Crash Goes the Hash

The Three Stooges often took potshots at high society, and this was their best attempt at doing so. To do this, not only did the Stooges themselves need to act like crass buffoons, but just as necessary were the supporting parts of upper class people to react to the Stooges' antics. Watch their reactions in the lemonade and turkey scenes (which are too funny to spoil here!), and you'll see what I mean. I almost lost it when the butler told the boys that they "reminded (him) of The Three Stooges".

As noted in the trivia section, Curly suffered the first of his disabling strokes toward the end of production of this short, and it shows in the scene he filmed after (the opening scene). But he did some great work elsewhere, and you would never guess how sick he was. It just shows what a genius he was, right up to the end.

If I had to pick a favorite stooge film, this would be it. Nonstop chuckles from the start to finish. And I also believe this to be the first time the stooges use the timeless "bird walkin' inside a turkey" gag, that would be hilariously reused in another classic "Three Dark Horses".

10/10

Crash Goes the Hash (1944)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Here's an often hilarious short, which finds the Three Stooges being hired as reporters and their job is to sneak into the home of a rich woman and snap a picture of the Prince who is rumored to be about to propose. Of course, with Moe, Larry and Curly nothing is going to go right.

I'm a little surprised that this short doesn't have a much better reputation because it contains non-stop laughs from the opening sequence to the final seconds. There's really not a minute that goes by that doesn't feature at least one laugh and there are several very big ones scattered throughout the running time. One of the most hilarious sequences comes with the boy's cook a turkey, which comes back to life when a real bird gets inside it. Another terrific joke deals with Curly "picking up" some ice. Fans of the series will certainly love this one.

This is definitely one of the all time great Stooge shorts. I especially loved the fight scene at the end. The gag where one Stooge gets caught in the sleeve of one thug while the other keeps punching his partner is always a great gag. Also, does Curly ever get to smoke a cigar without it getting crushed in his face?

This one falls into my top 5 favorites featuring Curly. The Stooges play laundrymen who are mistaken for rival reporters by an editor. He sends the Stooges to go and cover a pressing story. This particular episode is famous for an ongoing gag where Curly can't seem to smoke a cigar without getting it smashed prior to lighting. It also has the classic "parrot in the turkey" gag which was seen in a few other Stooge shorts.

Some other moments that come to mind in this one for me are when Larry gets a scalding hot turkey platter placed on his back by Moe. Perfectly timed to occur when he bends over after getting gum on his shoe. This one has so many great moments, so many great one liners. Everytime Moe sings that song to the turkey in the sink, "Nice little turkey, getting its bath at 7:30 and will be well cooked by 8 o'clock" I roll on the ground laughing my head off. As if it would only take half an hour to cook one. Watch this one if it ever runs on TV or on video. It's a classic!