Calling All Curs

For the last few weeks, I've discovered "watch parties" on facebook in which someone posts either a TV show, music video, or feature films or shorts live in order for anyone watching as it happens comment on what they see during it. So it was I discovered someone playing various Three Stooges shorts online. This particular one was colorized and didn't look bad though I did notice Moe's black hair wasn't colored-just kept the way it was in black and white. Anyway, he, Larry, and Curly are veterinarians in a pet hospital who are charged to take care of a certain dog for a rich lady to prepare it for a show. A couple of men show up intending to take that dog away for nefarious purposes...This was quite a funny one to watch especially when the focus is on Curly. So on that note, Calling All Curs is recommended.

Larry, Curly, and Moe are three bumbling surgeons, animal surgeons. Reporters show up to do a story on the boys who turn out to be dognappers coming for Mrs. Bedford's prized dog. This is the silliest of premise. It's a lot of dogs and beautiful ladies. Mostly, it is so ridiculous that it couldn't help being fun. It does need a dog stampede running over the boys.

Calling All Curs (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Funny Three Stooges short has them running a pet hospital where they get a prized poodle owned by a very rich woman. A couple men pretend to be reporters and take off with the dog so the Stooges must try and track them down or go to jail. The opening few minutes of this short is pretty much a build-up joke that really doesn't work as it gets no laughs but after this it's all comedy as we get one great joke after another as well as some snappy dialogue. One of the highlights of the film is when the boys take the reporters on a tour of the hospital where we get to see various dogs who are suffering from various problems ranging from eating out of the trash to one who like to drink beer. The pay-off to the trash gag is priceless as poor Moe takes one for the team. Other funny jokes include a maid sucking the hair off a dog, the final fight with the bad guys and another good sequence at the dinner table. If you think about it too hard you'll wonder how anyone as dumb as the Stooges could become vets but just sit back and enjoy all the laughs.

Our three favorite goofs are veterinarians, if you can believe it, and are still the same slap- happy saps who are silly but fun to watch. We get sight gags right from the start as Curly swallows soap and then blows bubbles out of his mouth.

Anyway, after a bunch of typical Stooges clowning, mostly corny stuff, their three beautiful assistants prepare them with surgical clothing, and we see that it's a black poodle who will be their prey, er subject for operation. Apparently, "Garcon" belongs to a rich lady named "Bedford" and their "operation" is simply taking a thorn out of the dog.

Later, the boys give two reporters a humorous tour of the facility, with the drunken lap dog, the garbage can moocher with a bad case of "scavengeritus," and other corny comments. After the tour, the reporters turn out to be "dognappers, taking "Garcon" and holding him for a ransom.

There are many Stooge-like sight gags in this short and some still made me laugh, even though I've seen them hundreds of times. I liked Moe going through the intercom, the dogs all dressed with bibs sitting at the dinner table, the dog-bone sandwich biting Curly, the maid "scalping" Garcon, Moe being used as a punching bag, etc.

Goofy? Yes, but still funny. In fact, if you wanted to show someone what the Stooges were all about, this one would provide a good demonstration.

Lotsa Nyuk Nuyks in this one. I agree it's one of their best short subjects. They were best in the 'old days' of the 1930's and early 1940's. It got sort of lame after the original Curly retired, then died. They're all-time Great Comedians, especially if you love the silly crazy slapstick variety of comedy. Shemp was good, but not as good as Curly. It was cool that Moe employed members of his family to be Stooges- The original Curly (Jerome Horwitz 'Howard') and Shemp (Samuel Horwitz 'Howard')

They did so many short films together and a few feature-length films as well as TV cartoons, which you can now find on home video.