'The Case of The Three Stooges
Hey Cassettes and welcome back to The Black Case Diaries! We’re three old stooges (get it?) learning everything we can about movies and TV and hopefully teaching you in the process. *Introduce yourself* Today we have a VERY special guest: Robin’s dad, Bob! We asked him to come in and help us with this episode because he’s been researching the stooges for a lot longer than we ever could.
There’s a chance that you’ve never heard of Laurel and Hardy, a comedy duo that famously attempted to deliver a player piano up a large flight of stairs (and won an Oscar for it). You’ve probably heard of The Marx Brothers, or at least you’ve seen the infamous Groucho Marx glasses sold in novelty stores. And if you like baseball or Frankenstein, you might have heard of Abbott and Costello. But there’s one group of comedians that became so well-known, their name is one of the most famous in comedy history: The Three Stooges.
Over the past 90 years or so, Moe, Larry, and Curly have maintained a status that no other comedy group has achieved. Their influence on modern comedy is undeniable, with gags that are so commonly referenced, audiences can recognize them without ever having watched a single Stooges short. At first glance, the stooges seem like nothing more than three goofballs smacking each other around, but their work was filled with wit and charm that captured the attention of audiences everywhere.
So, with Dad (Bob) as our guide, we’re going to outline the history of one of America’s most famous trios: The Three Stooges!
The Early Days
There were officially six men that played the on-screen stooges during their 5-decade career. They were Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Joe, and Curly-Joe.
Moe Howard, the leader of the trio, was born Moses Horowitz in 1897. He was fascinated by show business, and loved to watch local performances. By the time he was twelve, Moe was running errands for film crews and finding his way into early movie productions. As a teenager, he left home to perform on a showboat. But at the end of the 1910s, Moe reunited with his older brother, Samuel (Shemp) Horowitz. They developed an act for the vaudeville stage billed as “Howard and Howard.” They would both use the stage name Howard for the rest of their careers.
In the early 1920s, Moe had heard that an old friend of his, Ted Healy, was headlining a show at the Prospect Theater in New York. Healy, who was born Charles Ernest Lee Nash, was a popular comedian and vaudeville performer. He agreed to add Moe and Shemp to his act as “stooges.”
Ted Healy, Shemp, and Moe were performing in Chicago when they came across Louis (Larry) Feinberg, a young actor and musician that was working as an emcee in Fred Mann’s Rainbo Gardens. Originally from Philadelphia, Louis was a talented violinist and comedian that performed under the stage name Larry Fine.
When one of the stooges noticed Larry in Chicago, Ted Healy offered him a part in the act and a salary of $100 a week.
Over the course of the 1920s, there were several iterations of Ted Healy’s stooges, as members left and rejoined for various reasons. Ted and Shemp left to appear in a production on Broadway, and were later reunited with Larry and Moe in the 1929 Broadway show “A Night in Venice.”
During the show’s run, Healy, Moe, Larry, and Shemp continued to perform on the vaudeville circuit as “Ted Healy & His Southern Gentlemen” or “Ted Healy and his Racketeers.”
“A Night in Venice” was a big hit, and it gave the group a lot of recognition. A talent scout noticed the comedians during one of their performances, and the team was cast in the 1930 Rube Goldburg film Soup to Nuts.
The film received a lukewarm reception, except when it came to Moe, Larry, and Shemp, who stole the show as three goofy firefighters. Fox Studios offered the trio a film deal, but Ted Healy allegedly intervened. He felt that the studio didn’t have the right to break up his act. But when the other three found out about the missed opportunity, they broke free from Healy and continued to perform under the name “Howard, Fine, and Howard.”
Ted Healy assembled a new group of men to replace the other three, and they continued to perform similar sketches for the next couple years. Eventually, this new group disbanded and Healy convinced Moe and Larry to return to his act. One of the reasons they agreed to return was because Healy, who was a known alcoholic, had promised to stop drinking. Shortly after the group reunited, Shemp decided to leave Ted Healy for good, embracing the opportunity for a solo career.
With Shemp gone, the stooges were in need of a replacement. The obvious choice for Moe was his baby brother Jerome, who had been following the act for a while and knew the routines. Jerome was 6 years younger than Moe, and his older brothers called him “Babe.”
Jerome was young and handsome, with thick wavy hair. Ted Healy didn’t like him as the third man for the act because he felt that the youngest Howard brother was too handsome to be funny. So, Jerome went to the barber and shaved his head. He presented himself to the group and traded in his “babe” nickname for a new one: Curly.
In August of 1932, Moe, Larry, and Curly performed together for the first time, paving the way for their eventual stardom. In 1933 and 1934, MGM casted “Healy and His Stooges” in several films. But when the MGM film deal was up, the stooges and Ted Healy finally agreed to separate for good. The stooges were paid a great deal less than Healy throughout their time together. This, and the fact that Healy was unable to keep his promise of sobriety, ultimately led to the group’s separation.
