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General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: shemps#1 on May 26, 2011, 11:40:12 PM

Title: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 26, 2011, 11:40:12 PM
I'm currently watching something called The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made on Netflix and The Three Stooges In Orbit made the list at #13. This may not be popular opinion but I can't really complain too much or disagree as it is a terrible movie. The VO guy summed it up with this sentence : "obsoletism has never been so obvious".
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 26, 2011, 11:53:29 PM
I'm currently watching something called The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made on Netflix and The Three Stooges In Orbit made the list at #13. This may not be popular opinion but I can't really complain too much or disagree as it is a terrible movie. The VO guy summed it up with this sentence : "obsoletism has never been so obvious".

I've seen that DVD for cheap at Borders and came close to picking it up.  What were some of the top 10 choices, just so I can get a better idea of where this list is headed?  Are we talking Ed Wood camp bad or just boring bad?  Derita era Columbia features fall into the former for me, though obviously higher budgeted than Ed Wood features.  The Snow White debacle falls into the latter, as I can never watch that again.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 27, 2011, 01:02:07 AM
More on the campy bad side with some on the boring bad (in fact Wood appears three times). Here's the list:

50. Glen or Glenda (1953)
49. Mesa of Lost Women (1953)
48. Troll (1986)
47. Teenage Zombies (1959)
46. The Fat Spy (1965)
45. Voodoo Woman (1957)
44. Ishtar (1987)
43. Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
42. The Creeping Terror (1964)
41. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
40. Howard the Duck (1986)
39. They Saved Hitler's Brain (1968)
38. Black Belt Jones (1974) *they said this was the only film on the list "so bad it's good"
37. Greetings (1968) *first film to receive an X rating and stars a young Robert Deniro
36. The Great Alligator (1979)
35. Hillbilly's in a Haunted House (1968) *I'm downloading this one
34. TNT Jackson (1975)
33. Robot Monster (1953)
32. The Incredible Melting Man (1977)
31. Firebird 2015 A.D. (1981)
30. Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971) *Lon Chaney Jr's last film
29. Bride of the Monster (1955)
28. Smokey and the Bandit part 3 (1983)
27. Xanadu (1980)
26. Leonard Part 6 (1987)
25. The Wild Women of Wongo (1958)
24. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
23. The Ape (1940) *stars Boris Karloff
22. Galaxy of Terror (1981) *Star Wars rip-off with James Cameron as unit director
21. The Robot vs The Aztec Mummy (1957)
20. Snow White (1955) *German live action version
19. Creature From The Haunted Sea (1961)
18. The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)
17. Trial of Billy Jack (1974)
16. Killers From Space (1954)
15. Spider Baby (1964)
14. Trog (1970)
13. The Three Stooges In Orbit (1962)
12. The Crippled Masters (1982) *kung fu flick with a guy with no arms and a guy with no legs, I so want to see this
11. The Sorceress (1983)
10. The Crawling Hand (1963) *Starred Alan "Skipper" Hale Jr
9. Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) *formerly banned in the US
8. J.D.'s Revenge (1976)
7. Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965)
6. Killer Shrews (1959)
5. Great White (1980) *Italian Jaws rip-off
4. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
3. The Thing With Two Heads (1972)
2. Eegah! (1962)
1. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed Up Zombies (1967) *A monster movie musical
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 27, 2011, 08:29:30 AM
I have to wonder why he picked "The Three Stooges In Orbit" over the other 4 DeRita flicks. In my opinion, "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" is easily the worst one. For some reason, I really hate that movie.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum on May 27, 2011, 09:11:15 AM
I have to wonder why he picked "The Three Stooges In Orbit" over the other 4 DeRita flicks. In my opinion, "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" is easily the worst one. For some reason, I really hate that movie.
I haven't seen "Orbit," but I thought "Hercules" was OK -- i.e., on about a par with "Daze" and "Outlaws." "Snow White" was the real stinker for me.

Hey, maybe we should have a "rank the DeRita features" thread. I'd start it, but I've only seen 4 of the 6. (I haven't seen the two "space" ones.)
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 27, 2011, 09:57:36 AM
I've only seen 10 of these 50.  Brief comments on each.

50. Glen or Glenda (1953) - Absolutely bizzare.  Bela Lugosi as God and plenty of cross dressing.  My least favorite Ed Wood.

47. Teenage Zombies (1959) - This one bored me.  I saw it fairly recently too, within the past year.

41. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) - Stone cold bad film classic.  A must see for all bad film lovers, as the theme song alone will suck you in.

29. Bride of the Monster (1955) - Bela Lugosi in his last REAL role, a fun movie overall.  Great for Tor Johnson fans too!

24. Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) - So shoot me, I love this one.  I like the Jerry lewis impersonator better than Jerry Lewis, and Stooge fans, Muriel Landers from SWEET AND HOT is in this one!

23. The Ape (1940) - I love the old Monogram horrors, and this would be one of them.  I'm surprised none of the Lugosi Monograms, or the PRC classic THE DEVIL BAT made the list.

19. Creature From The Haunted Sea (1961) - Roger Corman would do so much better after this.  This one bored me to tears.

13. The Three Stooges In Orbit (1962) - Typical Derita feature, I don't see how this one stands out from the others for this list.

6. Killer Shrews (1959) - Awesome movie!  Those little shrew guys at the end are great!

4. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) - Do I really need to comment?  
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 27, 2011, 10:00:18 AM
I haven't seen "Orbit," but I thought "Hercules" was OK -- i.e., on about a par with "Daze" and "Outlaws." "Snow White" was the real stinker for me.

Hey, maybe we should have a "rank the DeRita features" thread. I'd start it, but I've only seen 4 of the 6. (I haven't seen the two "space" ones.)


Hercules would be my favorite, Snow White would be my least favorite, and the other four just blend in together somewhere in the middle.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: BeAStooge on May 27, 2011, 10:07:51 AM
6. Killer Shrews (1959) - Awesome movie!  Those little shrew guys at the end are great!

fyi -  Sequel just started production (http://www.killershrewsmovie.com/). James Best returns in his original role (his company is producing); his DUKES costars John Schneider and Rick Hurst costar. A friend of mine, David Browning (http://davidbrowningproductions.com/blog/), is also costarring.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Boid Brain on May 27, 2011, 01:42:31 PM
How did 'Howard the Duck' get on that list? I can see it being on a worst Lucas film list, but ALL TIME list?  :o
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 28, 2011, 01:03:49 AM
I just finished watching Hillbillys in a Haunted House: avoid this piece of shit at all costs.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Rich Finegan on May 28, 2011, 02:57:03 AM
fyi -  Sequel just started production (http://www.killershrewsmovie.com/). James Best returns in his original role (his company is producing); his DUKES costars John Schneider and Rick Hurst costar. A friend of mine, David Browning (http://davidbrowningproductions.com/blog/), is also costarring.
The original is coming up on TCM on June 17.
Title: Re: Return of the Killer Shrews
Post by: Dunrobin on May 28, 2011, 07:37:51 AM
fyi -  Sequel just started production (http://www.killershrewsmovie.com/). James Best returns in his original role (his company is producing); his DUKES costars John Schneider and Rick Hurst costar. A friend of mine, David Browning (http://davidbrowningproductions.com/blog/), is also costarring.

