Topic: Worst Episode Opinion

[Blystone]

Oddly enough, Joe Besser wasn't bad with Abbott & Costello; he can be really funny as "Stinky" when he works opposite Lou.

But he just wasn't true Stooge material, because you had to be willing to take slaps, pies, seltzer shrpritzes, mallets to the head, explosions, and whatever else came up. Joe B. didn't want to do the full Stooges routine, getting slapped and pied and bonked, and so he's not much of a Stooge.

If I can say anything in his defense, Besser was following directly in the footsteps of two of the greatest comics in American film history: Curly and Shemp Howard. He deserves a lot of credit for even trying to fill their shoes, but I'm still not buying Vol. 8.

At that point, the Columbia Comedy Shorts were just about finished (as in kaput), and it shows.

[OldFred]

If I can say anything in his defense, Besser was following directly in the footsteps of two of the greatest comics in American film history: Curly and Shemp Howard. He deserves a lot of credit for even trying to fill their shoes, but I'm still not buying Vol. 8.

Too bad. Guess you're gonna miss out on the set's Easter Egg extra of a detailed retrospect of the Stooges Columbia shorts, complete with rare footage and outtakes, including some of the Stooges home movies. Quite a pity, quite a pity.

[Shhhh, Yeah, I know there ain't no extra Easter Egg on the set. Just trying to see if I can fool this grapehead into buying the set. Don't tell him, you morons!!]   

[mankey8284]

I actually enjoyed Scrambled Brains myself. Sitka with the coke bottle glasses, Shemp playing the piano, and Larry's "I think she's uglier than you" line to Moe, are all priceless.   

[Blystone]

Assumes Shemp voice: "Easter's over, and I didn't get no eggs yet!"

[OldFred]

Assumes Shemp voice: "Easter's over, and I didn't get no eggs yet!"

Oh, taking me illiterately, eh?   

[Dog Hambone]

I also think SCARMBLED BRAINS was Larry's personal favorite Stooge short.  He did own a personal copy based on what I've read.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that CUCKOO ON A CHOO CHOO was Larry's favorite, & that he used to show his copy to his rest home companions. 

[simgershon]

Joe Besser in his autobiography stated that the worst short is sweet and hot.  It should have been called bitter and cold....

[fearlessfrizzletop]

Anything with a stroke-addled Curly has to be considered a 'worst' episode. So for me, THREE LOAN WOLVES.

[WhyYou]

Havent read all the posts,but like most,any with Joe is horrible,with possible exception of Quiz Whizz.And I give Curly Joe a Mulligan.Those movies were horrendous,but would they have been much better even with Shemp or Curly? And the fake Shemp ones,while they did treat Moe and Larry shabbily,I think that Joe Palma's pathetic "heep heep heep" imitation is kinda funny.But if there is one Curly or Shemp episode that I consider their very worst,would be Woman Haters,their very first short.Every time I see that,wonder how they ever got a chance to make a second short film.

[healyhouston]

FYI

Larry owned the following films on 16MM and use to show them at the Woodland Hills Country Hospital (All Shemps)

Fright Night
Cuckoo on a choo choo
Commontion on the ocean

[RICO987]

I wonder if that was because the older shorts were harder to come by in 16mm. 

I would have to guess those were not Larry’s three favorites…

Maybe Cuckoo on a Choo Choo was one of his favorites.

[Shemp_Diesel]

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I'll add my 2 cents:

Worst Curly: Mutts to You. I'm not the biggest Charley Chase fan, as far as his work with the stooges is concerned and this is definitely his worst. Dog-washing machine, not funny at all. The baby scenes are mildy amusing at best & the ending is just meh. I'll even take some of the post-stroke Curly's like A Bird in the Head over "Mutts".

Worst Shemp: I like to break this up into categories: originals, remakes, and of course the "Shemp A.D." shorts:

worst original Shemp: Self Made Maids

worst Shemp remake: Hot Ice

worst post-mortem Shemp: Rumpus in the Harem

worst Besser short: Horsing Around easily, although I think Flying Saucer Daffy and Triple Crossed deserve an honorable mention as well.

And for extra credit, worst Derita feature: Snow White, nuff said!

[archiezappa]

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I'll add my 2 cents:

Worst Curly: Mutts to You. I'm not the biggest Charley Chase fan, as far as his work with the stooges is concerned and this is definitely his worst. Dog-washing machine, not funny at all. The baby scenes are mildy amusing at best & the ending is just meh. I'll even take some of the post-stroke Curly's like A Bird in the Head over "Mutts".

Worst Shemp: I like to break this up into categories: originals, remakes, and of course the "Shemp A.D." shorts:

worst original Shemp: Self Made Maids

worst Shemp remake: Hot Ice

worst post-mortem Shemp: Rumpus in the Harem

worst Besser short: Horsing Around easily, although I think Flying Saucer Daffy and Triple Crossed deserve an honorable mention as well.

And for extra credit, worst Derita feature: Snow White, nuff said!

I like the way you broke them down into categories.  I may have to make my own list like this.  Cool!