The newly independent stooges received a one-film deal from Columbia Pictures. The studio told the men that if it went well, then the studio would offer them a larger deal of short comedies. The first picture was called “Woman Haters.”
The short is unlike any other stooges film. The lines rhyme throughout, and none of the stooges play themselves. While filming “Woman Haters,” the team presented Columbia with a treatment for their first solo sketch, Punch Drunks. The studio liked it so much that they signed The Three Stooges on for a 7-year deal, making 8 comedies a year. In the title sequence of Punch Drunks, the world was finally introduced to The Three Stooges.
Notable shorts (some famous, some we just enjoy) Every one of the 190 Columbia shorts can be found on the YouTube channel Three Stooges Plus. We will link to the shorts we mentioned as well!
Punch Drunks (1934) - Although Moe, Larry, and Curly don’t start out as an established group at the beginning of this short, they team up after discovering that Curly has what it takes to be a prize fighter. He can only fight, however, when he hears “Pop! Goes the Weasel.” Moe becomes Curly’s manager, and Larry uses his violin to make sure that Curly keeps fighting!
This is generally considered to be the first Three Stooges short because it was the first where the men played “themselves,” and were officially monikered “The Three Stooges.” It was also the short that convinced Columbia to sign the men on for the next seven years.
The stooges came up with the story, and are credited in the title sequences as, “Story by: Jerry Howard, Larry Fine, and Moe Howard.” The episode was written by Jack Cluett, and directed by Lou Breslow.
In 2002, it was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress
Men in Black (1934) - Moe, Larry, and Curly are newly-hired doctors at a large hospital. They try (and fail) to serve their patients quickly, and cause lots of mayhem.
This was the only short film nominated for an Oscar!
The title was a play on the film Men in White which was released earlier in the same year. It was written by Felix Adler and directed by Raymond McCarey.
Disorder in the Court (1936) - The stooges are witnesses in a trial where their friend, a nightclub dancer, is accused of murder. Our heroes disrupt the proceedings and discover the real killer!
Written by Felix Adler and directed by Preston Black, this is considered by many fans as an all-time classic. It also starred Suzanne Kaaren as Gail Tempest.
Violent is the Word for Curly (1938) - Three gas station workers (the stooges) are mistaken as college professors who are expected to teach at a prestigious women’s college. The men assume the identities of the professors and decide to teach their own kind of lesson!
This episode famously includes the alphabet song, or “swinging the alphabet” as it was later known. The exact songwriters are unknown, and this was the first known use of it.
The story and screenplay were by Al Giebler and Elwood Ullman, and it was directed by Charley Chase
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939) - Hungry and looking for work, the Three Stooges seemingly hit a stroke of luck when Curly’s wishes suddenly come true! They find a free car, meet a sweet woman (the Widow Jenkins) who serves them dinner, and discover an oil gusher on her land. But it turns out that the Widow Jenkins has been swindled out of her property by three greedy businessmen, and the stooges go on a mission to retrieve the deed to the widow’s land.
This short was directed by Jules White and written by Andrew Bennison and Mauri Grashin
A Plumbing We Will Go (1940) - On the run from the police for trying to steal a fish, the three stooges disguise themselves as Plummers and are hired to fix a leak in a mansion. Unsurprisingly, the men don’t know what they are doing and mix up the water pipes and the electrical system, causing all kinds of chaos!
This episode features Dudley Dickerson, a frequent stooges collaborator and comedian. He plays the chef that is trying to start dinner as the stooges cause mayhem in the kitchen. His scene is considered by some to be the best moment in the short!
The story and screenplay were written by Elwood Ullman and it was directed by Del Lord
Dutiful But Dumb (1941) - The stooges are three news photographers that have been sent on an impossible mission to Vulgaria, a country where photography is illegal. The three try to avoid capture and execution while attempting to complete their assignment!
“The Vulgarian Frontier: subject to change without notice.”
This short is notable for including two classic Curly bits. The first is with the oyster stew, when Curly loses a battle of wits with a live oyster. The second is when Curly hides in a radio and must pretend to be the stations when the pursuing soldiers turn it on.
Story and screenplay were written by Elwood Ullman, and it was directed by Del Lord.
In the Sweet Pie and Pie (1941) - Three women discover that they will only inherit their fortune if they get married. So, they devise a scheme to wed three men that are on death row. Unluckily for them, the three men they choose are Moe, Larry, and Curly, who are scheduled to hang for a crime they did not commit. At the very last second, the stooges are exonerated, much to the dismay of their new wives. The women lay a trap wherein the stooges are sure to embarrass them, giving them grounds for divorce. The whole situation culminates in a pie fight!
Ewart Adamson created the story and the screenplay was written by Clyde Bruckman. Jules White produced and directed the short.