The original is coming up on TCM on June 17.

The original is also available on the website for the sequel: http://www.killershrewsmovie.com/original_movie.html

I've always liked The Killer Shrews, and this sequel sounds like it might be fun.  Hopefully it will be as "bad" as the original.   ;D
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: falsealarms on May 28, 2011, 08:28:21 PM
3S in Orbit has no business on a list like that. While hardly a masterpiece or prime Stooge material, it's still an entertaining 90 minutes. I prefer it to others like OUTLAWS IS COMING.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 28, 2011, 08:58:35 PM
3S in Orbit has no business on a list like that. While hardly a masterpiece or prime Stooge material, it's still an entertaining 90 minutes. I prefer it to others like OUTLAWS IS COMING.

Agreed. While the DeRita flicks are nothing to brag about, there are a lot worse movies I've seen.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 28, 2011, 11:59:47 PM
I would hardly call In Orbit an entertaining 90 minutes. None of the Derita flicks are good by any stretch of the imagination and I guess they just put all of the names into a hat and picked one. I'll go back to Netflix and report and what they said about the film in particular.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 29, 2011, 01:24:56 AM
Wait.  Why is Troll there, but not Troll 2?

Also, I too wanna see that crippled Kung-Fu flick.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Shemp_Diesel on May 29, 2011, 01:48:15 AM
Well, I guess opinions are like earholes, everyone has as least two. My own $0.02, I actually like In Orbit and would call it the best of the Derita era. Now if you wanna talk boring there is The Outlaws is Coming,  or just plain bad, the Snow White movie and to a lesser extent, Have Rocket, Will Travel. But Orbit being the worst, no way.

 [duck]
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: pipboytaylor on May 29, 2011, 12:48:20 PM
I agree, Orbit isn't that bad. Snow White is definitely, by far the worst of the six. Orbit has several funny scenes but I can't think of any in Snow White. The biggest knock I would have on Orbit is the sequence with the stooges in the flying contraption. It is way too long and drawn out.

My ranking.

1.Three Stooges Meet Hercules
2.The Outlaws Is Coming
3.Three Stooges In Orbit
4.Three Stooges Go Around The World In A Daze
5.Have Rocket, Will Travel
6.Snow White And The Three Stooges
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 01:30:08 PM
And I quote...

"After 30 years the Three Stooges should have just hung up their squirt tricks and Curly replacements: but they didn't. ...They continued making movies well into the 1960's...and they actually believed the pie in the face routine would still humor audiences...but once they made The Three Stooges In Orbit they went too far. Obsoletism has never been so obvious..."

The ellipses denote clips of the movie being turned up in volume. Look I love the Stooges as much as anyone else here but I can't see why some of you are upset about it. First off it's an opinion and second I look at it as an amalgam or "representative" of the Derita Era. Would I have picked a different Derita movie? Yeah, I would have gone with Snow White most likely, but I think Orbit is up there to represent the entire Derita Era as a whole and what was said about it looks like it backs up my theory.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 29, 2011, 03:17:35 PM
My grandma has a VHS copy of Go Around the World in a Daze.  I'm thinking about popping it in out of curiosity.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Rich Finegan on May 29, 2011, 03:42:43 PM
My grandma has a VHS copy of Go Around the World in a Daze.  I'm thinking about popping it in out of curiosity.
Definitely check it out and give it a chance if you haven't seen it. Regardless of the mostly negative comments it seems this thread is getting about the DeRita feature films, a lot of Stooges fans do like them.
So if you bear in mind that Curly Joe isn't Curly Howard (and that's not his fault) and can undestand that Moe & Larry are getting pretty old by that time, there's still a lot to enjoy for Three Stooges fans.   

If you watch it once and hate it, that's okay too. You don't have to watch it again. But at least give it a chance.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 29, 2011, 03:55:49 PM

If you watch it once and hate it, that's okay too. You don't have to watch it again. But at least give it a chance.

Agree.  The only one I absolutely cannot stomach is SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES and I guess KOOKS TOUR too if that counts.  The others are not classics, but are certainly worth one viewing for Stooge fans, and quite frankly, since I've seen the shorts so many times, I may just give the Derita films another chance.  I'm probably going to watch THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT before this extended weekend is over, and I'll pitch in my thoughts.

Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 04:09:42 PM
I'm watching it as I type this. I think some people might be a little too overzealous in defending it and the Derita era in general.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 04:54:35 PM
Here's a short review I wrote for my blog "Flipping Off The Movies":

I am a long time fan of the Three Stooges and not ashamed to be so. I have all 190 of their Columbia Pictures short subjects on DVD and my favorite Stooge is the oft overlooked Shemp Howard. The made short subjects for Columbia from 1933 to 1958 and went through Three "third Stooges" during that time (the popular Curly, the aforementioned Shemp and the villified Joe Besser) without receiving a single raise in pay during that time. Columbia dropped them, the last of the Shorts department, which had become a dying breed with the advent of television. It would be that same television which had ended their long run that would revive their careers as well. The shorts would become popular in syndication and Moe and Larry took advantage by hiring yet another "third Stooge", Joe Derita and going on tour for personal appearances before eventually making full length movies.

The movies are nothing great, but upon watching a DVD on Netflix called The 50 Worst Movies Of All Time (that's how I found out about Hillbillys in a Haunted House) I was a bit taken aback by the inclusion of The Three Stooges In Orbit. Not only was it on the list but it was pretty high up there (#13). That's even higher than Hillbillys in a Haunted House (#35). I remember not caring for the movie but don't remember it being that bad so I thought I would take another look.

Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe host a Saturday Morning kiddie show called The Three Stooges Scrapbook and are kicked out of their apartment after their landlady catches them cooking (it seems odd today that cooking would not be allowed in living quarters) and hook up with a kooky inventor (played by long time Stooge foil Emil Sitka) who lets them stay with him and his daughter. The inventor is being watched by martians (who of course want to invade Earth and steal the inventor's submarine/helicopter/tank hybrid) and enlists the help of the Stooges in exchange for his helping them come up with a brand new style of cartoon (electronic animation).