[Allen Champion]

For me, all the Stooges shorts are wonderful, except for IF A BODY MEETS A BODY through HALF WITS HOLIDAY.  I can't bear to see one of the world's most beloved comedians practically dying before my eyes.  It says a lot for his love of performing and his dedication to his career.  But what a tragic end for someone who brought (and continues to bring) so much joy into the world.

[stoogerascalfan62]

Mine would be Triple Crossed. Did not care for the way Larry was depicted, especially the end-I know it was a remake of He Cooked His Goose, which had, IMO, a more tolerable ending-with (in TC) Moe beating up on Larry. Only saw it once, never again.

[Squirrelbait]

Worst Curly: Back To The Woods/Rhythm And Weep
Worst Shemp: Bedlam In Paradise/Hot Stuff
Worst Joe Besser: Horsing Around (which also gets my vote for worst Stooge short of all time.)

[Lefty]

Worst Curly:  Woman Haters
Worst Shemp:  Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo
Worst Joe:  Hoofs and Goofs (only because I have seen that many more times than Horsing Around)
Worst Operating System:  Windows 8
Worst General Manager:  Ruben Amaro Jr. and Paul Holmgren (tie)

[healyhouston]

I actually like Woman Haters.  I remember years ago I saw the Stooges show at the Alex in Glendale and a band was playing the song from Woman Haters.

[IchabodSlipp]

The worst one for me was "I Can Hardly Wait" (1943). Moe seems needlessly grouchy in this, the plot is pretty awful about Curly having a toothache (just never found dental humor funny) and the ending about it being a dream was pretty lame.

[Paul Pain]

Using our friend's format...

Worst Curly: BEER BARREL POLECATS.  While Shemp_Diesel has a very strong argument on MUTTS TO YOU, BEER BARREL POLECATS is much sloppier and has a lower quality of performance from all involved.

Worst Shemp: I like to break this up into categories: originals, remakes, and of course the "Shemp A.D." shorts:

worst original Shemp: SELF MADE MAIDS, which isn't to say I don't like this short in its own way.

worst Shemp remake: BUBBLE TROUBLE is just... weird.

worst post-mortem Shemp: They ALL suck HORRIBLY.  But SCHEMING SCHEMERS wins for the disgusting line at the end of the short.

worst Besser short: I haven't seen all the Besser shorts

[Paul Pain]

Worst Operating System:  Windows 8

Windows 8.1 > Windows 8

Windows 98/00 <<<<< than all other OS's

This debate can only be had by 10 kinds of people.

[7stooges]

Worst Curly (pre-stroke) - Spook Louder!

Worst Curly (post-stroke) - Rhythm and Weep

Worst Shemp (original) - Self-Made Maids

Worst Shemp (remake) - Rip, Sew, and Stitch

Worst Shemp (post-death) - I lump all four together

Worst Joe (original) - Horsing Around (Sweet and Hot at least had Moe as a German psychiatrist)

Worst Joe (remake) - Triple Crossed

Worst Curly-Joe (Columbia) - Have Rocket, Will Travel

Worst Curly-Joe (other) - Kook's Tour

I'm part of the group that agrees Besser wasn't really the reason those last 16 Columbia shorts weren't up to par with the Stooges' earlier work. I feel the quality is on par with the last handful of Shemp shorts (and not just the ones with Palma).

Though I will agree that Besser never seemed to fit in as a Stooge. In fairness, he was only with the act for less than two years. I wonder if he would have worked better as a supporting player, a la Sitka and Dent. Overall, I see the Besser era as a novelty.

DeRita was a better fit as a Stooge, and was good enough to keep the act going for another decade or so. But he lacked personality. How would you describe Curly-Joe's character, anyway?

Assuming that the old Mantan Moreland story is true (I have my doubts), I wonder how he would have fared as a Stooge. Ditto for Sitka.

[dgllamas]

I'll have to say any Fake Shemp episodes, cz it feels so weird, and I'm uncomfortable with the guy's back to the camera.

Also, Cuckoo In A Choo Choo is odd. I can't say their performances are bad, cz they're not. I rather enjoyed seeing Larry taking on a more assertive role. It was the writing that was odd. I mean, why would they be in a stolen train car so that they can wait for Shemp to propose? Weird. And why wouldn't Officer Moe just arrest Larry and come back for Roberta? Instead, he (and the rest) stayed so long in that car that he actually had to shave. They were funny, but the writer/s, man, I'm wondering what they'd been smokin'? lol

[Shemp_Diesel]

Speaking of "Worst Episodes," I thought it was more than a bit funny--and maybe ironic--that on the "Hey Moe, Hey Dad" DVD when Paul Howard cites some of the examples of "Good" Joe Besser shorts, he singles out Hoofs and Goofs as one of them. That got a sly chuckle from me...   

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

The worst Curly short IMO is "Beer Barrel Polecats" with "Woman Haters", "Restless Knights" and "Saved By The Belle" close behind.

The worst Shemp original short is "He Cooked His Goose" with "Self Made Maids" and "Don't Throw That Knife" close behind.

The worst Shemp remake is "Rumpus In The Harem" with "Flagpole Jitters", "Fling In The Ring" and "Rip, Sew & Stitch" close behind

The worst Joe Besser short is "Horsing Around" with "Triple Crossed", "Sweet And Hot" and "Sappy Bullfighters" close behind.