The short’s title is a play on "In the Suite By and By,” a Christian spiritual that has been covered by many artists, including Dolly Parton
This short also features Vernon Dent, a frequent co-star to the stooges. He shows up again in An Ache in Every Stake, which is another short on our list.
You Nazty Spy (1940)/I’ll Never Heil Again (1941) - “Any resemblance between the characters in this picture and any persons, living or dead, is a miracle.” These two shorts notably spoofed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. In the first one, Moe plays a former wallpaper hanger that gets chosen to be a puppet dictator for the nation of Moronika. Larry and Curly play two of his hapless advisors. Even though all three men are eaten at the end of the first short, the stooges released a sequel in 1941.
At this time, Hollywood generally avoided satirizing world leaders because they were concerned about foreign audiences. The director of the short, Jules White, brought the idea to the stooges shortly after Hitler invaded Poland. Despite being the first to comment on the war, the men received little pushback. Some credit this to the fact that the stooges weren’t taken seriously. They were, however, popular with mainstream audiences and this paved the way for more political commentary and criticism from Hollywood.
Moe later said that You Nazty Spy was his favorite short. The stooges had just returned from Europe at the time, and were aware of the horrors that Hitler and the Nazi party inflicted.
Story and screenplay were by Clyde Bruckman and Felix Adler, and Jules White directed.
An Ache in Every Stake (1941) - Moe, Larry, and Curly are attempting to deliver ice to a house at the top of a large stoop on a hot day. Their antics anger the chef hired to prepare a meal for the homeowner’s birthday. So, the stooges step in to provide a birthday dinner that the hosts will never forget!
The story and screenplay were written by Lloyd A French, and it was directed by Del Lord
I can Hardly Wait (1943) - At the end of the day, the stooges ration out their meal. Larry and Moe both get half a piece of half and half an egg, while Curly gets a whole ham bone and a whole eggshell. Curly breaks a tooth on the bone, causing him a massive and hilarious toothache.
The story and screenplay were by Clyde Bruckman. Jules White directed the short as well.
Hold That Lion (1947) - Moe, Larry, and Shemp have been cheated out of their inheritance by a crooked lawyer. They chase the man onto a train where they accidentally release a lion!
At this point in their career, Curly had left the stooges because he had suffered multiple strokes, and was no longer healthy enough to act. However, he makes a cameo appearance as a sleeping man on the train. In this short, all four stooges, Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp, appear onscreen together for the first and only time. You can find the scene at the 8:40 mark in the video.
Felix Adler wrote the story and the screenplay, while Jules White directed.
This episode also co-starred Dudley Dickerson!
Shivering Sherlocks (1948) - After the stooges witness a car theft, they become the main suspects. After passing a lie detector test, they search for the real criminals!
This episode includes the line “Angel, strangers in the house,” which many find to be the most haunting and serious line in all of the three stooges shorts, because the lead criminal is asking Angel to kill the stooges.
Story and screenplay by Del Lord and Elwood Ullman, while Del Lord directed
After suffering the loss of Jerome and Shemp, the Three Stooges continued to produce more films with replacement Joe Besser and Joe (Curly-Joe) DeRita. They appeared in a few feature-length films, the last of which was called The Outlaws is Coming (1965). In 1970, the group filmed an unaired TV pilot for a travel show featuring the retired stooges called, Kook’s Tour. Larry Fine suffered a stroke while filming, and the television show never came to be. You can find it on YouTube and we will link to it in the blog if you’re interested in seeing it! Larry and Moe both passed away in 1975, and Curly-Joe retired from acting. He passed away 23 years later in 1993.
It’s possible that no other comedy act will ever achieve the notoriety of The Three Stooges. Their work is in some ways incredibly dated, and timeless in others. After just one google search, you will find countless testimonials from fans recounting their personal connection to the stooges and why their work still matters today. And while we can acknowledge that their zany (and violent) brand of comedy isn’t for everyone, we can still honestly say that they never fail to bring a smile to our faces. So if you’re wondering if we think you should give a couple of their short films a chance, we’ll say, “why soitenly!”
Sources:
Hogan, David J. Three Stooges FAQ. Rowman & Littlefield, 1 Sept. 2011.
Howard, Moe. I Stooged to Conquer : The Autobiography of the Leader of the Three Stooges. Chicago, Chicago Review Press, 2013.
Niebaur, James. “The Stooges, at Last, Get Some Respect.” Cineaste, 2003, pp. 12–14. EBSCO, research-ebsco-com.webproxy3.columbuslibrary.org/c/bfcip5/viewer/pdf/3nhaivgelv. Accessed 31 July 2024.
“About the Stooges: A Brief History.” Threestooges.net, threestooges.net/about/index/5.
Kings of Docs. “Stooges: The Men behind the Mayhem | Full Documentary.” YouTube, 23 June 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCBTnl4lxZ4. Accessed 7 Aug. 2024.