DVD Review: The Three Stooges Collection - Vol. 5

[Number One]

As I stated in my Volume Four review, the 1945 short If a Body Meets a Body marked the beginning of the end for Curly Howard. He suffered the first of a series of slight strokes that affected his performance immensely. His illness worsened to the point that he had trouble remembering the decreasing amount of dialogue that he had.

On May 6, 1946, while filming the Stooges' 97th short, Half-Wits Holiday, Curly suffered a severe stroke. He was cut out of the last few minutes of the film and his condition prevented him from performing with Moe and Larry. With Curly out, Moe called his older brother Shemp to replace him. Shemp accepted the offer and the original Stooges were together again. His tenure was supposed to be temporary--until Curly's condition improved. But that wouldn't be the case. Curly suffered two more strokes and passed away on January 18, 1952 at age 48.

This two-disc set features 24 short films from 1946-1948--Curly's final 10 and Shemp's first 14:

1946

Beer Barrel Polecats (features stock footages from 1941 films So Long, Mr. Chumps and In the Sweet Pie and Pie, put in due to Curly's condition)
A Bird in the Head (was originally intended to be Edward Bernds's first directorial short, but that honor went to Micro-Phonies, which featured a better performance from Curly)
Uncivil Warbirds (opens with the theme to Dixieland)
The Three Troubledoers
Monkey Businessmen (features the Stooge debuts of Kenneth MacDonald and Jean Willes)
Three Loan Wolves (features the Stooge debut of Harold Brauer, one of two actors to work with all six Stooges)
G.I. Wanna Home
Rhythm and Weep
Three Little Pirates (said by many to be Curly's final classic performance)

1947

Half-Wits Holiday (Curly's final short, and a remake of 1935's Hoi Polloi; also features the Stooge debut of Emil Sitka, the other actor to work with all six Stooges)
Fright Night (Shemp Howard's first Stooge short)
Out West
Hold That Lion! (the Stooges' 100th short, and features a small cameo appearance of Curly)
Brideless Groom (Emil Sitka's most famous short--his line "Join hands, you lovebirds" is engraved on his headstone)
Sing a Song of Six Pants
All Gummed Up

1948

Shivering Sherlocks
Pardon My Clutch
Squareheads of the Round Table (features the Stooge debut of Phil Van Zandt)
Fiddlers Three
Hot Scots
Heavenly Daze (features Moe in a dual role as himself and Uncle Mortimer)
I'm a Monkey's Uncle
Mummy's Dummies
Crime on Their Hands (the last appearance of actor Cy Schindell, who died that year)

More on Three Little Pirates, which is my favorite from this set. Curly's illness put his performance on an extremely low point. But while filming Three Little Pirates, he was at his highest level. He was on tap completely, and he performed the "Maha" scene flawlessly. Little did anyone know that he had only one short left in him.

#1
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Avatar and Signature Credit: Eva-L.net

[Jim Taggart]

I like the ones with Shemp.
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Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Champions.
Philadelphia Phillies 2009 National League Champs
Philadelphia Phillies 2007 Eastern Division Champs
R.I.P. Harry Kalas 1936-2009