Topic: Three Dark Horses (1952)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/141
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045233/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tkg0Gre_j3w

Watch THREE DARK HORSES in the link above



      It's weeks like this where I wish I stuck to my original idea and did no ratings.  The first eleven minutes of this thing are among the best eleven minutes you will ever find in a Stooge short, the rest is just passable.  The short deserves a ten in a sense because those eleven minutes are incredible, but doesn't deserve a ten because of lack of perfection....eh, whatever.  There's bigger problems in the world, like what to eat for dinner tonight.

      OK, first off, filmed in August 1952 and released in October 1952, this was obviously rush released for the 1952 election.  Most Stooge shorts at this point were released a year or even more after their release.  THREE DARK HORSES harkens back to the innocent days when they put on the front that delegates mattered and nominees were actually determined at the conventions.  These days, they don't even pretend, they already know before the convention begins who the nominee is, even changing rules on the spot just in case....I'll stop now, just want to see if Dunrobin is reading this.   . Also, please read the CRASH GOES THE HASH thread.  I made a comment about Bud Jamison returning.  Well, here is the short he returns, in a sense.  Check out those Hammond Eggar posters, that face is indeed that of Bud Jamison!  Nice tribute.  Also glad I'm reviewing this one in the middle of an election cycle.

      Man, those first eleven minutes, energy galore.  When the boys get their tryout as the canned delegates by doing slapstick routines, it is like watching old masters at work.  The camera just stays still, Moe starts out working Larry's nose, Shemp interjects, Larry looks on in horror as Moe and Shemp do their magic....it's prototypical Stooge mayhem, simple and direct.  At this point, they are very seasoned vets who just can pull this stuff off like its nothing.  Nobody does this eye gouging and slapping stuff better than these guys.  Then we get the scene where they are acting as delegates!  Energy galore again, all three putting on a great show, but special mention must go to Moe, putting in one of the best performances of his career.  Shemp doing head rolls like a kid, Moe speaking of a two hour work week that would make ANY candidate today blush, yes, even that one! 

      Once the parrot in the turkey gag happens for the umpteenth zillionth time in a Stooge short, things become more average.  I'm not offended by the ending, nothing wrong with corrupt lobbyists getting their just deserts, it!'s just that the gag itself is quick and lame, the whole bath tub thing.  Would have loved a higher budget where perhaps some actual footage of the boys on the convention floor would have been welcomed, but that would include extras, lots of them, and this is 1952. 

      A flawed masterpiece in my eyes.  One I hate rating.  But will do so anyway. 

9.5/10

[Shemp_Diesel]

Well, I would say this short seems to follow the same pattern of the earlier Corny Casanovas--that being the pattern of "less is more." Again, we have a short where the supporting players and sets are minimal, but during this time period, the boys usually made the most of the limited settings--as they did in Casanovas.

But--for me--this one is even better than the previously mentioned short. This almost seems like a short of 2 halves--the first half being pure stooge mayhem & the second half--when they get to the hotel--being relatively quieter in comparison. Getting back to the first half, you know what's coming as soon as Kenneth McDonald says "What we need are three guys who are too dumb to think & will do what we tell them. Now where do we find such guys?" Enter Moe, Larry and Shemp--nuff said.

The second half--as I said earlier--relatively quiet compared to what went on in Wick's office, but still hilarious nonetheless. There's a lot of little things that equal big laughs--Shemp's barking foot, Larry overloading his coffee with sugar then pawning it off on Shemp, who has to add a few more drops to make it just right. I also enjoyed the boys going nuts after Moe's nomination speech--particularly that shot of Larry just flinging clothes in the air. Oh, Stewer!

Maybe not so quiet is the rehashing of the great "bird in the turkey" gag, which never fails in getting a great laugh out of me. Don't know if this bird in the turkey was better than the one from Crash Goes the Hash--maybe they are equal, both hilarious & I loved that reaction by Moe after Shemp conks him, and Shemp crashing on the table while the turkey gets away--he went that away.

Overall, I would say we are still in the high cotton, as far as the quality of stooge shorts go.

10 out of 10....

[Paul Pain]

This short is overall funny start to finish.  My only complaint is the ending with the "dunk 'em boys!" because they have essentially murdered their foes, and we are not talking about macabre stupidity like in HALF-SHOT SHOOTERS; we're talking about killing in cold blood those who were going to kill you in cold blood.  /Rant

Continuing, I must say that the opening scenes in the office are some of the best the Stooges have done.  It's fast paced, and they even get one last dig on Bud Jamison (sporting a moustache, might I add) as "that ham... uh, Hammond Egger."  I know that is recorded as a Stooge goof, and if it is it is one that worked to improve the short.

But Abel Lamb Stewer is funnier.  I am sorry, but that drawing is just precious and probably stolen from a political cartoon.

Ben Weldon gets put through as much abuse as any one-off major supporting role ever gets.  The guy loses his hair, his wealth (through corruption), and his life.  The hair probably hurt him the worst, though.  No need to point out that Kenneth MacDonald is excellent, as he always gives a 10 poke performance without fail.

