Cactus Makes Perfect

Cactus Makes Perfect (1942)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lesser short from The Three Stooges has the boys finally moving out of their mother's house. With Curly's gold finder in hand, the trio buy a gold mine out West and head there to make their riches. CACTUS MAKES PERFECT is middle ground Stooges at best as for the most part it's pretty forgettable, although there are a few funny jokes to be had. Still, I think this short is going to appeal to fans more than just your casual viewer and if you're new to the trio then it's probably best that you start somewhere else. I think the best jokes come towards the end when the Stooges find themselves at the bottom of the mine looking for the gold. This here leads to some pretty good violence with the boys constantly hitting one another with the tools and the final showdown in the vault contain a few laughs as well. The first part of the short is pretty hit and miss but the sequence with the Stooges in front of the mirror trying to get ready at the same time worked well. Ma Stooge was actually the highlight and especially some of her mannerisms, which of course got passed down to her boys.

This Three Stooges short isn't one of the more memorable ones, except it has the boys' mom in it. Who remembers what Curly, Larry and Moe's mom looked like? Not me, and I've seen this a few times over a 50-year period.

Actually, the answer is Monty Collins, an ugly guy in drag who plays "Ma Stooge." She/he looks more like "Ma Barker!" Outside of her-him, it's a lot of standard Stooge slapstick with the boys hitting each other and a ton of sound effects. Early on the trio squeezes into a tiny bathroom and Moe shaves Curly with a straight razor, which will make you wince a few times!

Vernon Dent, a regular in the series, plays a prospector with a beard. You may not recognize him, but his voice told me who it was.

"Cactus Makes Perfect" gets some good laughs from some of the Stooges' standard material. When Curly comes up with a crackpot invention that is supposed to find gold, the trio heads out west to find a mine. It starts off a little slowly, except for some good moments with 'Ma Stooge' (played by Monte Collins) as she tries to motivate her boys, but then gets quite funny. Most of the laughs come from standard Stooges material, but their timing here is very good. Stooges fans won't be disappointed by this one.

Although to pick an absolute favorite Stooge short would be near impossible, this one ranks near the top. As the trio are gold prospectors this time around who stumble upon a lost mine. Monty Collins (who co-wrote the screenplay) is hilarious as 'Ma' Stooge. Fans of the group will not be dissapointed.

Ma Stooge: (sobbing) "Goodbye boys, here's five dollars.

Curly: Thanks!

Ma Stooge: (angrily) You would take it! (SMACK!!)

This is an extremely entertaining short from the start... almost to the finish. The pace is brisk and the jokes and typical stooge mayhem abundant.

The only thing rotten about it is the ending. A stick of dynamite explodes and knocks the guys on their backs. Cue music and fade.

C'mon, guys--couldn't you come up with a better ending than that? Especially for such an otherwise great flick? It's one beef I have with so many of the stooge shows--for some reason the writers often could not come up with a satisfying ending. The boys get blown up. Or they get shot at. Or they simply run away. Take your pick--but they always leave the story behind.