If you want to hear "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" in Spanish and Portuguese as well as in English, then the DVD format is for you.
The Three Stooges: All the World's a Stooge gives a generous 124 minutes of seven Curly classics in a random order: "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (1937), "The World's a Stooge" (1941), "3 Dumb Clucks" (1937), "Three Little Pirates" (1946), "Uncivil War Birds" (1946), "Back to the Woods" (1937), and "Violent Is the Word for Curly" (1938). The shorts cover some familiar territory; "Grips, Grunts and Groans" is only the Stooges' 20th short in the Columbia series, and it is practically a rewrite of "Punch Drunks," the second. Here Curly is driven wild by a perfume rather than a song and is put into a wrestling ring rather than a boxing ring. Even the backscreen projection of the crowd is the same one used in the earlier film.
"Three Little Pirates" contains the famous "Mahah, Ah Ha" routine from their vaudeville days. "Back to the Woods" is one of their relatively rare costume efforts. The highlight of "Violent Is the Word for Curly" is a pleasant little vaudeville song about the alphabet. In "Three Dumb Clucks," Curly gets to play a double role. The audio and video are generally good. The film of "Three Little Pirates" used for the transfer to DVD, however, shows a defect 10 minutes into the episode in the form of vertical lines flickering to the left of the picture, which some might find distracting. --Frank Behrens
1 A GREAT COLLECTION OF CURLY SHORTS
This DVD is loaded with seven Stooges shorts...all of them with Curly and contains some genuine Stooges classics.
"Grips, Grunts & Groans" the Stooges become friends of pro wrestler Bustoff. Bustoff is set to fight for the title but gets drunk and then knocked out by Barbells. Curly had to impersonate him in the match.
"All the World's a Stooge" 1941 - The stooges are window washers who lose their jobs after Moe impersonates the dentist in whose office they were cleaning. On the run, they are hired by a millionaire to pose as children.
"3 Dumb Clucks" 1937 - The stooges escape from jail when they learn their father, who has just become rich, is planning to leave their mother and marry a young girl. Curly is mistaken for the stooges father (he plays both parts) and marries the girl instead.
"Three Little Pirates" 1946. The Best Curly short after 1945. The Stooges are ditched on Dead Man's Island. To escape from the governor, they disguise Curly as a Maharaja and win permission to journey to their own country to fetch presents. Contains the famous "Maha" "aha" routine of Stooges Gibberish. Classic!
"Uncivil Warbirds" 1946 - The stooges are civil war soldiers who are constantly changing uniforms to avoid the opposing armies. Eventually they decide to be loyal to the south, but remain disguised as Union soldiers. Curly is detected as a spy, but Moe and Larry prevent his execution. The least funny of all thier Civil War shorts.
"Back to the Woods" 1937 - Set in colonial times, the stooges are convicted criminals who are banished from England to the American colonies. When they arrive, they find that the colonists are starving because the local Indians won't let them on their hunting grounds. The stooges go hunting any, and after a wild chase, are captured by the Indians.
"Violent Is the Word for Curly" (1938)- The stooges are left in charge of a gas station and manage to blow up the car of their first customers, three famous European professors. The stooges steal some of the academics' clothes and wind up at "Mildew", a women's college where the three professors are expected. Mistaken as the real thing, the boys take their place on the faculty. Contains the famous "Alphabet" song. A true Gem!
This is a great collection! Good transfer and sound and seven strong shorts.
2 The title says it all!
Here in this collection we see Moe Howard,Larry Fine and Moe's brother Curly Howard as pilgrims at war with Indians in BACK TO THE WOODS. Curly filling in for a wrestler named Bustoff(Bustoff has a round jovial face like Curly) in GRIPS,GRUNTS AND GROANS. The scent of a perfume called Wild Hyacinth drives Curly crazy,thus defeating his opponent. The Stooges' father divorces their mother and becomes engaged to a young blonde beauty. After the father shaves off his graying sideburns he looks exactly like Curly(Curly played a dual role in THREE DUMB CLUCKS). In VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY,the Stooges are gas station attendants and are mistaken for three professors scheduled to appear at a college(the real professors are the Stooges' customers). In ALL THE WORLD'S A STOOGE,the Stooges are janitors working in a dentist's office. After the trio extract a man's tooth via explosives,the man takes them in as a gift to his wife(they are "refugees"). UNCIVIL WARBIRDS was set in the 1700's during the era of the Confederate War. The Stooges,with southern accents,are engaged to three southern belles and marry them in the final scene. In THREE LITTLE PIRATES,the Stooges search for fifty pieces of gold that(the monetary value) will rescue them from an island. THREE DUMB CLUCKS was later remade as UP IN DAISY'S PENTHOUSE with Moe and Curly's brother Shemp playing the dual role of son and father(Curly died before the remake was made).
3 Horrible Picture Quality !!!
I was shocked and saddened to see the film quality of the stooge film titled "three Little Pirates" on this DVD. Throughout the entire stooge film there are 5 thick white vertical lines running through the film. It was so distracting to see lines running through Curly's face, that I couldnt focus on the dialogue. DO NOT BE FOOLED by the claim that this DVD is "digitally remastered" ---it does not mean the same as "restored"
4 Excellent collection of Stooge shorts
All the World's a Stooge is an excellent DVD that contains several classic shorts. The DVD contains seven shorts, several of which are true classics. "Grips, Grunts, and Groans" follows the Stooges as they must replace a drunken wrestler, and while funny, not a great short. "All the World's a Stooge" is about a husband who adopts the Stooges to convince his wife not to adopt other children. "Three Dumb Clucks" has the Stooges trying to break up the engagement of their father which contains some very funny shots of Curly in a double role. "Three Little Pirates" has the classic "maha, aha" routine but the condition of the film is pretty bad. "Uncivil War Birds" has Moe and Larry joining the Union and Curly joining the Confederacy which is my favorite short on the DVD. The Three Stooges have a great rendition of "Dixie" in the short that is truly funny. "Back to the Woods" has the Stooges as prisoners sent to the colonies to help fight the Indians containing several good routines. "Violent is the Word for Curly" contains the famous Alphabet Song as well as "Super Service. This is a very good DVD that looks very good with the exception of "Three Little Pirates." A must have for Three Stooges fans!
5 Some Good Stuff
This volume of classic Three Stooges comedies contains six shorts. While the quality of the shorts themselves are uneven, there are several Stooge masterpieces here.
My two favorite shorts in this collection are "3 Dumb Clucks" and "Violent is the Word For Curly," which I think are two of the funniest Stooge comedies ever made (especially "3 Dumb Clucks"). I also enjoyed "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (with Curly posing as a wrestler) and "All the World's a Stooge" (where the Stoooges pose as children).
There are two shorts in here from 1946 ("Three Little Pirates" and "Uncivil War Birds") in which Curly is lacking the manic energy that had made him so popular im the early films. "Back to the Woods" I just didn't like.
However, even the bad shorts here have some great routines in them (the Maja Aha bit from "Three Little Pirates" is a classic) and the Stooges' screen personalities are always engaging.
This DVD may look pretty scratchy, but this is the best condition you'll ever see these films in. Compared to so many public domain videotapes and TV broadcasts, the films look clear and sharp. The only real special feature is a small booklet of liner notes, although Stooge fans should find listening to the films in Portugese a good enough bonus.
6 Pretty good.
This is a pretty good DVD. GRIPS, GRUNTS, AND GROANS and ALL THE WORLD'S A STOOGE are okay shorts, I guess. THREE DUMB CLUCKS is great. Curly does an interesting performance playing himself and the Stooges' father. Remade with Shemp as UP IN DAISY'S PENTHOUSE. THREE LITTLE PIRATES is a great short. Curly gives his last great performance with the Maha-Aha routine. UNCIVIL WARBIRDS is a pretty good short, with another one of Curly's last great performances. BACK TO THE WOODS was very weak and boring, however. Too slow and uninteresting. VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY is a great short. The "Swingin' the Alphabet" song is classic. This DVD is good enough to purchase. I'd buy it if I were you.
7 5 good shorts, 2 weak shorts
This one a good DVD. "Grips, Grunts, And Groans" is in my top 5 favorite stooge shorts because it is fast-paced, manic, and Curly going crazy is hilarious! "All The World's A Stooge", "3 Dumb Clucks", "Three Little Pirates", and "Uncivil Warbirds" are great shorts too. "Back To The Woods" and "Violent Is The Word For Curly" are on the weak side. This is still a good DVD for any stooge fan. The quality on "Three Little Pirates" is not so good.
8 Poor quality on one episode
The quality on "Three Little Pirates" is poor ... I have to wonder if this DVD has been repressed, based on what the other reviewers said. There are very obvious vertical scratches (often more than one simultaneously) on the print for most of the second half of this short. Is this the best that Columbia can come up with?
9 Laughter, the best medicine, and what better doctors
For us Three Stooges' fans, this newest rerelease on DVD is a welcome and overdue treat. The quality is very good on most and always satisfactory. The 7 selections presented here are highly enjoyable, some surprising choices, and all within the boys' best years. It is interesting to note that Curly was noticably ill and a tad sluggish during the filming of "Three Little Pirates" yet he still gives a highly enjoyable performance. It is oft regarded as his last great performance with the trio, as he suffered a stroke shortly after. If you are a Stooges' fan, you don't even need to read anyone's review to convince you...I'm sure you have already ordered this DVD !!!
10 A must for any DVD player owning Three Stooges Fan
If you have a DVD player and are a stooges fan, you must buy this. It has 7 classic episodes and all are in great quality.
11 Bonk!
The older I get, the more affection I have for Hollywood's "golden age." However, in this case, I'll make an exception. Over the years, I've come to find spinach and brussels sprouts not too bad. But folks, these guys just are not funny! Not only does every scrap of set dressing and costuming look bargain-basement, but the labored schtick the protagonists go through over and over lacks all wit or imagination. It must have been torture for all concerned to grind out these preposterous exercises day in and day out. And remember, during shooting and before the sound editor's ministrations, there were no juicy bonks, smacks, doinks, rips, and sproings to punctuate and enliven the goings on.