The main problem with In Orbit is the Stooges themselves, their ages in particular. These guys are old (Moe was 65 and looked 75) and they definitely look and move about like senior citizens. It's disheartening to watch the social security aged Stooges smack each other around and downright creepy to watch them go gaga for women who look young enough to be their granddaughters. The third Stooge is the main problem: Joe Derita is a charismatic black hole void of personality or likability. Joe Besser might have been a terrible Stooge but at least he brought something new to the table. With Derita it feels like they grabbed some random fatass off the street, shaved his head and said "there's the new Curly". I know the history and know that isn't what happened but I'm just relaying how it feels.

The supporting cast puts in a third-rate, uninspired performance other than Sitka who actually shines brighter than the Stooges themselves. Within seconds of the handsome Air Force rep appearing on screen you can automatically guess that he will hook up with the inventor's daughter for a tacked-on romantic subplot. The gags are recycled from an era long gone by 1962 and had been done by the Stooges much better when they were much younger.

I won't spoil the outcome for anyone but I'm pretty sure you can correctly guess what happens in the end. The Three Stooges In Orbit is a terrible film and as a Stooges fan it pains me to be vicious to them in a review. With that said I do think there are other Derita features that are worse than this one and more deserving of a "worst movies" list such as Snow White and the Three Stooges and while I can see why this one was included (I like to think of it as a representative of the Derita Era in general rather than this film particular) it is nowhere near as terrible as Hillbillys.

1 middle finger
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 29, 2011, 05:17:10 PM
So far, the only DeRita material I've seen are from the 60's animated series.  Not very good, but I found it fairly enjoyable.  I didn't expect to see much in the physical department anyway, considering it was aimed for children, and Moe and Larry were in their 60's.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 29, 2011, 05:35:16 PM
My favorite three stooges film is "Gold Raiders" and thanks to Warner Brothers, that's available on DVD. If anyone here hasn't watched it, I'd recommend you watch that over 3S in Orbit, or any of the DeRita flicks, for that matter..

With that said, yes, the DeRita movies are bad, but I would never rank any of them as the 50 worst movies as I've seen a lot worse. But I do agree with Jim. When they hired Joe, he was a good comedian that was funny in his solo films, so I see why they picked him. He had is own style of comedy which, unfortunately, didn't fit in well with the stooges, which is why he isn't so great as a stooge. But with Curly-Joe, I really don't understand why he was picked. He doesn't really have any style of comedy whatsoever. He really didn't do much. I guess since he was fat and he shaved his head, they thought people would like him because he'll look like Curly. I don't know, but I personally think they should've hired someone with more of a comedic personality. And the old Moe and Larry certainly didn't help either. But shoot me if I'm wrong because I haven't seen any of DeRita's solo films. So maybe he was an excellent solo comedian. I don't know. If he was, then I guess it's understandable that they've picked him to be the third stooge.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 05:58:26 PM
I agree on Gold Raiders, while it not a great film itself it is by far the most enjoyable Three Stooges feature. I think Snow White and The Three Stooges deserves mention (or at least consideration) on a "worst" list. There is nothing at all redeeming about that piece of shit. I honestly wish that Columbia had paid them fairly or at least given Moe and Larry a chunk of syndication so they could have hung it up after the shorts were done. I saw Slappily Married, a Derita solo which I think had Christine McIntyre in it and it was nothing to write home about. Derita was as much as a nothing in that short as he was in the Stooges films.

You're either young or have no discernible taste Thunder because those cartoons are awful. The animation is dime store at best and they aren't the least bit funny.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 29, 2011, 07:19:41 PM
Allow me to elaborate.  Your right I am young (nearly 23), and the cartoon is indeed terrible, even by 1960's standards.  The only thing that made them remotely enjoyable when I was watching them on YouTube was the automated captions.  Watching the show itself without was rather difficult.
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg862.imageshack.us%2Fimg862%2F6249%2Fsnapshot20110514184607.png&hash=b5756fef777d7d90626aea737893ad514ebed898)
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg98.imageshack.us%2Fimg98%2F4241%2Fsnapshot20110519231647.png&hash=aed4bcb160cb063cc7a1259cadc8cb4f69089206)
Mild language (http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8721/snapshot20110519131348.png)
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 07:39:42 PM
You're right, that is funny. No wonder the GF doesn't bother to watch YouTube videos with the automated captions.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 29, 2011, 07:58:53 PM
I too watched THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT today, and I mostly agree with what Jim said.  I too thought the supporting cast was bad minus Emil Sitka, especially the air force general, who was too over the top.  Vernon Dent would've been ideal in that role had his health been good at the time.  Yes, the romance angle was completely contrived and unecessary.

The boys were for the most part recycling old gags such as the tank being half-empty or half-full and the stake being pointed in the wrong direction means it goes to the other wall.  There was old recycled footage of a Keystone Cop style chase, and I thought that was the best comedy in the whole film.

As a horror and sci-fi fan, the aliens looked totally unconvincing, and those laughable costumes and effects are a reason why a film like this would make a worst list.  ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, which came out 14 years earlier, is proof one can have good comedy with convincing looking monsters.

As for Derita himself?  Completely inoffensive, and a body capable of doing the job.  Nothing more, nothing less.  He's the guy who shows up on time and earns his paycheck.

So what do I like about THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT?  Jim says The Three Stooges ogling at a much younger woman is creepy.  He's right, but it's also fascinating, because I feel it's a look at where the boys would've been headed in the 70's.  They were supposed to make an r rated film in the Phillipines before Moe died, remember.  There's also a line that involves Emil Sitka uttering the word "hell," which is innocent today, but risque for the Three Stooges filmography.  Interesting to see the boys in a latter era because of things like this.


What else do I like?  Well, like I stated, I've seen the shorts 3 zillion times over several decades, so these Columbia Derita features have a bit of a freshness factor for a long time fan like me.  I concede they are second rate, but they are not so awful as being utterly unwatchable.  Stuff like this is perfect for long time fans who need something new, the same way a middle of the road Beatles solo album would be to those of us who have heard Sgt. pepper for 20 years.  We know it's not the best, but it's new and we'll take what we can get.  I'll also say THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES actually rises above average, but that's for another review.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 29, 2011, 08:27:04 PM
I haven't watched Three Stooges In Orbit in a while. Maybe I'll pop in the DVD tomorrow and watch it to remind myself of how bad it is. Seriously, I don't watch these DeRita flicks that often and I end up forgetting just how bad they really are.

