Moronika
Film & Shorts Discussions => The Three Stooges - Curly Years => Topic started by: metaldams on April 27, 2013, 10:28:55 PM
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http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026000/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.youtube.com%2Fvi%2FhqpLqIHJdUM%2F0.jpg&hash=c1c7be26f7001e8638dc5e49da4e9b5f6eee2c31)
OK, let's get started what I hope will be a popular feature on this site.
WOMAN HATERS, where it all began for The Three Stooges at Columbia, is more of an anomaly in The Three Stooges series. Officially, it is part of The Musical Novelties series, a series in which all the dialogue is spoken in rhyme and accompanied by music. Well, "novelty" is a good way to describe this short because that is exactly how I view it.
I'm glad this short exists because it gives us a different look at The Three Stooges in a musical role, and Larry in particular does a fine job (no pun intended). That said, would I be a Three Stooges fan if all 190 shorts were like this? Not exactly. Musicals aren't really my thing, and this one holds my interest simply because of three certain actors who are in it.
The rhyming dialogue gets old after a while and the Stooges really have to conform to the rhythm of the music as opposed to the rhythm they would naturally develop in later shorts, so it sounds a bit forced. I don't have much else to say with this one except I find it to be a fascinating one off.
5/10
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I probably like WOMAN HATERS more than the average fan. I enjoy the background music and the dialogue as well as the "For You" song are pretty catchy. It's a fun change of pace.
Marjorie White is another plus. She worked well with the Stooges and it's regrettable this was her only appearance with them. She died the following year at age 31 in a car accident.
Curly gives off one of his best "woo-woo-woo's" here at about 17:25 into the short.
The short used some of the same sets as TWENTIETH CENTURY, a 1934 Columbia feature with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. That film wrapped on 3/24/34 and WOMAN HATERS began filming three days later. Fred Toones is in both films.
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Curly gives off one of his best "woo-woo-woo's" here at about 17:25 into the short.
The short used some of the same sets as TWENTIETH CENTURY, a 1934 Columbia feature with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. That film wrapped on 3/24/34 and WOMAN HATERS began filming three days later. Fred Toones is in both films.
Are you talking about the "woo-woo-woo" after Moe bites his foot? I'll agree with that. I'll also give props to the little slapstick fight in the first scene. It's quite energetic and unlike any other Stooge fight. Perhaps the musical rhythm worked to their advantage in this one case.
Good observation about TWENTIETH CENTURY, one of my favorite films.
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Woman Haters might be one of the more controversial shorts in the stooge canon. I'm not sure if its on the same level as a Cuckoo on a Choo Choo but there are mixed opinions regardless. I'm on the side of those who like it. As metaldams pointed out earlier, I don't know if I could have taken 190 shorts like this, but as a one-off it works well.
The whole rhyming gimmick can get a bit tedious at times, but overall its not that big a hindrance on the film and My Life, My Love, My All is definitely a catchy number.
The slapstick spread throughout the short is really good, particularly the free-for-all slapfest at the beginning at the Woman Haters club. Also, I must make mention of the ending with the old & feeble stooges. One of the best finishes ever to a stooge film imo.
And it seems appropriate that Bud Jamison gets to deliver the first eye-poke in a stooge short.
Overall, I would say Haters is a good film, maybe even really good and a fine way to kick off the stooges career. I know everyone won't agree with that but it's just my $0.02.
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As a kid I hated this short. I didn't like the rhyming or the singing. But back then I didn't like the Shemp shorts either. Like most kids I only liked the Curly shorts. Over the years I have come to appreciate it a little because of it being the boys first short. But it is not on my list of favorite Stooge shorts by any means. 4 pokes
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My opinion of Woman Haters has improved over the years. I thought it was just "okay" the first time that I watched it, but I have actually grown quite fond of it with repeated viewings. Like falsealarms, I like the music and dialogue and, while I wouldn't have cared for an entire series of shorts like it, I think it's a fun introduction to the Stooges. They get in a fair amount of mayhem for a musical novelty (60 face slaps and 11 eye pokes, along with a few head bonks!)*
Marjorie White was quite cute, and did a great job of holding her own with the Stooges. It's truly a shame that she died so young.
