Grips, Grunts and Groans

The last five minutes of this insane Three Stooges story almost puts me in tears laughing, and I've seen it many times. It features Curly as a pro wrestler! Regarding those last few minutes, it's one of those "you have to see it, to believe it" cases. I've never seen Curly go this berserk before, which is saying a lot.

Actually, this Three Stooges classic isn't just pure lunacy at the end: it's crazy and funny from start-to-finish, with a great 1930s look and feel to it. From the opening bums-in-the-railroad car scene, to knocking over a woman's baby carriage to the boxing gym scenes, on and on it goes until the incredibly wild finish.

Included in this story was a theme - used in several Three Stooges films - in which Curly would go bananas by smelling something, or hearing something.....and then he would be unstoppable. This worked to great advantage in the ring, whether it was boxing or wrestling or whatever. In this story, he becomes a wrestler, only "out of soy-cumstance." The real wrestler, a bearded Russian-looking guy named "Bostoff," gets blitzed with a combination of alcoholic drinks and Curly - to save the Stooges butts from the mob boys who have bet on Bostoff - has to take his place.

What happens just kills me. As other reviewers here state, this is a classic Three Stooges, one of the best.

Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)

**** (out of 4)

Three Stooges short has the boys finding themselves in a jam so they duck into a wrestling gym where the top guy takes a liking to them. The four go out for drinks but the wrestler gets too drunk and can't enter the ring so Curly has to take his place. Even though Curly doesn't know what he's doing he can still go psycho whenever he smells a certain type of perfume. The storyline is pretty similar to their Pop Goes the Weasel but I won't hold it against this film as it's certainly one of their funniest. There were countless scenes that had tears flowing from my eyes due to laughter and I'm not sure I've ever seen Curly go so crazy. There are countless great scenes here including one where the boys are being chased off a train and eventually run over a baby carriage. Another classic is the getting drunk sequence but there's no doubt the highlight is the final sequence where Curly smells too much perfume and flips out on everyone. This is certainly one of the funniest films out there.

In 1937, the Stooges were coming into their prime, and though this one is not the best entry, it's close. The Trio is suppose to watch over the wrestler "Bustoff." But when they get him drunk and then drop dump-bells and a locker on his head, Curly is forced to take Bustoff's place in the ring. But once Wild Hyicene purr-fume gets on Curly, he goes nuts, and tears the joint apart. Great sound effects, goofs, and a great rousing ending. This one will have you laughing out loud.

Bottom Line: One of the top 10 Stooge Shorts. 9/10

This is the Three Stooges short where they accidentally stumble into wrestling gym and to get money for a meal Curly volunteers to be a sparring partner. The champ Bustoff who trains at the gym happens to be watching nearby and finds the stooges hysterical. So he takes them out for a big meal but the stooges get him drunk and he can't go for his big match. So the Stooges have to dress Curly up as him. But Curly can only fight if Curly smells the perfume Wild Hyacinth and can only be stopped by tickling his feet.

The movie came out in the prime of the Three Stooges the Curly era. Not that Shemp isn't good in his own right it's just that the Stooges lineup is best with Curly in addition to the main stays of Moe and Larry.

This funny Stooge short is really good.I like the how Curly performs as the wrestler.The looks he gets on his face are unforgettable and the sparing stuff he wears is so funny.This is a great one to check out!