But I do agree with Metaldams in a way. Sometimes, I do watch a DeRita movie because it's something a little different. I, too, have watched the shorts a zillion times. I've watched them nonstop as a kid and I still watch them a lot now. I've watched them so much that I know them by heart. But I've only watched the DeRita movies a few times. So, the DeRita movies are good to watch once in a blue moon when I want to watch something a little different.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 09:02:15 PM
That's a pretty good, well written second opinion Doug. Could I possibly put it up on my blog and attach it to my review?
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 29, 2011, 09:08:29 PM
That's a pretty good, well written second opinion Doug. Could I possibly put it up on my blog and attach it to my review?

Thanks man.  Yeah, go for it.  I'll have to check out this blog for myself.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 29, 2011, 09:29:49 PM
Jim, you have a link for this blog?  I can't seem to find it in a search.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 09:31:25 PM
I've been thinking about starting a seperate blog or something just for Flipping Off The Movies, which is in its infancy. I had actually started doing it a few years ago on a yahoo blog but those were gone when they shut down the blogs and I just recently started it up again when I found myself watching bad movies. Here's the link to the In Orbit blog and if you only want to read about the movies follow the "movie review" tag.

I'd really like to not only start a seperate blog but get an image of middle fingers that's like the poke image here (but I have no clue and not artistically inclined enough to do that).

http://misterscowl.multiply.com/journal/item/28/Flipping_Off_The_Movies_The_Three_Stooges_In_Orbit
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 29, 2011, 11:52:04 PM
I have finished watching The Crippled Masters and put up my review. Good, but not quite a B classic.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: RICO987 on May 30, 2011, 09:04:09 AM
As a horror and sci-fi fan, the aliens looked totally unconvincing, and those laughable costumes and effects are a reason why a film like this would make a worst list.  ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, which came out 14 years earlier, is proof one can have good comedy with convincing looking monsters.



Wow! After almost 4 years as a member on this site, this is the most panning of DeRita I have seen.  I do not know what Moe was thinking when he insisted on De Rita for the third spot.   His usual good taste in comedy was MIA with that choice.   Besser has taken the most shots from my viewpoint on this site, but I believe he was miles ahead of De Rita.

I have to agree with most everyone else – Snow White is easily their worst movie.  The Snow White movie rubs salt in its self inflicted wounding of the 3 Stooges reputation.  That is, it really irked me in the Snow White Movie where Moe goes out of character and looks at the camera and says something to the effect that they cannot be violent anymore.  Unfortunately, that was also saying we cannot be funny anymore. 

I agree with Metaldams.  I believe Orbit made the 50 Worst List because of the low budget costumes and effects.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 30, 2011, 10:58:07 AM
Wow! After almost 4 years as a member on this site, this is the most panning of DeRita I have seen.  I do not know what Moe was thinking when he insisted on De Rita for the third spot.   His usual good taste in comedy was MIA with that choice.   Besser has taken the most shots from my viewpoint on this site, but I believe he was miles ahead of De Rita.

I have to agree with most everyone else – Snow White is easily their worst movie.  The Snow White movie rubs salt in its self inflicted wounding of the 3 Stooges reputation.  That is, it really irked me in the Snow White Movie where Moe goes out of character and looks at the camera and says something to the effect that they cannot be violent anymore.  Unfortunately, that was also saying we cannot be funny anymore. 

I agree with Metaldams.  I believe Orbit made the 50 Worst List because of the low budget costumes and effects.


For non-artistic reasons, Derita was the perfect choice.  He stuck around for 17 years at a time when Moe and Larry were making money off past accomplishments (and good for Moe and Larry).  Yeah, they were making new movies, but I think they realized these new movies would not have been made without the new found popularity of the old shorts with Curly.  They simply needed a third body, and Derita did the job.

What creeped me out about SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES the most was when she was lying there dead and the boys had her body on display.  They said they could not get rid of her body because she looked too beautiful.  Look, I know this is a kid's tale and I'm sure there were innocent intentions behind the line, but I'm not a kid, and that's well, kind of gross.  I at least hope they were good embalmers.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Curly4444 on May 30, 2011, 12:59:56 PM
Quote
What creeped me out about SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES the most was when she was lying there dead and the boys had her body on display.  They said they could not get rid of her body because she looked too beautiful.  Look, I know this is a kid's tale and I'm sure there were innocent intentions behind the line, but I'm not a kid, and that's well, kind of gross.  I at least hope they were good embalmers.

Necrophilia? I wouldn't have gotten that form that line.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 30, 2011, 01:54:22 PM
Necrophilia? I wouldn't have gotten that form that line.

I was more thinking along the lines of the body decaying, hence the comment about embalming, but hey, if necrophilia enters your mind, whatever floats your boat.   ;D
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 30, 2011, 02:10:30 PM
Wasn't that part of the original Snow White lore? Not the Disney shit but the original story.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 30, 2011, 02:33:51 PM
In their defense, that was part original fairy tale.  And the dwarfs couldn't bring themselves to bury her, so they displayed her in the glass coffin.  Doesn't make the fridge logic any less disturbing.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ILMM on May 30, 2011, 04:56:41 PM
Wasn't that part of the original Snow White lore? Not the Disney shit but the original story.


Actually, something like that was in the Disney movie,too.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 30, 2011, 05:53:22 PM


Actually, something like that was in the Disney movie,too.
I watched that version not too long ago.  The glass coffin is there too.  And I think the dwarfs' excuse was similar to the Stooges.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 31, 2011, 08:50:56 AM
I watched The Three Stooges In Orbit yesterday and it really wasn’t as bad. Sure, I’d much rather watch a Curly or Shemp short, but this movie did have a couple of funny moments. Curly-Joe did have a couple of semi-funny lines, so I give him a little bit of credit for that. I still stand by what I said in another thread where I said that Curly-Joe had a good potential of being funny if only he tried harder and had more to work with. What really makes these DeRita movies disappointing was not only Curly-Joe’s lack of energy/enthusiasm, but it’s also due to the boring plots of the movies, the reduction of slapstick & violence, and Moe & Larry getting old. But it surprises me that we all hate DeRita, yet he lasted with the group for over 10 years until the stooges officially had to retire for health reasons. This leads me to believe that even though DeRita wasn’t all that great, the stooges still remained popular.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum on May 31, 2011, 10:48:49 AM
Curly-Joe had a good potential of being funny if only he tried harder
Bingo. Besser, at least, tried. DeRita didn't. He didn't respect what he was stepping into and considered it beneath him.