I give Woman Haters 8 out of 10 eye pokes.
And it seems appropriate that Bud Jamison gets to deliver the first eye-poke in a stooge short.
I never thought about Bud getting to deliver the first "official" Three Stooges eye poke! That does seem appropriate! ;)
The short used some of the same sets as TWENTIETH CENTURY, a 1934 Columbia feature with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard. That film wrapped on 3/24/34 and WOMAN HATERS began filming three days later. Fred Toones is in both films.
A good catch on the Twentieth Century sets, falsealarms. I haven't watched the movie in quite a while, and never made the connection.
* Mental note: we need to review the mayhem counts on the episode pages, as I'm not sure how accurate they are. I noticed at least one additional head bonk at the end when I was re-watching the episode just now, but I wasn't keeping counts while I was watching.
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I saw this for the first time last week.
Like others here, I would hate for every Stooges short to be like this, but given the constraints of the rhyming musical format, I was impressed with how Curley, Larry, and Moe kept some of the Stooges essence going during the musical parts.
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And it seems appropriate that Bud Jamison gets to deliver the first eye-poke in a stooge short.
Not to mention the very first line in a Columbia Stooge short. I paid special attention that detail when I watched WOMAN HATERS last night. A nice bit of Stooge trivia, and if not a Stooge, I'm glad it was Jamison, one of the top supporting actors for sure. Perhaps we should keep tabs on Columbia debuts. In addition to Bud Jamison, Monte Collins makes his first appearance in this one too. Any other regulars I'm not thinking of now?
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Any other regulars I'm not thinking of now?
June Gittelson and Jack Norton.
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I've always liked WOMAN HATERS for the music. There's something I like about the distinctive sound of the Columbia studio orchestra from that period. And the fact that there's relatively so little music in most Columbia films of that period that the Musical Novelties series has always been of special interest to me. I've done a lot of research into that series.
WOMAN HATERS was the 5th short in the series of 8 (not 9 as some sources state) but after the first four Columbia must have tightened the budgets because no longer were the shorts having all-new original music scores and songs written for them. Instead the music for WOMAN HATERS and the next entry in the series, SUSIE'S AFFAIRS was made up of pieces of the scores of the first four shorts, cut and edited together to match the new action and dialogue/songs. So, next time you watch WOMAN HATERS, bear in mind that every note of music in the film is taken from an earlier film and edited together for WOMAN HATERS. Pretty impressive job! Even the "Wedding March" and "Rock-A-Bye Baby" music is from earlier shorts in the series.
By the way, the budgets were tightened even further by the time of the 7th and 8th shorts in the series later in 1934. Unlike the first 6 with their "wall-to-wall" music, these two were more like comedies with incidental music than the all-music style of the first 6 shorts. Much cheaper that way! And even the few bits of music and songs in those two shorts were reused from earlier films, or were songs from earlier entries but with new lyrics written for them.
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I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've watched Woman Haters in its entirety -- it's easily my least favorite Curly short.
For some reason, I just can't get into it the same way I do just about every other Stooge short. It might be its musical nature (the structure of which seems to go against the Stooges' anarchist grain); it might be that the boys are playing roles other than "themselves"; I'm not sure.
But almost any time I try to watch it, I find myself unengaged and distracted -- which is odd, since generally I enjoy musicals/musically-oriented productions.
For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead
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Was there a particular reason why their first short was a musical? Was it originally planned for the three boys to be in musical comedies and then when Punch Drunks came along, they decided to ditch that idea?
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I've always liked WOMAN HATERS for the music. There's something I like about the distinctive sound of the Columbia studio orchestra from that period. And the fact that there's relatively so little music in most Columbia films of that period that the Musical Novelties series has always been of special interest to me. I've done a lot of research into that series.
