The Three Stooges
Collection (Passport)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: D Total Programming: C+
Recently, some of The Three Stooges shorts were issued in
newly colorized versions, and even with al the advances in such a stupid
process, the result still looked liked death painted over. That stayed in my mind as I watched Koch’s Three
Stooges Collection, which does not have the best picture or sound, but at
least does not smear the work of the sometimes-changed comic trio.
This set offers a documentary on their history on DVD 1,
then the following on the next DVDs:
DVD 2:
1)
Disorder In The Court (1936)
2)
Hollywood On Parade (1932)
3)
Knife Of The Party (1934,
a pre-Stooges Shemp)
4)
Henry The Ache (1938, Shemp in a Bert
Laur short spoof of Charles Laughton as Henry The Eighth)
DVD 3:
5)
Malice In The Palace (1949)
6)
Sing A Song Of Six Pants (1947)
7)
Brideless Groom (1947)
8)
Camel Comedy Caravan (1950
appearance on the Ed Wynn Show)
The last two DVDs offer several episodes each of the 1965
animated New Three Stooges cartoon series that is still enjoyed today,
foreran the awful Bionic Stooges animated series, but are also the same
Stooges that appeared on The New Scooby Doo Movies. This is the best collection on DVD by
default, and each five-minutes-long animated segment is accompanied by a live
action opening and closing by the Stooges of the time. This really deserves its own restored DVD
set, so nicely done are these shows, produced by one of Moe’s relatives and
funded by the Stooges themselves! DVD 5
also has the Warner Bros. cartoon Hollywood Steps Out (1941), which
offers characatures of The Stooges among the Hollywood stars sent up.
Though the picture and sound quality are very average,
with some of it being even more problematic, this has enough of a diversity of
Stooges materials that fans might want to get it temporarily until better
versions are issued, especially if they have VHS bootlegs of the material. The material in total did not need five
DVDs, likely fitting on 2 or three, but that is the way it was issued and was
issued in 2003.
- Nicholas Sheffo
