know everything, and we were not there. To look back now and say for sure what someone should or should not have done is foolish.......

Bum, I agree with everything you say, and you're right, we don't know everything that went down, though I look forward to reading Brent's article. (Gary, the check's in the mail tomorrow).  You are right some bodies can take more than others, though Lemmy is not human, so he's an unfair example.  I share a birthday with the guy (different years, obviously), and I saw him in '98, best concert experience ever.

[Paul Pain]

I think an overlooked aspect of Curly's health is genetic predisposition.  Certainly his way of living helped drive him to an early grave as high living has done to many people famous, infamous and average.  But having a tendency toward, say, hypertension, may express itself in one person but not necessarily in his siblings. 
Also, healthcare was less sophisticated in this period.  Diabetes was all but a death sentence, and cancer was a death sentence.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Curly developed type 2 diabetes even at a young age.  That disease is hard on every organ.  Hypertension, left untreated, is a leading cause of stroke.  And so on.  For Curly, I think it was a combination of overwork, high living and undiagnosed/improperly treated disorders.

Actually, I have read accounts of people having surgery for stomach cancer in the late 19th century.  Treatment options were more limited, but it wasn't necessarily a death sentence.

[Signor Spumoni]

Actually, I have read accounts of people having surgery for stomach cancer in the late 19th century.  Treatment options were more limited, but it wasn't necessarily a death sentence.

Paul, you're right that there was surgery available, or at least attempted, for many years before the era we speak of here.  In fact, I just read a book about early surgery in the 19th century, and I was amazed and astonished at the things which were attempted then.  More of it was successful than I would have guessed (and most of it - - gulp! - - without anesthesia!)  I still believe that cancer was considered, by those who received the diagnoses, a death sentence.  I'm thinking of friends and relations who developed cancer even into the 1960s and '70s, and who were just plain grim about their prospects.  But you're right that there was surgery available in the 1930s-40s.

[Curly Van Dyke]

I get a kick out of Christine's appearing and dissapearing during the Maja routine.
Obviously some bad editing.

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

One of the first Stooge shorts I've ever seen and have always liked this short a lot, I've thought Curly showed more energy and gave one of his best performances during his post-stroke period, Edward Bernds definitely was lucky to catch Curly during one of his up periods where he was able to perform well, this may be Curly's next to last short in order of release date but they did film "Rhythm And Weep" after this short and Curly didn't seem to be too bad in that short.

I really liked Robert Stevens's performance in this short and I wish he had appeared in more shorts with the boys, the only other short I can think of that he appeared in was "Rhythm And Weep".

A couple scenes I really like that seems to get overlooked is the pinball machine game where anyone plays gets knocked out by a large mallet and the scene where Moe disguises himself as a portrait while knocking out the bad guys.

A very good short that I give an 8/10 and it's tied w/"G.I. Wanna Home" as the best Stooge short of 1946.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Curly's last hurrah and easily the best short of 1946 — highlighted by the famous "Maha-Aha" routine. Everyone shines in this enduring classic.

Extra Trivia: The "Red Hot" pinball machine (complete with "Ye Olde Tilt") was made by J.H. Keeney and Company in 1940.

9.5/10

[Curly Van Dyke]

One of my Favorite shorts. Curly is good here but not great- but that's good enough. It's a Funny short.
Vernon is great as the pompous Emperor and the knife throwing and wild fight at Black Louis' are Classic.
I also like the "Jules White" special of the old pirate getting a Blade in the Pelvis and Hobbling Off(Is that Al Thompson?)
Cy Schindell and Joe Palma show up in time for the fight.

[falsealarms]

Something I noticed in this short while watching it again today: Around 4:33, you can see Moe reach up like he's taking out something out of his mouth. Looks like he was taking a tobacco pipe out of his mouth and then he shoved it into the side of pants.

[fayremead]

I think an overlooked aspect of Curly's health is genetic predisposition.  Certainly his way of living helped drive him to an early grave as high living has done to many people famous, infamous and average.  But having a tendency toward, say, hypertension, may express itself in one person but not necessarily in his siblings. 
Also, healthcare was less sophisticated in this period.  Diabetes was all but a death sentence, and cancer was a death sentence.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Curly developed type 2 diabetes even at a young age.  That disease is hard on every organ.  Hypertension, left untreated, is a leading cause of stroke.  And so on.  For Curly, I think it was a combination of overwork, high living and undiagnosed/improperly treated disorders.

Over much of the 20th Century, diabetes was screened and evaluated by testing urine. Not good enough, as we've since learned. Some people don't let sugar spill into their urine until their blood sugar is significantly above a dangerous level. Curly may never have sweetened his water but other accounts about him point to an undiagnosed type 2.