Three Missing Links

The Stooges go from totally-inept janitors to actors working for the "Super Terrific Productions" movie company, under the leadership of "B.O. Botswaddle." That occurs when the latter takes a good look at our guys and proclaims, "We've found our missing links."

They look just like the Neanderthals Botswaddle is looking for to shoot his next motion picture. The Stooges are too dumb to realize they've just been insulted. They are just happy to become actors.

The real fun happens when the film crew arrives in Africa. We get tons, literally, of gags signs to puns to outrageous physical stuff. (i.e. The Stooges see a sign on a hut that reads, "Dr. Ba Loni Sulami, Medicine Man, Hours 2-5 Or By Appointment.")

The best gags, IMO, come, when a real ape appears and gets confused with Curly the ape role. Both look identical and mayhem ensues and nobody knows if it's Curly or the real gorilla.

Jane Hamilton looked hot as the film-within-in-a-film female star "Mirabel Mirabel."

"Three Missing Links" ranks among the best of The Three Stooges' many shorts. They're bumbling janitors in a movie studio, and after wrecking a producer's office, they wind up getting hired as actors in a jungle epic to be shot in the wilds of darkest Africa (which was actually a sound stage in the wilds of darkest Burbank). Curly is to play a gorilla who is the love interest of the beautiful Mirabel Mirabel (the stunning but unfortunately little-known Jane Hamilton, who bears a strong resemblance to the equally stunning but better known Virginia Mayo). Moe and Larry are cast as cavemen who are competing with Curly for the charms of Mirabel Mirabel. Problems arise when a real gorilla show up on location.

This is one of the Stooges' most consistently funny outings. It's the first one directed by their producer, Jules White, who tended to go overboard on the violence but shows a much more restrained hand here. The scenes in the producer's office are hilarious, with Curly at the top of his game and the great James C. Morton, who often served as a foil for Laurel and Hardy, serving that purpose here and doing a terrific job of it. The routines on the "set" in Africa are among the Stooges' funniest.

All in all, a first-rate entry in the long-running series and one that holds up well with repeated viewings, something that many of their later entries didn't.

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

This is a very good Three Stooges short. Its funny and its cast includes Monte Collins, Jane Hamilton, Naba, John Lester Johnson, and James C. Morton! Very good acting by Johnson and Morton! The Stooges perform very good in this Three Stooges short! The lion and gorilla scenes are hilarious! I recommend this one to all Three Stooges fans!

As far as the Three Stooges go, this one is a stand alone classic! All family members will enjoy this one. I highly recommend this Three Stooges short.

Larry, Curly, and Moe are cleaning a movie studio office. Of course, they do it poorly. It just so happens that the studio is looking for a gorilla opposite movie star Mirabel Mirabel in an African adventure. The boys claim to be actors and Curly is an animal impersonator. They are hired on the spot. In the jungles of Africa, the boys encounter a real medicine man. Curly buys some love candy to woo Mirabel. Then comes a real lion and a real gorilla.

A lion licking those feet is probably the most impressive stunt in the whole short. That's worth extra for the stuntmen. The slapstick is generally good. The witch doctor is awkward for the modern audience. The gorilla suit does block Curly's great facial expressions. Maybe if he loses the gorilla head, it would have him running around looking for the head and avoiding the real gorilla. Overall, there is good Stooges work here.