Besser and DeRita both made their attitudes clear in later interviews, and the contrast is like day & night.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on May 31, 2011, 12:03:46 PM
And that is why Curly will always be way better that Curly-Joe even though they have a similar name and same hairstyle. I mean, wow, you can tell Curly was into the role. His energy, his facial expressions, and his enthusiasm are what made him a very funny stooge. You can tell he was passionate about being a stooge.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: kinderscenen on May 31, 2011, 01:02:37 PM
Hey, I call foul! A list without Manos: the Hands of Fate is not a worst of list at all!

While I've been a Stooge fan for 36 of my 36 years (in utero counts too!), I wonder why ANY Stooge movie was chosen. (Yeah, I know, one person's opinion...) I mean, come on! There are thirty kazillion Elvis movies to choose from...we'll dismiss his earliest and last movie, as those were infinitely better than, say, Double Trouble.  As for the Stooges, hell, I think the problem was that they didn't (at least to my eyes/ears) get material that's age appropriate.  You can be old and funny--I just watched Don Rickles on some late-night talk show or other, and he can still bring the funny. (Then again, I'm comparing two completely different styles...)

The Stooges could be funny when they weren't all kid-friendly (think about their Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan appearances--Moe slapping Curly-Joe and his wig falling off, and Moe and Larry's reaction is pretty damn funny, and won't upset the kids), so I'm thinking that had they not had to have been so...ugh...politically correct (for the 60s!), they might've been better off.  I mean, damn, they all had burlesque backgrounds! Use them for SOMETHING!  >:D

That said, I do wonder what would've happened if they'd been able to hold out (health-wise).  Their last movie was in 1965, but they (Moe and Larry) lived a good 10 years after that. The amount of change in those ten years socially is mind-boggling.  To go from Outlaws to Blazing Stewardesses is pretty damn interesting.  Too bad we'll never know what they would've done with the material (although, I'm thinking I probably would've done an Elvis on the screen). >:(

As for energy and enthusiasm, Moe and Larry knew what they were getting when they signed DeRita, and Larry obviously felt the guy had something as he was willing to make him a full partner. Whether or not this was to get him to stay, who knows? But for some reason, I can't throw blame to DeRita--I've got to blame Moe and Larry. Larry for (I think) seeing him first, and then for Moe for agreeing with him.  Then again, who else was there? Buddy Hackett?  Mousie Garner? (who keeps showing up like a bad burrito breakfast) Unknown comedian that's significantly younger than Moe and Larry?  I just can't think of who would've been around in 1958 for them to choose from.

As for the list, I'm ashamed to say I've seen 30 of those 50, and I know that I've seen worse--Disco Godfather, anyone? There's a reason why MST3K existed, and it's lists like these....
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on May 31, 2011, 01:47:28 PM
Hey, I call foul! A list without Manos: the Hands of Fate is not a worst of list at all!


I sat through about 10 minutes of that one, must try again!

Crazy facts about MANOS is that a couple of cast members sadly committed suicide shortly after, and the literal English translation is HANDS: HANDS OF FATE.  Going to have to give this one a full whirl.

Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 31, 2011, 02:25:10 PM
That's definitely a movie I should watch after I finish Greetings, and I found it on the Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/manos_the_hands_of_fate
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on May 31, 2011, 03:50:31 PM
This is a newer movie, but I absolutely could not stand Epic Movie.  I sat through 10 minutes of that, and I had to change the channel.

As for DeRita, I watched one of his solo shorts, and I do agree that he had potential of being a decent Stooge if he tried, and if the writers had tried to work better with the trio.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on May 31, 2011, 04:20:36 PM
Hey Saturday, no long no see.

You're right that you are comparing two different comedy styles in regards to Rickels and the Stooges. Rickels isn't doling out or receiving slapstick and he never really did. They say that the mind is usually the last thing to do, and The Stooges were never a cerebral comedy group to begin with. Even their one-liners and the like were used ad nauseum over the years and top that off with watching a trio of geriatric men trying to pull off some of the same physical comedy and it's not a good recipe.

Derita was hired on for resembling Curly, who had of course become very once again via the syndicated shorts. I feel at least some of the blame falls on his shoulders because he failed to inject new life or vibrancy into the group and they had become very stale only appealing to small children who probably didn't notice as much that these guys were ancient.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: kinderscenen on June 01, 2011, 11:10:09 AM
shemps#1 (yes, he is!) stated:
Quote
Derita was hired on for resembling Curly, who had of course become very once again via the syndicated shorts. I feel at least some of the blame falls on his shoulders because he failed to inject new life or vibrancy into the group and they had become very stale only appealing to small children who probably didn't notice as much that these guys were ancient.

You know, I don't even know if he HAD the Curly-type of vibrancy--looking at his solo shorts, it was pretty much what the man himself said, something along the lines of just reacting, and saying "But honey, don't leave me!"  (However, according to my piano teacher who caught whichever of those Minsky's Follies, thought that the stage DeRita was way funnier than the film one.  Take that however you wish.)  ;) But the 1946 DeRita could be surprisingly physical, and according to Ed Bernds (or Norman Maurer, I can't remember which), stated that he could be quite graceful.  Then again, I seem to recall something about he had to become much less physical due to the fact that Moe and Larry were up in years...I can't remember--it's in (S)crapbook, or maybe even one of the Mousie Garner/Forrester Bros. books.

Seeing the fellows (even in something like Kook's Tour!), I wasn't left with the feeling I get when I see later Woody Allen films...you know, where SOMEHOW he's still able to have all these women falling over him (or perhaps he's dreaming they're falling over him, who knows?)

As for kids noticing whether the Stooges were ancient, I am reminded of the first time I saw The Rolling Stones (1979?) Too bad the Stooges weren't like the Stones--they looked pretty damn old from the very beginning!  :D
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 01, 2011, 11:22:16 AM
To be honest, I don’t know why Moe and Larry insisted on continuing as stooges after Shemp’s death. They were already stooges for over 20 years and that’s long enough. But instead they continued seeking for replacements and ended up with Besser and DeRita. I think they should’ve ended in 1956. They’ve worked long enough and I think that was a good time for them to retire.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Curly4444 on June 01, 2011, 11:26:07 AM
To be honest, I don’t know why Moe and Larry insisted on continuing as stooges after Shemp’s death. They were already stooges for over 20 years and that’s long enough. But instead they continued seeking for replacements and ended up with Besser and DeRita. I think they should’ve ended in 1956. They’ve worked long enough and I think that was a good time for them to retire.

When you do this all your life, its just all you know. Moe and Larry probably would have been board to death sitting around doing nothing.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 01, 2011, 11:32:00 AM
When you do this all your life, its just all you know. Moe and Larry probably would have been board to death sitting around doing nothing.

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess it's better than sitting home and doing nothing.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 01, 2011, 01:54:26 PM
Here is what I read from Wikipedia.

Quote
Although DeRita enjoyed working with Moe and Larry, and made a good living doing it, he was not a fan of the Stooges' humor. He told an interviewer the following:

"I don't think the Stooges were funny. I'm not putting you on, I'm telling the truth — they were physical, but they just didn't have any humor about them. Take, for instance, Laurel and Hardy. I can watch their films and I still laugh at them and maybe I've seen them four or five times before. But when I see that pie or seltzer bottle, I know that it's not just lying around for no reason. It's going to be used for something. I was with the Stooges for 12 years and it was a very pleasant association but I just don't think they were funny.”

That quote was taken from The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Since I cannot fully trust Wikipedia, I'm going to confirm that quote when I get home. I have a copy of the Scrapbook at home and will check tonight.

Assuming he really said that, it makes me hate DeRita even more.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on June 01, 2011, 02:33:33 PM
X, I've heard that quote from Derita several times, and it just confirms the way I always felt, that he was a professional, nothing more, nothing less.  I don't hate the guy for it, can't blame him for making a buck.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 01, 2011, 02:47:29 PM
Unfortunately, though, it shows in his performances. There are actors out there who hate the role they're in, but they do a great job in hiding it. DeRita, unfortunately, makes it very obvious.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Final Shemp on June 01, 2011, 03:44:18 PM
Reading through that entire list, I find it quite blah.  The Crawling Hand one of the 10 worst movies ever made?  Puh-leeze.  It's not even one of the 10 worst movies ever featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

And I'll just say this to get it out in the open:  I LOVE FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD!  I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!  Own it on DVD and proud of it!
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 01, 2011, 08:22:19 PM
To be honest, I don’t know why Moe and Larry insisted on continuing as stooges after Shemp’s death. They were already stooges for over 20 years and that’s long enough. But instead they continued seeking for replacements and ended up with Besser and DeRita. I think they should’ve ended in 1956. They’ve worked long enough and I think that was a good time for them to retire.

They didn't retire because they needed the money, plain and simple. Remember they never got a raise while doing the shorts and got zilch as far as syndication and whatnot.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: BeAStooge on June 01, 2011, 09:20:18 PM
They didn't retire because they needed the money

Moe was a wealthy man via his investments, primarily real estate.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: curlysdame on June 01, 2011, 11:58:35 PM
Crazy facts about MANOS is that a couple of cast members sadly committed suicide shortly after, and the literal English translation is HANDS: HANDS OF FATE.

I just watched the MST3K version a few days ago, after reading all this stuff.  I had heard of it, but had never gotten around to watching it.  ...The worst thing I've ever seen - needless to say, I loved it.  So bad, it's great - 'Torgo' is frickin hilarious.  After I did some reading up on it, a couple things made a little more sense to me, regarding it's shittiness (besides the acting).

1.  'Director' Hal Warren had no clue what he was doing - The only reason this film was made was because he lost a bet.  Literally.  Warren, a fertilizer salesman from El Paso, TX was having lunch, one day, with a friend who was actually in the entertainment industry; Warren poo-pooed, 'it can't be that hard to write and shoot a local movie.'  So he wrote a script, got around $19k together, a Bell and Howell 16mm camera, and hired some local talent.  Did I mention he cast himself as the lead (of course)?

2.  It was an editing nightmare - The entire film is basically jump-cuts  The Bell and Howell 16mm had to be wound by hand, and the longest take one could get with it was only 32 seconds - hence the jump-cuts.  

3.  Horrible dubbing - Because the entire film was shot on a Bell and Howell 16mm, none of the sound could be recorded.  So, Warren, and 3 or 4 other people had to dub all the dialogue and sound effects - and not a lot of it was matched well with the final takes.

Yeah, you're right Metal - the guy that played 'Torgo' did commit suicide.  His name was John Reynolds - I think he was around 25 when he died.  Apparently, it had something to do with the braces he wore on his legs during production, to give added effect to his character.  They really did a number on his knees, which caused him great deal of pain (probably due to the fact that Hal Warren had no idea what he was doing probably didn't take correct safety precautions, IMO).  He ended up turning to drugs, eventually killing himself like a month before the movie 'premiered.'

Nevertheless, if you're a fan of the 'awesomely bad' you gotta see this.  'Torgo' is definitely one of my new favorites.

  
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on June 02, 2011, 12:31:02 AM
Well Sara, you just wet my appetite more to see MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE.  A couple youtube clips did too.   ;D  It takes a special kind of person to appreciate cheese, as it amazes me how many people do not have a sense of humor about this kind of stuff.

I eagerly await Torgo, but for now, my all-time favorite bad movie baddie is Mickey Hargitay's "Crimson Executioner" in BLOODY PIT OF HORROR, no contest.  I may have posted this before, but so what, it's worth posting again.  Who knew sadism could be so funny?

[youtube=425,350]sRO7pnSsbMw[/youtube]

....and how can one forget THE GIANT CLAW, made by Columbia (!)  which has the best bad movie monster ever.

[youtube=425,350]hOj0nXpRqX8[/youtube]
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 02, 2011, 12:59:19 AM
I just finished my review of Manos, and while I do appreciate its "greatness" I would not say it is the top bad movie of all time. I would recommend you watch the regular version and not the MST3K one so you can appreciate the awfulness without distractions.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Rich Finegan on June 02, 2011, 04:49:16 AM

....and how can one forget THE GIANT CLAW, made by Columbia (!) which has the best bad movie monster ever.

I too love the cheap cheesiness of THE GIANT CLAW!
And it's coming up very soon on TCM - on June 9, as part of a whole month of "bad" mostly 1950's sci-fi flicks.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 02, 2011, 09:29:26 AM
Derita was hired on for resembling Curly, who had of course become very once again via the syndicated shorts. I feel at least some of the blame falls on his shoulders because he failed to inject new life or vibrancy into the group and they had become very stale only appealing to small children who probably didn't notice as much that these guys were ancient.

The reason why Curly-Joe resembles Curly is because he was fat and shaved his head. Other than that, he doesn't look like Curly in any other way. Just for the fun of it, I’ve posted a side by side comparison of Curly and Curly-Joe. That picture of Curly is pretty cool. I’m changing my avatar to that, LOL.