Now metaldams doesn't like the umpteenth use of the turkey gag, but I do because it may just be the funniest rendition of that particular gag.

The bathtub is mentioned as an error because it overflowed and caused chaos on the set, but at the same time I think it was supposed to be left on so that the tub would be full for the execution, but a stagehand made a mistake and forgot to turn in off (my version of the events).

Moe's speeches about being "for the people, by the people, and against the people" and appointing himself "Toastmaster General" are quite refreshing and unique in an era where most every stone has been overturned.  Likewise, it is amazing that the boys are stupid yet at the same time smart enough to know Egger's a crook!

And that conversation Moe and Larry have while cleaning the floor... LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

"What we need are three delegates who are too dumb to think and will do what we tell them. Now, where do we find such guys?" Knock knock-knock knock knock. . . .

If I say out loud that I need three really stupid guys, will the Three Stooges appear?

Gerrronimo, from Rico Porto! Oh, yaktabenifuji atimeni kharonji!

I've always wondered about the water running on off-camera. I always assumed that it was a sound effect dubbed in (for no reason that I could figure out) rather than that there really was running water. I guess the simplest explanation turns out to be the correct one in this case: Shemp really did leave the water running!

Also I did not notice the posthumous appearance of Bud Jamison in this one until it was pointed out to me.

[Paul Pain]

The fake delegate's name, per the transcript, is Geronimo Famarico Porto!  Knowing the Italian language as well as I do, I am inclined to agree with this.

[Lefty]

This is one of my favorite shorts overall.

Ben Welden's last appearance was as a 65-year-old in Egghead's henchman Foo Yung on Batman.  Obviously it was a stunt double in the fights in those episodes.  His toupee getting sucked into the vacuum cleaner was classic.  Of course, how many people, as Shemp did, lift a vacuum cleaner above the head when it's running?

While the bird-in-the-bird thing may have been overused, the Stooges' confetti celebration was a great scene, along with the activity in the bad guys' office, and I did not mind the Stooges drowning the villains as it were.

"I'll make you Secretary of Offense!  And you Secretary of the Inferior!  And I'll be Toastmaster General!"  Well, the first two certainly apply in D.C.

"Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, fellow degenerates -- uh, delegates -- in these sordid and morbid times when our national economy is at stake, and steak is $3 a pound -- ha, ha -- there is a crying need for a man of destiny to step forward.  What this country needs is tax reform and land reform.  Instead, all we get is chloroform.  Shall we continue to remain asleep?"  I never knew what degenerates were until I looked it up after hearing this early on, and what Moe said in 1952 is, unfortunately, true in 2016 except for the steak price.   Abel Lamb Stewer would probably do a better job than any of the pea-brain politicians out there now.

[Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum]

A fun short overall. I don't care for the bird-in-the-turkey gag no matter how it's done (what bird on earth would ever actually do that?), but everything else is good. I don't feel like we're missing anything by not seeing actual "convention" footage. The ending does seem a bit dark, but, hey -- it was definitely self-defense!

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

     I have a hunch that the name Abel Lamb Stewer is a play on words on the name of the actual 1952 Democratic candidate, Adlai E Stevenson.  It's not much of a joke, but I can't see any other reason for such a bizarre name.  Hammond Eggar is better, being a pun on Ham-and-egger, a poor slob who can't afford a steak, and a term later used by Bobby Heenan when he was a wrestling announcer to describe a particularly lousy wrestler or a particularly stupid crowd.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

     And the " Toastmaster General " position was already filled: it was the nickname given to old-time comedian George Jessel, who by that stage in his career was more famous as an amusing keynote speaker at banquets, and just as frequently as a tear-jerking eulogist.

[Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum]

Thanks for the historical context, Chief!

[metaldams]

Ham-andEgger by Bobby Heenan was a childhood staple of mine.  Heenan is beyond hysterical.  So much of the stuff I took seriously in wrestling even in my early adult years I don't get anymore, but what I also realize is I now appreciate even more how great Heenan was.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

He and Monsoon were just flat great together.

[Kopfy2013]

 I like the subject matter, something different.   Some good political lines.

 For the most part good energy for the boys.   I  give it a seven.

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

Classic Shemp era episode that is filled with laughs (especially during the first 6-7 minutes), I wish Ben Welden had gotten to appear in more Stooge foils, I've thought the work he did with the stooges were great and could've easily been a good foil for the boys, I also loved the scene where Moe says "Order! Order!" and Larry responds "I'll take a steak and french fries", then Moe responds by hitting Larry with an object (unsure of what it is), another great scene is where Shemp bites Moe's finger and Moe responds by biting him in the nose!

The ending was a bit creepy but I definitely give this short a 10/10

[Daddy Dewdrop]

After a strong start, things slow down in the second half.  Had they sustained the hilarity, it would have been ranked higher.  As it stands, it ranks #82 on my list.

[Samurai]

Ham-andEgger by Bobby Heenan was a childhood staple of mine.  Heenan is beyond hysterical.  So much of the stuff I took seriously in wrestling even in my early adult years I don't get anymore, but what I also realize is I now appreciate even more how great Heenan was.

Oh, memories. Only my memories predate yours by quite a few years. Enough in fact, that I still remember him as 'Pretty Boy' Bobby Heenan...when he was a mere wrestler on the local Chicago shows.

Also, I can't believe nobody mentioned one of my all-time favorite Stooge lines (as the parrot was crawling into the toikey).

Moe: How much money did Stewer's Manager give you for your vote?
Larry: Fifteen hundred dollars
Moe: Then we can buy a yacht...
Larry: And go fishing
Moe: Yeah, you got worms?
Larry: Yeah, but I'm going anyhow. 😆

[NoahYoung]

      It's weeks like this where I wish I stuck to my original idea and did no ratings.  The first eleven minutes of this thing are among the best eleven minutes you will ever find in a Stooge short, the rest is just passable.  The short deserves a ten in a sense because those eleven minutes are incredible, but doesn't deserve a ten because of lack of perfection....eh, whatever. 

........

   
      Once the parrot in the turkey gag happens for the umpteenth zillionth time in a Stooge short, things become more average.  I'm not offended by the ending, nothing wrong with corrupt lobbyists getting their just deserts, it!'s just that the gag itself is quick and lame, the whole bath tub thing.  Would have loved a higher budget where perhaps some actual footage of the boys on the convention floor would have been welcomed, but that would include extras, lots of them, and this is 1952. 

      A flawed masterpiece in my eyes.  One I hate rating.  But will do so anyway. 

9.5/10

Spot-on review, but since everything from "the parrot in the turkey gag" to the end is below average, 9.5 is too high in my book. I usually don't like to rate, either, since I think the only fair way to rate is to watch all 190 in a fairly short time period, then make the ratings fit a bell curve. An average Stooges short needs to be 5/10. 150 shorts can't be above average -- the average rating of a short needs to be a 5 (add-up the ratings for all the shorts, then divide by 190, and you should get 5) --  you get the picture.

This one is so low-budget, but it give the boys a chance to shine. In the parlance of the industry, it's a bottle episode. Had this been made a few years earlier, there probably would have been a scene on the convention floor, on a set leftover from another Columbia picture, and some stock-footage spliced-in. "The parrot in the turkey gag" is so lame anyway, but it doesn't even fit into the "plot" of this short. It was just a time-filler. A few years later, they would have instead used stock footage from an earlier Stooges short!

In my mind, I always think of this as one of the best Shemps, then when I watch it again, I'm so disappointed by the last half (which is actually less than half.) My favorite Shemps, though, tend to be the ones with a bigger budget "feel", though I doubt the budgets varied much at all from short to short. I've heard those referred to as "mini-movies", so to speak, since they seem bigger and almost "epic" for a short film.

[metaldams]

I really can think of very few Shemp shorts that have a bigger budget feel, relatively speaking.  Maybe the first few because there’s slightly more character actors and extras.  But as an example, THE TOOTH WILL OUT has an outdoor chase scene that I can’t compare to any other Shemp short.  A ton of Curly shorts, but no Shemp shorts.  The Shemp shorts as a whole feel more boxed in.

[NoahYoung]

I really can think of very few Shemp shorts that have a bigger budget feel, relatively speaking.  Maybe the first few because there’s slightly more character actors and extras.  But as an example, THE TOOTH WILL OUT has an outdoor chase scene that I can’t compare to any other Shemp short.  A ton of Curly shorts, but no Shemp shorts.  The Shemp shorts as a whole feel more boxed in.

THREE DARK HORSES really feels like a cheapie. Only 2 other actors in it besides the Stooges. The guy who gets his toupee vacuumed, Ben Welden, was also in the "Wrestling" episode of THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW, as the manager of the restaurant where Costello eats, but can't pay his bill. (Did they steal the "vacuuming toupee" gag from the Marx Bros. in A NIGHT IN CASABLANCA? I think I've seen that gag elsewhere, actually, but don't remember where. Might have been in THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER -- I know Clouseau vacuumed stuff accidentally, don't remember if it was a toupee. He did vacuum a woman's bosom, though! And a parrot! I consider that film a tour de force for Peter Sellers, and is my favorite PINK PANTHER FILM.)

Go to 11:15

The Shemps I'm thinking of that seem more "open" and not cheapies, to name a few:

OUT WEST
SQUAREHEADS OF THE ROUND TABLE
FIDDLERS THREE
HOT SCOTS
MUMMY'S DUMMIES
FUELIN' AROUND
PUNCHY COWPUNCHERS
MERRY MAVERICKS
HULA LA LA

Probably more, but what I'm getting at is they have more interesting settings. THREE DARK HORSES was filmed in basically 2 rooms in an "apartment" set, and probably the 2 rooms were actually the same -- one for the bad guys, one for the Stooges. The fact that it is one of their funniest is a true testament to the talents of the boys. And it actually doesn't go downhill until the last 4 minutes or so.

Those shorts above probably took advantage of standing sets on the Columbia lot -- but it makes me wonder why so often they didn't allow the Stooges to continue to take advantage of sets like that.

Best line in this short, by Moe: "You can't believe all that stuff it's a campaign promise!"

And since the video above is no longer there, here is another one, while it lasts! (Although this seems like an "official" channel.