WOMAN HATERS was the 5th short in the series of 8 (not 9 as some sources state) but after the first four Columbia must have tightened the budgets because no longer were the shorts having all-new original music scores and songs written for them. Instead the music for WOMAN HATERS and the next entry in the series, SUSIE'S AFFAIRS was made up of pieces of the scores of the first four shorts, cut and edited together to match the new action and dialogue/songs. So, next time you watch WOMAN HATERS, bear in mind that every note of music in the film is taken from an earlier film and edited together for WOMAN HATERS. Pretty impressive job! Even the "Wedding March" and "Rock-A-Bye Baby" music is from earlier shorts in the series.
By the way, the budgets were tightened even further by the time of the 7th and 8th shorts in the series later in 1934. Unlike the first 6 with their "wall-to-wall" music, these two were more like comedies with incidental music than the all-music style of the first 6 shorts. Much cheaper that way! And even the few bits of music and songs in those two shorts were reused from earlier films, or were songs from earlier entries but with new lyrics written for them.
This is really a fascinating post, Rich. Just goes to show Columbia, even at this early stage in the game, would use past properties to save a little cash.
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Was there a particular reason why their first short was a musical? Was it originally planned for the three boys to be in musical comedies and then when Punch Drunks came along, they decided to ditch that idea?
I believe, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong, that The Three Stooges signed as a one film deal for WOMAN HATERS and didn't get a yearly contract until PUNCH DRUNKS. The latter, not to get too far ahead into next week's film, established their characters, and I have a feeling Columbia just stuck these undeveloped characters (bear in mind they did not do much without Healy at this point), into whatever vehicle was handy to see if they would catch lightning in a bottle. That's my theory, anyway.
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The first Stooge short ever made at Columbia.
When I first saw it, I didn't really like it. At all. Since then, it's actually grown on me quite a bit. It is very different from all the others, but there's still some decent slapstick.
I love watching the brawl that ensues after Bud Jamison 'gouges Moe's eyes out' - "I now pronounce you members of the Woman Hater's Club!" "Hooray - Hooray - Hooray!"
My favorite scene however is the beer glasses breaking during their toast. Watch for Walter Brennan as a train conductor
'And when I'm finished with my croo-ning, on my knees I'll fall - My life! My love! My ALL!"
My rating: 6.5/10
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Here's UMPA (1933), another "Musical Novelty" entry from Columbia:
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That guy reminds me of Al Jolson. Hard to believe this has links to Three Stooges, but the Columbia shorts department had to start somewhere. Not to my taste, but then again, I understand Slayer is not for everybody either.
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UMPA is entertaining, but in a bizarre kind of way. The dialogue is kind of funny .... "get another nurse, the patient is getting worse!" .... "he would have been a goner if I waited around for you!" .... "but we couldn't get here sooner! / What did you do, meet a crooner?"
"I'll be there right away, don't let him pass away!"
WOMAN HATERS recycled some of the music from UMPA.... the "for you" tune is heard in UMPA, but with different words.
Those projection shots in UMPA are extremely cheap.
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Good short. I like it because it is unique. It is in my top 10 percentile of favorites.
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Until I began watching the shorts in order last week, I never knew Women Haters was the first. Like most, I wasn't overly fond of it as a youngster; it was more of a novelty, and somewhat tedious to watch. As an adult with a greater appreciation of the Stooges work, I appreciate that it started a run of comedic brilliance. Still well down on my faves list.
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I love this one. Very atypical Stooge film. In fact I've watched it so many times I can recite all the dialog and lyrics all the way through, But then that's true of quite a few of their films. They were still finding their footing and establishing their act without Healy. In fact Curly's character wasn't fully formed for a couple of years yet. Anyway the early ones were their best.
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As a professional musician, I rank this short higher than others might. Its an enjoyable watch although some of the rhyming verse isn't executed too well. The second scene has some awkward verse that is difficult to perform correctly.
The opening scene is just excellent, featuring Jameson and Monte Collins. Is that Chuck Callahan sitting there, too? It seems that Jameson was a little uncomfortable poking these guys in the eyes. Maybe he was supposed to be slow with the delivery of these eyepokes as part of the ceremony. The mayhem that follows is amazing in its timing.
I think the wedding scene is my favorite. Larry is great here as the unwilling groom. I also like the scene outside the car when Mary is eavesdropping on them. The dialogue between Larry and Curly after Moe leaves with Mary sounds awkward, however.
Very enjoyable overall. I can't help but think this short may have somewhat inspired the Farrelly Brothers in their own film about a girl named Mary being courted by three maniacs. The main characters in "There's Something about Mary" were named Mary, Ted, and Healy.
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According to the book on Columbia short subjects, the Stooges were billed as "Howard, Fine & Howard" up until Punch Drunks. The opening credits for Woman Haters labels them as the Three Stooges. Were the original titles of this short replaced once it was released to TV audiences?
Just curious....
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A nice start, but doesn't feel like a Three Stooges short, even with the slapstick. I do like that Larry is the star of the trio in this short.
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I'm off and on on WOMAN HATERS. The rhyming is a bit annoying after a while, and though it has slapstick, it's just...not the Stooges to me.
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This is not all that great of an episode. The beginning and ending parts at the woman hater's club was pretty funny, but other than that, this episode is bore to sit through. I'd prefer the stooges not mix comedy with musical.
3/10
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I agree with Liz!! Though I guess our boys had to start somewhere....
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According to the book on Columbia short subjects, the Stooges were billed as "Howard, Fine & Howard" up until Punch Drunks. The opening credits for Woman Haters labels them as the Three Stooges. Were the original titles of this short replaced once it was released to TV audiences?
Just curious....
I believe so, JWF. Looking carefully at the title card, I noticed the "Three Stooges" screen is sped up. I assume this was made for some later video release or television master as I see no splice marks. It would not make sense either to use the Three Stooges billing as the short was originally marketed as "A Musical Novelty." Has this short been run on television before the 1990s Cable TV phenomenon (where major studios presented haphazardly restored versions of films to replace years of local stations airing worn out 16mm reduction prints)? It would be interesting to find an older 16mm print of this short.
This short, to me is a great introduction to the Stooges without Ted Healy. Keep in mind, that the Healy MGM shorts were mostly musicals, and hardly featured the comedic trio! This Musical Novelty is a revelation of sorts where the Stooges play the main roles and do an amazing job for the first film of its kind. Even in the first scene, there is total chaos as the Stooges are introduced to the Woman Haters club. The scenes on the train are side splitting hilarious, Marjorie White could have been a great fourth stooge if only circumstances were different. The ending with the Stooges as old men is to die for! The only thing that I thought was weird was, since this was the first short, the characters referred to each other with different names. Of course, I know now, that the names were not used until Punch Drunks. Even as a kid, despite not knowing the history, I knew that there was something special about this short and it was still funny regardless!
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For me, this short is sore-lacking in many ways, especially with the bad lines and comedy. However, the execution was perfect and it was the only time the boys got to be away from their stereotypical images.
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Starting my first critical review of a Stooge short, I only find it appropriate to start with the first subject to be issued.
After seeing a fair bunch of the other shorts introduced via AMC and the Family Channel, this is one I recall watching about 10-12 years ago... and I remember not being a big fan with the first watch. Now that I've grown older and obtaining the full box set, I've been able to fully analyze both my positive and negative factors of "Women Haters." With this one, I've seen a split opinion with the fanbase, you either love it or hate it! Now with me...
Personal highlights:
- The opening 3 1/2 minutes and the last scene. Nice to see Bud Jamison getting the opening lead of a the very first Stooge short, whereas I would have expected our favorite 3 morons. Also, I think the opening scene with the Stooges (albeit not named Moe, Larry, and Curly, but with different names, the only time this has been done I believe) immediately grasps what was to be their slapstick throughout not only this first short subject but the remaining 189 shorts and the next 24 years.
- The now considered un-P.C theme of the short. Whenever the Stooges focused around these types of issues, it always seemed to work.
- It's not often you see the middle Stooge getting a lead part in the plot, and this makes the short a bit more interesting
However... the technical elements presented in the short make this fall flat for me.
Low points:
- The rhyming. Good god, I remember seeing this for the first time and felt -annoyed- with the rhyming. It got old way too fast and it still irritates me.
- The musical numbers. Again, I saw this when I was about 10 and now this makes me consider that this would "work" (that is, making it more sense if I was a fan of...) if this was a feature film and Ted Healy was part of the group, as this format was abandoned and never returned.
Overall conclusion: If there was less slapstick and less chemistry between the Stooges, this short for me would be forgettable. I'll have to admit, the 2007 remaster looks and sounds splendid compared to the TV prints.
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Starting my first critical review of a Stooge short, I only find it appropriate to start with the first subject to be issued.
After seeing a fair bunch of the other shorts introduced via AMC and the Family Channel, this is one I recall watching about 10-12 years ago... and I remember not being a big fan with the first watch. Now that I've grown older and obtaining the full box set, I've been able to fully analyze both my positive and negative factors of "Women Haters." With this one, I've seen a split opinion with the fanbase, you either love it or hate it! Now with me...
Personal highlights:
- The opening 3 1/2 minutes and the last scene. Nice to see Bud Jamison getting the opening lead of a the very first Stooge short, whereas I would have expected our favorite 3 morons. Also, I think the opening scene with the Stooges (albeit not named Moe, Larry, and Curly, but with different names, the only time this has been done I believe) immediately grasps what was to be their slapstick throughout not only this first short subject but the remaining 189 shorts and the next 24 years.
- The now considered un-P.C theme of the short. Whenever the Stooges focused around these types of issues, it always seemed to work.
- It's not often you see the middle Stooge getting a lead part in the plot, and this makes the short a bit more interesting
However... the technical elements presented in the short make this fall flat for me.
Low points:
- The rhyming. Good god, I remember seeing this for the first time and felt -annoyed- with the rhyming. It got old way too fast and it still irritates me.
- The musical numbers. Again, I saw this when I was about 10 and now this makes me consider that this would "work" (that is, making it more sense if I was a fan of...) if this was a feature film and Ted Healy was part of the group, as this format was abandoned and never returned.
Overall conclusion: If there was less slapstick and less chemistry between the Stooges, this short for me would be forgettable. I'll have to admit, the 2007 remaster looks and sounds splendid compared to the TV prints.
Nice first review and post. Welcome aboard.
You mention the chemistry between the Stooges. Columbia actually started their shorts department making musical comedies like these, and I saw one of them. Let's just say a musical rhyming short like this without The Three Stooges is as unwatchable as it sounds to people like me who generally don't like old musicals.
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The Three Stooges are arguably one of the most iconic comedy teams in the history of pop culture. Their eye-pokes, slaps, and nyuk-nyuk-nyuk's resonate across the globe. Training for 12 years leading up to this, this was supposed to be the Stooges' big break. They were finally able to make movies at one of the major movie studios! They had been honing their craft, perfecting every little routine, and these 19 minutes came out of it. Is it good? Well....
There are definitely many flaws with this short film, but before I dive into that, let me tell you what the plot is. The Stooges take an oath for a Woman Haters' club. However, the next day, Larry marries a girl (Marjorie White). Soon, Moe and Curly confront him about this and Larry bad-mouths the girl to them. Marjorie overhears. Soon, she uses all three of the Stooges until they all basically give up on women as a whole and decide to rejoin the Woman Haters' club.
One major problem with this is the way that this film is done. It is done entirely in rhyme. In the first few minutes, the rhyming works, but towards the last final minutes, the rhyming starts to get a bit annoying. Also, The Three Stooges usually go at a breakneck pace but for this they had to go a bit slower than usual. The pacing is very odd at some points with the Stooges' words not really matching up with the music. Marjorie White is definitely a pro at this odd technique, however.
Speaking of Marjorie White, there's not many supporting players in here besides Marjorie. Bud Jamison is in this film as the head of the Woman Haters' club, but he isn't given his full potential. However, he does get to slap and eye-poke all three Stooges for the first time in a Columbia short, which is pretty awesome. Marjorie White was definitely a talented actress. It's a shame that she died a little while after making this short. She definitely wasn't able to release her full potential, and I could see many Columbia/Three Stooges shorts with her as a supporting player.
I really like how the main Stooge featured in this short is Larry. Larry definitely shines throughout this movie, with his hilarious reactions coming into place and his characteristics finally being put to good use. Speaking of characteristics, Moe, Larry and Curly's characteristics are formed, but they still need some developing. I feel like whenever they do use a classic woo-woo-woo or something like that, it feels out of place. But, that's something that they will later perfect and hone.
But, anyways, it seems like this film did successful enough that Columbia gave the Stooges another film to work on where they were basically given free control. Thank goodness for that. Next time I review a short, it will be a better short, no doubt, but as for this one, I'll give it a solid 6.5 out of 10 pokes. There are definitely things to improve on that the Stooges later will, but this short film is entertaining as whole because of its main character being Larry and the characteristics of the Stooges coming into full play.
6/10
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"Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days. Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic. "
It's the Flyers' fault for having played 4 consecutive Sunday nights at the end of the regular season, preempting my normal Stooge-watching time -- especially the way they played this season. [cry]
Annie How, I began the cycle again yesterday (always going in order of volumes 1-5-2-6-3-7-4-8 to avoid watching all of one third Stooge at a time), and my opinion has not changed, this being my least-favorite Curly short. The rhyming wasn't even used in everything, and the music -- well, even Batman did not play music at all times in that TV show.
My favorite parts were Curly's woo-ing when Moe bit his toe, and Larry's rhyme:
"Rain nor shine nor rain, I'll meet yez at the train, and now I'll tell the lady that I'll never see her again," after which the Stooges crash their beer mugs.
Also, when Curly asked Moe what day it was, Moe looked at his right wrist. I didn't know they had calendar watches in 1934!
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"Woman Haters" is a rather inauspicious Columbia debut featuring Larry as the atypical lead and tiresome rhyming dialogue. Nevertheless, this musical novelty has its pleasures — notably Marjorie White (who works well with the boys) and the memorable "My Love, My Life, My All." Polished cinematography by the great Joseph August (his only Stooge two-reeler). Not the worst short by any means, but "Punch Drunks" marks a tremendous leap forward.
6/10
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I've spent the past year watching all 190 of the Three Stooges shorts. I've now ranked them from worst-to-best and will be posting them countdown style in each of the individual threads.
So, I will start here, with the first ever short, which is also my least favorite of them all. This one just never felt like a true Stooges effort to me. The individual characters, the rhyming dialogue, the constant musical background, minimal sound effects, it's just not what I want to watch from my favorite comedy team. Far and away the worst Curly short.
Overall rank #190.
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I've spent the past year watching all 190 of the Three Stooges shorts. I've now ranked them from worst-to-best and will be posting them countdown style in each of the individual threads.
So, I will start here, with the first ever short, which is also my least favorite of them all. This one just never felt like a true Stooges effort to me. The individual characters, the rhyming dialogue, the constant musical background, minimal sound effects, it's just not what I want to watch from my favorite comedy team. Far and away the worst Curly short.
Overall rank #190.
Welcome to the board and looking forward to your countdown!
