Topic: Does anyone collect The Three Stooges on film: 8mm, Super 8, or 16mm?

[NoahYoung]

Late to the discussion — I started collecting the Stooges on Super 8 in the late 70s, and picked it up again via Ebay over the past 15 yeas or so. To date, I have all the Super 8 Curly shorts that Columbia put out, but just a few of the Shemps (Hot Stuff and Vagabond Loafers). Columbia managed to release many of Curly's absolute best, but almost none of Shemp's better one.

As mentioned above, several other titles have been available from various sources. I managed to snag prints of I'll Never Heil Again, Dizzy Doctors, Boobs in Arms, and Violent is the Word, which appear to be Screen Gems prints released by Jef films. (I did see Oily to Bed on the market at one point.) Additionally, I managed to grab Disorder in the Court and (believe it or not) Three Loan Wolves (of all things) from one of those dubious sources.

I'm glad to have these prints, but I confess to rarely screening them. (Small NYC apartment, and a hassle to set things up.) I opt for the DVDs and the weekly MeTV broadcasts.

The only "bootleg" one in Super 8 I have is from Niles Films -- DISORDER IN THE COURT, but I believe it was released by other companies as well. The difference in quality from the official releases from Columbia is night and day. BTW, even the Columbia releases were mostly from Screen Gems negatives.

For the ones not legitimately released in Super 8, I prefer to get them in 16mm. The cost is about the same, but TBH I've rarely seen any bootleg Super 8s except DISORDER IN THE COURT. I think I bid on a Super 8 SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS last year but didn't get it.

At the very least Columbia should have released WHO DONE IT? as one of their Shemps in Super 8.

So you have all the edited silent Curlys as well? I don't have them all. I'm not sure why Columbia didn't choose to release all of the 200 footers later full-length in sound; I think the only one they did do that with was PARDON MY SCOTCH.

The only official Columbia sound one I need in Super 8 is WOMAN HATERS -- do you have that one?

The going price for a Super 8 sound Curly now is about $50 (Shemps can go that high, too), but with patience and fortitude you can pick up Stooges shorts in 16mm for that and maybe a little bit more. I picked up FRIGHT NIGHT for $50 within the last year, albeit a Shemp. And it was near mint.

[Umbday]

So you have all the edited silent Curlys as well?
The only official Columbia sound one I need in Super 8 is WOMAN HATERS -- do you have that one?

The going price for a Super 8 sound Curly now is about $50 (Shemps can go that high, too), but with patience and fortitude you can pick up Stooges shorts in 16mm for that and maybe a little bit more. I picked up FRIGHT NIGHT for $50 within the last year, albeit a Shemp. And it was near mint.

I started collecting the 200' silents as a kid in the 70s, before I had a sound projector. I don't have them all, but quite a few.
And, yes, I do have Woman Haters. It's in one of those specially-illustrated boxes — like the treatment given to Calling All Curs, Dizzy Pilots, and a few others. I think that those were among the last titles that Columbia Super 8 released before everything changed.

[NoahYoung]

I started collecting the 200' silents as a kid in the 70s, before I had a sound projector. I don't have them all, but quite a few.
And, yes, I do have Woman Haters. It's in one of those specially-illustrated boxes — like the treatment given to Calling All Curs, Dizzy Pilots, and a few others. I think that those were among the last titles that Columbia Super 8 released before everything changed.

I think WOMAN HATERS was the very last release. The others you mention are fairly easy to get, while not the case with WOMAN HATERS.

The full-length titles with custom boxes didn't always come with custom boxes, since I have a few in the generic boxes. And there were several versions of the generic boxes.

The shortened silent ones always had custom boxes -- you would think for the more expensive sound and full-length ones that they would have had only custom boxes for all of them!

I had intended to collect all the silent ones, but the last one I got was perhaps 12-15 years ago. I used to get them on the cheap, then the prices went up on eBay. Just not worth it, especially when  you have to buy them individually.  Usually around $15 + $5 shipping. I think I used to get them for like $5-$10 shipped! It's not always easy to find them in decent condition -- and the people usually selling them just see a reel and the box and list them without knowing condition. The sound ones are usually in much better condition, since the sound projectors were usually made much better in general than the silent ones in the 70s -- lots of cheapie silent projectors, mostly dual-8s, chewed up film! The more solidly built ones from the 60s and earlier that catered to just one gauge handled film much better. Those sprocketless dual-8s were especially film-eaters!

I'm sure you have seen that the quality of the full-length sound ones are much better then the short silent ones. The Shemps tend to be a step down in quality, image-wise, from the Curlys in general, but some of the Shemps are also superb. Even the 2 shortened sound ones -- WE WANT OUR MUMMY and STUDIO STOOPS, are a step down in quality and look more like the silent ones.