(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.threestooges.com%2Fimages%2Fbios%2FphotoCurlyHoward.jpg&hash=ad81182a527f8aa06c8f8e20a3922e5ffe12ee32)(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.threestooges.com%2Fimages%2Fbios%2FphotoCurlyJoeDeRita.jpg&hash=643538c0209f0b1da14455c8a52199fb22270ce0)
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 02, 2011, 01:13:02 PM
We can look back at it now and say that being that we're grown and it's 2011, but it might have fooled some of the slower children on the 60's. Or perhaps they just didn't notice until they hit a certain age. I just spoke to a friend of mine who was a child during that time and she said she never noticed but did notice Shemp and didn't like him.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on June 02, 2011, 02:47:23 PM
We can look back at it now and say that being that we're grown and it's 2011, but it might have fooled some of the slower children on the 60's. Or perhaps they just didn't notice until they hit a certain age. I just spoke to a friend of mine who was a child during that time and she said she never noticed but did notice Shemp and didn't like him.

Wanna know my confusion as a kid?  I used to think Derita was Joe Besser taking on a Curly persona.  I knew Joe Besser was a Stooge, but only saw his shorts once or twice as a kid, so it's not like I had him memorized like I did Curly.  Upon seeing THE THREE STOOGES MEETS HERCULES (the only Derita feature I saw before my 20's), I assumed it was Joe Besser when they called him Curly Joe because his name was Joe and I did not yet know about Derita.  I was probably in my very early teens when I learned about Derita.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 02, 2011, 03:00:37 PM
My Dad was always a big Three Stooges fan and was quick to point out to me the difference between Curly and Curly-Joe, so perhaps I'm lucky in that respect. I can definitely see how a small child (which those later films were aimed at) would fail to notice the difference between the two.

Going back to the list it seems that many of the movies are available free online. #1 "The Incredibly Strange Creatures..." is up on crackle.com.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 02, 2011, 03:06:07 PM
When I was a kid, the first time I saw Curly-Joe was when I was watching “The New Three Stooges” cartoons. My uncle gave it to me as a Christmas gift. I have to admit, when I first popped in the video and watched the first live action segment (Dentists), I was like “Is that Curly?” Since this was a public domain video that I was given and the print was so bad and blurry, it looked like Curly at first glance, but then I was puzzled why he wasn’t do much silly stuff. I knew Curly was more energetic and sillier than that. Then when I watched the next live segment on the video (Janitors), I knew for sure that it wasn’t Curly.

I only started watching the Curly-Joe movies when The Family Channel started showing them. I was in the 5th grade when they aired those. By then, I knew that Curly-Joe wasn’t Curly.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: JazzBill on June 02, 2011, 03:20:34 PM
Wanna know my confusion as a kid?  I used to think Derita was Joe Besser taking on a Curly persona.  I knew Joe Besser was a Stooge, but only saw his shorts once or twice as a kid, so it's not like I had him memorized like I did Curly.  Upon seeing THE THREE STOOGES MEETS HERCULES (the only Derita feature I saw before my 20's), I assumed it was Joe Besser when they called him Curly Joe because his name was Joe and I did not yet know about Derita.  I was probably in my very early teens when I learned about Derita.

The first time I saw Derita I thought he was Curly after he got old. Of coarse I was just a kid and didn't know the whole story back then.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Rich Finegan on June 02, 2011, 03:39:11 PM
.... the difference between Curly and Curly-Joe, so perhaps I'm lucky in that respect. I can definitely see how a small child (which those later films were aimed at) would fail to notice the difference between the two.

The Stooges themselves (or maybe it was Moe who had them printed) didn't help matters in the Joe DeRita period by giving away fan photos of shots that had Curly as the third Stooge, but with Curly-Joe's name pre-printed on the picture of Curly (Moe sent me one in 1973. It's a shot from IF A BODY MEETS A BODY but with the "Joe" part of Curly-Joe crossed out by Moe when he personally signed it. How'd that be for even further confusing some young fan?)
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Rich Finegan on June 02, 2011, 03:52:57 PM
Wanna know my confusion as a kid?  I used to think Derita was Joe Besser taking on a Curly persona. 
Speaking of confusion as a young Stooge-watching kid, I can remember (and it goes way way way back) when I thought Larry was Curly. Hey, wouldn't a dumb young kid logically assume that the guy with the curly hair is the guy they're calling "Curly"?
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on June 02, 2011, 04:26:48 PM
The Stooges themselves (or maybe it was Moe who had them printed) didn't help matters in the Joe DeRita period by giving away fan photos of shots that had Curly as the third Stooge, but with Curly-Joe's name pre-printed on the picture of Curly (Moe sent me one in 1973. It's a shot from IF A BODY MEETS A BODY but with the "Joe" part of Curly-Joe crossed out by Moe when he personally signed it. How'd that be for even further confusing some young fan?)

You're lucky you got to correspond with Moe, trickery or not! 
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 03, 2011, 03:44:14 AM
Anybody who likes hilariously bad movies needs to experience "The Incredibly Strange Creatures...".
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: 7stooges on June 03, 2011, 10:16:57 PM
DeRita was actually never particularly fond of those four solo shorts he made for Columbia. He commented on them in an interview later in life, saying something similar to, "They could have gotten a busboy to play my part and it would have worked just as well".

I've heard numerous times from people who actually knew DeRita personally that he was very funny and gergarious person, unlike his rather dull Stooge persona. For instance, Norman Maurer once said that DeRita was "great on ad-libs". I'm not sure if Joe ever did any ad-libbing in his Stooge films, but perhaps most of this took place on stage. DeRita's lack of Stooge persona probably resulted from the fact that he was more of a stock comic.

But I do have to agree that DeRita never really seemed totally enthused about being a Stooge, but like others have mentioned, he really didn't have much to work with. If Moe and Larry really wanted DeRita to be a Stooge, I think that everybody (Moe, Larry, and DeRita includeD) could have tried a little harder to integrate him into the act properly and give him more of a persona.

Incidentally, I've always wondered why Moe claimed he tried to get DeRita as a replacement for Shemp, when DeRita himself made it clear that this never happened.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 03, 2011, 10:41:00 PM
I actually own The Three Stooges Funniest Moments (http://www.amazon.com/Three-Stooges-Funniest-Moments-II/dp/B00000F5UQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307158468&sr=1-6) DVD. At the very end of the DVD, there is 9 minute "Doctor Sketch" with Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe taken from The Ed Sullivan Show. There is a lot of slapstick in this sketch and believe it or not, Curly-Joe gives his best performance here. It just goes to show that if Curly-Joe had more to work with, he would've been a great stooge. Like 7stooges said, I don't think Curly-Joe was all that enthused when working in those 5 Columbia movies. Due to the lack of slapstick and the boring plots in those movies, it didn't really give Curly-Joe any motivation to try to put some life into the group.

And yeah, I heard that DeRita was originally selected to replace Shemp, but was under contract at the time. So, they got Joe Besser instead.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 04, 2011, 12:01:03 AM
There's a difference between "wanted/preferred" and "tried to get him instead of Besser". It could be that Moe might have preferred DeRita but the idea was quickly shot down with "he's under contract". Or it could be that Moe did indeed lobby to get DeRita instead of Besser and DeRita never knew about. The option is that Moe knew how much people didn't like Besser as a Stooge and he was blowing smoke up people's asses to try to deflect the "Besser problem" away from him ("I wanted DeRita and tried to get him so don't blame me").
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 04, 2011, 10:35:31 AM
I know Besser said he had to resign from the group because his wife got sick, but I also think part of it might've been due to the fact that he knew that being a stooge wasn't working out.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: 7stooges on June 04, 2011, 12:53:47 PM
I know Besser said he had to resign from the group because his wife got sick, but I also think part of it might've been due to the fact that he knew that being a stooge wasn't working out.
Not trying to put Besser (or DeRita) down, but I've heard several different stories (most supposedly from Besser himself) about why he left the Stooges. The wife taking ill story is the most commonly heard one. Larry (who spoke very kindly of Joe) was once asked if he actually left the act because he wanted to return to solo work. Larry said that it was probably true, as Besser didn't like being a Stooge, didn't like the physical demands, didn't like the money, etc. When asked in the 70's, Joe mentioned that he had to leave the act briefly when he was asked to do a film with Bing Crosby. Moe and Larry promised his spot would still be available when he was finished, but he never heard from them again. In the 80's, Joe apparently mentioned that he made up the "wife taking ill" story because his wife, Ernestine (a.k.a. "Ernie"), was a little overprotective towards her husband's wellbeing, and didn't care for the abuse Moe dished out to his teammates. He said that she pretty much forced him out of the act, and then said very quietly and seriously, "she cost me millions".

Like I said, I'm not trying to put Besser down, as I've heard that he was a very nice man. But I wish he had kept his story straight.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum on June 05, 2011, 07:43:18 AM
Larry (who spoke very kindly of Joe)
I find it interesting that Larry and Moe seem to have had such wildly differing opinions of Joe. While Moe really had some harsh words about Joe,  I've never heard of a hint of an unkind word about Joe from Larry (or about the other two from Joe). I've heard that Larry even had Joe's picture, along with those of the other Stooges, at his room in the nursing home.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 06, 2011, 08:37:29 AM
Here are the reasons why I think the DeRita movies are bad:

1) Have Rocket, Will Travel- It started out ok, but once they landed on Venus, the movie really started to bore me. And really? A talking unicorn?? That was really corny!

2) The Three Stooges Meet Hercules- The beginning of the movie was pretty good, but overall, I’m not a fan of the whole going back in time thing. So, this movie really puts me to sleep.

3) The Three Stooges In Orbit- Like mentioned earlier, the fake costumes really ruined the movie. Some parts were ok, but nothing in the movie was funny. The part where the stooges drive around in the Professor’s invention really went on for too long and bored me.

4) The Three Stooges Go Around The World In a Daze- This probably has the best storyline out of the 5 movies, but DeRita’s performance of the Maharaja routine and the Pop Goes The Wesel was really bad. It’s so bad, it makes me cringe when watching it.

5) The Outlaws Is Coming- Some parts were ok, but there’s not much funny parts. And I think DeRita gives his worst performance here as he barely does anything to shine. But overall, this movie barely has any comedy.

I thought Daze was the movie where DeRita had a good opportunity to show us how funny he could be, but he failed miserably. Even with Curly's poor health, he did a MUCH better performance with the Maharaja bit in "Three Little Pirates." And that's really sad because it just shows what little effort DeRita put in.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: pipboytaylor on June 06, 2011, 10:36:59 AM
Hey xraffle, I agree with most of your points. I think the key ingredient here is boring. I think it basically comes down to pacing and writing. They were old so that takes away most of their physical schtick so they would have to rely on writing and interaction. The costumes didn't bother me since Orbit was a comedy and supposed to be corny. Hey this isn't serious sci-fi and those costumes are no worse than what you would see pop up on Lost In Space. I think he potential was there for the features to have been way better then what they are but I guess Moe and Larry were just too "routine" and probably just glad to be working and possibly after so many years of working they just didn't have the energy or desire to thrust into these projects. I still say, outside of Snow White, they aren't THAT bad. Somewhat boring and slow but not bad to throw in on a slow Sunday afternoon to sit and watch. You just get used to watching the high energy shorts and watching the features cannot compare.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: xraffle on June 06, 2011, 01:54:31 PM
Not to defend Curly-Joe, but I think Moe and Larry’s performance went downhill as well in these DeRita features. Combine that with Curly-Joe’s lack of motivation. If Curly or Shemp’s health never failed, I have to wonder if these movies would’ve turned out better.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: shemps#1 on June 06, 2011, 05:15:11 PM
They probably wouldn't have been any good due to the neutering of the Stooge style and their ages. Would they have been better than DeRita? Probably.
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: ThunderStooge on June 13, 2011, 05:06:11 PM
I've read a few fan reviews on some of the "Fake Shemp" shorts on the site, and some mentioned that Moe and Larry suggested that they drop the third Stooge.  Can anyone confirm this?  Let's face it, things just weren't going to be the same after Shemp's death, with or without a third Stooge.   But after seeing some Moe and Larry scenes in some of the aforementioned shorts, I think they could have pulled off a relatively decent two-man comedy act.  Considering the material they had to work with by then, it could have played out like a mediocre Curly or Shemp short, or one of the better Besser shorts; not classic, but still somewhat enjoyable.  In the DeRita era, Curly Joe was usually just in the background going through the motions anyway. 

What are your thoughts?
Title: Re: Three Stooges In Orbit One Of The 50 Worst Movies
Post by: metaldams on June 13, 2011, 06:29:12 PM
I've read a few fan reviews on some of the "Fake Shemp" shorts on the site, and some mentioned that Moe and Larry suggested that they drop the third Stooge.  Can anyone confirm this?  Let's face it, things just weren't going to be the same after Shemp's death, with or without a third Stooge.   But after seeing some Moe and Larry scenes in some of the aforementioned shorts, I think they could have pulled off a relatively decent two-man comedy act.  Considering the material they had to work with by then, it could have played out like a mediocre Curly or Shemp short, or one of the better Besser shorts; not classic, but still somewhat enjoyable.  In the DeRita era, Curly Joe was usually just in the background going through the motions anyway. 

What are your thoughts?

Artistically, I agree with you, Moe and Larry could work together just fine.

Financially, the name "The Three Stooges" would sell better than Howard and Fine, and in order to be The Three Stooges, you obviously need three bodies.