Topic: Kook’s Tour (1970)

[metaldams]

      KOOK’S TOUR is the very last bit of film ever The Three Stooges ever did.  At this point, Moe was in his early seventies, Larry in his late sixties and about to have a stroke and Curly Joe was the third Stooge.  They were filming footage for some proposed TV show where the boys would be doing shenanigans in national parks with Moe doing the narrating.  After Larry had his stroke, Norman Maurer edited some footage into a 50 minute mini feature that barely made the home market and was saved in the 90’s for DVD release.  What I see here are the boys coming to grips with age and changing times.

      What saddens me the most about KOOK’S TOUR is the fact the boys almost disavow the slapstick and routines that made them great.  Part of it may be age, part of it may be they don’t want to be a bad influence on kids, i.e. pressure from the heads of the PTA afraid junior will do an eye gouge - exactly what their motives are we’d have to go in a time machine and ask them.  I do know I see the disavowal for The Three Stooges, in 1969, doing that old stuff.  Moe bosses Curly Joe and Larry around, so the latter protest that they’re retired Stooges and Moe can’t boss them around anymore.  No fight from Moe.  Moe is about to do the tried and true warhorse - the arrow points halfway, I don’t know if it’s half empty or half full bit, Larry and Curly Joe stop him saying they don’t do those old routines anymore.  Hate it, hate it, hate it!  If they want to reinvent themselves this late in the game, at least come up with something worthwhile to replace it.  Unfortunately, they failed to do that.  They’re just bickering with each other half the time with no comic payoff and the main theme seems to be Larry can’t catch a fish.  That’s it.

      For a point of comparison, a late in life Buster Keaton made a film for the Canadian government showing off the scenery in Canada the way The Three Stooges show off scenic America here.  It’s called THE RAILRODDER and I highly suggest checking it out on YouTube.  Keaton, whose physical act was difficult for a young man, is pulling off gags true to his character and his brand of comedy and it’s awe inspiring to watch.  No disavowal of the old stuff here, I wish The Three Stooges would have taken note.

      Any positive things about KOOK’S TOUR?  A few.  The scenery is indeed gorgeous.  I do like seeing the boys in their autograph scenes, one with pretty young girls and the other with older ladies who probably remember them from back in the day.  With the former, the age and height difference - the girls are much taller, brought a smile to my face.  Gotta give some props to Curly Joe.  Look at him taking a fall while riding that machine that vacuums the forest.  Check him out getting wet in the lake.  Good for Curly Joe.  I can understand Moe and Larry not being able to do that stuff at this point, but some gouges, slaps and back talk could have been done.  Oh, and tell me Derita in that L.A. Dodgers cap doesn’t look like Tommy Lasorda.

      So yes, KOOK’S TOUR is historically important as the last footage ever of The The Three Stooges.  It’s just a shame they seemed to be artistically in crisis while making it.

[HomokHarcos]

For me this had way too many shots of nature, which for me seemed like padding. I do think there was parent outrage about the violence of their shorts, as they were already toning it down during their features. Which actually brings me to a point I wanted to make before in that I think Jules White was actually the main person responsible for their signature comedy style. The non-Stooge Columbia comedies are similar, more similar than any thing The Three Stooges did before and after they worked for Jules White. This was a disappointing end for one of the greatest comedy groups in history. Maybe if Curly was still with him during this time it would at least be a little more enjoyable.

[GreenCanaries]

Yes, but what are your thoughts on Moose? 

Thanks for this present, 'dams, and a happy and safe 12/25th to you and all of my fellow Moronikans. It's about a half-hour past midnight as I'm replying, doing so as I'm listening to a nice flurry of holiday tunes on FM radio, as is my annual wont.

As for KOOK'S TOUR, it's been a long time since I watched this thing in full, but I know I'm not in any rush to watch it right now, which should tell you my overall feeling about it. I think you and HH did a good job summarizing this and I haven't really much else to add on.

This might be a tad odd, but it kinda rubs me the wrong way when DeRita is the one griping about the Stooge stuff, particularly when he bitches about Moe (harmlessly, might I add) doing the "half empty/half full" routine. Thing is, I feel it makes sense when Larry protests, since he's been Moe's victim for five decades. Perhaps it's because Joseph only had about a fifth of the tenure Moses and Louis had, which gives his moaning a bit of a hollow ring IMO. He just seems over it without having really been through the years of thick and thin. That said, as 'dams states, he does give us a couple good physical moments.

[metaldams]

For me this had way too many shots of nature, which for me seemed like padding. I do think there was parent outrage about the violence of their shorts, as they were already toning it down during their features. Which actually brings me to a point I wanted to make before in that I think Jules White was actually the main person responsible for their signature comedy style. The non-Stooge Columbia comedies are similar, more similar than any thing The Three Stooges did before and after they worked for Jules White. This was a disappointing end for one of the greatest comedy groups in history. Maybe if Curly was still with him during this time it would at least be a little more enjoyable.

I think Ted Healy was most responsible for The Three Stooges style.  A lot of the routines and the whole concept of being a Stooge and taking the slaps and pokes all stemmed from their days with Healy.  Things got refined when they left Healy and Moe became boss.  Also the writers the boys used worked with all the film greats that came before and that’s another big influence.  I got into the silent stuff because of the amounts of times I heard a certain Stooge routine was used in x film.

