Horses' Collars

This is another wonderful Three Stooges short, despite the meaningless title. Here, the boys are Pinkerton detectives sent out West to help an innocent girl being bullied by a ruffian – a premise which actually anticipates Laurel & Hardy’s classic WAY OUT WEST (1937), and even includes a similar scene in which The Stooges attempt to retrieve an important document from the villain’s safe! Gags include the boys playing tough guys at the saloon – where they inadvertently set the sheepskin trousers of the baddie’s henchman on fire – and taking to the dance-floor in a ruse to get at the piece of paper jealously guarded by the heavy inside his wallet. Still, the best moments of the film involve Curley going into a raging fit – a similar affliction to the one he had in PUNCH DRUNKS (1934) – at the sight of a mouse (asked why, Moe replies “That’s because his father was a rat!”) which he’s only able to get out of by being force fed a piece of cheese (“Moe, Larry…cheese!”).

HORSES' COLLARS is a good early Three Stooges comedy farce. They play detectives masquerading as cowboys out West, in order to steal back an IOU from a rough character, and win back their client's property. Much fun ensues, especially bits like Curley going into uncontrollable bouts of mania whenever he sees a mouse, requiring his companions to subdue his spasms ("Moe... Larry... THE CHEESE...!!"), and the boys engaging in some pretty humorous dance routines on a saloon floor. Why does Curley go crazy whenever he spots a mouse? "Because his father was a Rat"...!

*** out of ****

Horses' Collars (1935)

*** (out of 4)

The Three Stooges are hired as detectives to go out West and get back on IOU, which could cause a girl to lose her ranch. Here's another hilarious entry in the series that manages to be very funny even if the best joke of Curley turning mad fighter is borrowed from Punch Drunks. There's plenty of nice action including a great sequence where Curley fights two men and another sequence on the dance floor where the boys try to pick pockets.

Now available on Columbia's 2-disc collection, which features over 20 shorts.

Just like Punch Drunks (1934), the second Stooge short, this time, in Horses' Collars (1935), their fifth short, Curly goes into a frenzy, when he sees mice. He can only be calmed down by a piece of cheese shoved in his face, by Moe or Larry. This manages to get the boys out of a lot of trouble in this film. This one has a wild west feel to it, with a surprisingly, violent sheriff. It is another indication, that these shorts, in the 1930s, were originally intended, to be geared towards adults. Moe, Larry and Curly are sent to an old west town to collect an IOU. Horses' Collars (1935), is one of the more odd Stooge films, from the early days of the theatrical act.

6.9 (C MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.

I wanted to put "Moe, Larry.... Cheese!" on the headline but I see everyone else did already. Can't them blame; that's the appropriate title to this very funny Three Stooges film.

Curly has some great lines in here and is almost the entire show. Whenever he sees a mouse, he goes berserk and punches out everyone in sight. He only stops when the boys stuff a certain kind of cheese down his mouth. As funny as those scenes are, it's his comments that really made me laugh in here. He has some great put-downs here, but gets away with them.

The story is a typical Stooges one in which they go out west and save a woman named "Nell." The writers must have thought that was only name ladies had back in the Old West. Anyway, Curly and the boys defeat "Double Deal Decker" and the rest of the baddies in typical fashion, which means in a goofy-but-funny manner.