I would probably rank Woman Haters in my top ten least favorite Curly shorts, but not least favorite overall. This was made as part of the Musical Novelties series and in a sense, not a pure Stooge short.
Curious to where you’ll rank my least favorite, which I’ll mention when you post it.
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Thanks for the welcome, Metaldams! I've been religiously reading this board as I've been working my way thru all 190 shorts. I'm usually in agreement with most of the opinions here, but once in awhile I diverge wildly from the general consensus. Will be posting quite a bit in the coming days. You've been warned...
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I've always enjoyed the Stooges Columbia debut. My favorite scene is the wedding party where it is explained to Larry in no uncertain terms that he is not running out on this marriage!
The tragic Marjorie White has a small part in a Joe E. Brown comedy BROADMINDED, filmed a couple of years earlier. It also featured some strange Hungarian actor (playing a latin!) named Lugosi, or something like that.
Train conductor Walter Brennan sure doesn't look like Walter Brennan!
I've always wondered if the Mt Rushmore opening title with the boys billed as The Three Stooges was part of this initial Musical Novelty release, or was added later when the boys' contract was accepted and The Stooges officially became a part of the Columbia Shorts Department???
Yes, I like this one, athough I don't revisit it all that much.
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I've always enjoyed the Stooges Columbia debut. My favorite scene is the wedding party where it is explained to Larry in no uncertain terms that he is not running out on this marriage!
The tragic Marjorie White has a small part in a Joe E. Brown comedy BROADMINDED, filmed a couple of years earlier. It also featured some strange Hungarian actor (playing a latin!) named Lugosi, or something like that.
Train conductor Walter Brennan sure doesn't look like Walter Brennan!
I've always wondered if the Mt Rushmore opening title with the boys billed as The Three Stooges was part of this initial Musical Novelty release, or was added later when the boys' contract was accepted and The Stooges officially became a part of the Columbia Shorts Department???
Yes, I like this one, athough I don't revisit it all that much.
Marjorie White was also in Wheeler and Woolsey’s DIPLOMANIACS.
Yes, I love BROADMINDED! Thelma Todd is also in that one, so both actresses passed too soon in 1935. Bela indeed steals the show, his best comedy role and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt he could do more than horror.
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I need to see more Wheeler and Wolsey.
(That's a confession you don't hear too often.)
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I enjoy Woman Haters for what it is - the first Stooge film at Columbia, and for the sheer novelty. 7/10
As for the opening “Three Stooges” title card, I recall seeing this on Ch. 44 in San Francisco in the early-mid 70s and it always aired with the “Musical Novelty” card without the Stooges title card - it seemed like something at the beginning was trimmed from the film.
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I'm not sure how many times I've seen this short over the last 50+ years, but I must admit, it took all those years for me to look forward to watching it. Marjorie is a big reason. I've only recently realized how demanding her role was. Singing, emotions from a-z and a surprising amount of physical humor. Her bemused reactions when Larry is singing were terrific, and I also enjoyed how she continually mauled Curly/Jackie. Another insta-chortle is watching Walter Brennan take an unscripted header after his 'initiation'. (He was a bit of a horse's petute, which makes it even more satisfying). Finally, I enjoyed noticing the bottle of Vat 69 on the boys table. Capt. Nixon would have been proud of my attentiveness.
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Ah... Woman Haters. I recently rewatched this short, and my thoughts on it are mixed. On one hand, it's interesting to see where the Stooges began in their long tenure with Columbia. But, on the other hand, it doesn't work for me. I like musicals, don't get me wrong. But, Stooges and musicals don't exactly mesh with me. It's like mixing water and vinegar. Based on that, you'd think I'd rank it low on the list. But, it's really not. It's more of a middle of the road. Not bad, but, not good either. That being said, it's very low end middle of the road to just bad, but, tolerable. I rank this a solid 165 out of 190. Not exactly a short I'd go looking for, but, when I'm trying to binge all 190 shorts, I'll watch it.