The Three Stooges came pretty early on in Columbia’s shorts.  I would say if anything, they influenced the Columbia style more than anything else.

[Umbrella Sam]

Here’s my problem with KOOK’S TOUR: they go out of their way to remind us that we’re supposed to be watching the characters of the Three Stooges in their retirement years. I feel that if they had simply just shot the footage of Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe’s travels and not actually tried to make that connection, this could have worked. I get nature documentaries aren’t for everyone, but I honestly do enjoy the outdoors and seeing the scenery is nice. I honestly think this could have been a good backdrop for a retrospective series. Maybe they could have had them reminiscing about how they made some of their old films or other topics like their stage work. Heck, even just talking about what was on their mind would have been interesting because we could have gotten to relate more to their real-life personalities. Instead, we have to deal with watered down gags, a dog that was clearly thrown in for padding, and the constant reminder that what we are watching is The Three Stooges, not the actors who played the Three Stooges. And, yes, by doing it that way, it does draw unfavorable comparisons to the far superior THE RAILRODDER.

[Umbrella Sam]

I think Ted Healy was most responsible for The Three Stooges style.  A lot of the routines and the whole concept of being a Stooge and taking the slaps and pokes all stemmed from their days with Healy.  Things got refined when they left Healy and Moe became boss.  Also the writers the boys used worked with all the film greats that came before and that’s another big influence.  I got into the silent stuff because of the amounts of times I heard a certain Stooge routine was used in x film.

The Three Stooges came pretty early on in Columbia’s shorts.  I would say if anything, they influenced the Columbia style more than anything else.

I think this could make for an interesting debate topic. I agree that Healy was certainly responsible for the foundation of the Stooges style, but watching the early films with him, it’s also clear that there was room for improvement. As someone who loves the Stooges but also acknowledges I’m not nearly as knowledgeable about the subject as most of the people on this forum, I personally think Moe is most responsible for the Stooges style. Yes, I know the directors and writers all definitely played a part in it as well, but from what I’ve read, it seems like Moe was the real leader of the Stooges even in real life. If I’m not mistaken, I believe he also wrote the story for PUNCH DRUNKS, which to me seems like the first time that they really got the right idea for the direction the Stooges wanted to take.

[Shemp_Diesel]

A proposed travelogue series with the Three Stooges, so going in I knew not to have high expectations & given what happened to Larry suffering a stroke, there just seems to a sad, dark cloud hanging over this film. It's somewhat of a treat for us hardcore stooge-o-philes who want to watch everything (or mostly everything), but beyond that, nothing to see here. Go watch Brideless Groom or An Ache in Every Stake would be my recommendation.

2/10

 

[Dr. Mabuse]

A Stooge curio at best — painless and utterly forgettable. "Kook's Tour" is worth seeing once, but I have no interest in revisiting this padded travelogue. Better production values (and a script) might have helped.

3/10

[Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum]

One more complaint to add to all the others: Not only does KOOK'S spend too much time reminding the viewer of the team's history, but it gives a revisionist version of that history.

(1) "50 years"? Moe wasn't even working with Ted Healy yet that long ago. It would have been more accurate -- while still using a nice round number -- to say 40 years, the length of time since the team's first film appearance.

(2) The implication -- particularly by way of the old-looking B&W clips at the beginning -- is that the same 3 guys were always the Stooges.

[Toast5884]

One more complaint to add to all the others: Not only does KOOK'S spend too much time reminding the viewer of the team's history, but it gives a revisionist version of that history.

(1) "50 years"? Moe wasn't even working with Ted Healy yet that long ago. It would have been more accurate -- while still using a nice round number -- to say 40 years, the length of time since the team's first film appearance.

(2) The implication -- particularly by way of the old-looking B&W clips at the beginning -- is that the same 3 guys were always the Stooges.

I wholeheartedly agree. While the montage in the beginning was nice, I didn't like the feeling that they were supposed to represent the entirety of their career. Though Curly Joe was around the same age as Moe and Larry, with all the talk of them retiring and enjoying themselves, there was this feeling I had of "But Curly Joe has only been with them for ten years and they're making it seem like he's been with them longer."

It was nice seeing the Stooges in the last thing they ever did, but beyond that, there's not much to it.

[Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum]

One thing that stands out for me about this film, which I haven't seen mentioned here yet, is this: The poor picture and sound quality of the version that's available (which, apparently, was sourced from an old 8mm copy). The sound is tinny as anything. The colors look faded and washed out; in particular, there doesn't seem to be any actual green (among possible other colors) in the whole thing.

[QuinceHead]

One thing that stands out for me about this film, which I haven't seen mentioned here yet, is this: The poor picture and sound quality of the version that's available (which, apparently, was sourced from an old 8mm copy). The sound is tinny as anything. The colors look faded and washed out; in particular, there doesn't seem to be any actual green (among possible other colors) in the whole thing.

I wonder if the original filmed footage still exists, and if so, who has it?

Imagine there being a 2K (or even 4K) scan of the original film made available to fans!

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead