Stop! Look! and Laugh!

About a little more than 35 years ago, when I was a young teen staying with a family my parents were good friends with in Gulfport, Mississippi, someone in that family who was my age at that time was flipping through TV channels and stumbled at the beginning of this movie and was about to flip again when the credits said, "Starring the Original Three Stooges-Moe, Larry, Curly" which was all that got me to say "Leave it there!" So he did. It turned out to feature clips from their classic shorts that I had seen several times on my local station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for years with wraparounds featuring Paul Winchell and his dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff as well as another new segment featuring The Marquis Chimps doing "Cinderella". I remember loving the vintage Stooges clips with a new music score being used on them, laughing at Winchell's comedy, and being partially amused by the chimps sequence with familiar voiceovers that I just found out were of Alan Reed and June Foray. Having just rewatched this on YouTube, I feel the same way now though I wish the YouTube upload had filled most of the screen instead of just the lower left-hand corner. Good thing I watched on a large-screen TV instead of the computer. So on that note, Stop! Look! and Laugh! is worth a look if you don't mind seeing vintage Stooge material mixed with a ventriloquist who was popular at the time. Incidentally, Winchell would eventually be the voice of Moe after he passed in 1975 when Hanna-Barbera would produce "The Robonic Stooges" cartoon series a couple of years later. P.S. After the success of Have Rocket --Will Travel, Columbia wanted another Stooges feature right away so Harry Romm-at the time the Stooges' manager and the producer of that movie-obliged with this one without his clients' consent. They sued, Columbia apologized, Romm was fired, and the studio agreed to fund the Stooges' subsequent features from their new production company, Normandy Productions.

STOP! LOOK! AND LAUGH! was a compilation film linking ten of their shorts together. The film is okay, but The Three Stooges aren't shown enough. And the background music added into the film is not even funny, it's more serious.

This is the basic plot. At the beginning, Paul Winchell tells his dummy, Jerry Mahoney, how the world began (features a clip of the stooges as monkeys) and he talks about how water came, the the stooges are shown floating down the river in footage from HOW HIGH IS UP? From here, we get the whole construction worker scenes.

Then he tells Jerry the story of three gas station worker, and we see them in footage from VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY, the only stooge short to have a stooge name in it. We do new footage after the stooges fall in the lake.

Then Paul Winchell talks about Jerry as a baby, and then hears a real one crying, in footage from SOCK-A-BYE BABY. Then we get a basically complete version of that short.

Paul checks on his car, and we see garage footage from HIGHER THAN A KITE. They do new footage after the parts fall out of the car. After that, Paul tells Jerry about Mexico (footage from WHAT'S THE MATADOR?).

Then he calls the hospital after Jerry fakes getting sick, and we see all the footage from CALLING ALL CURS. Then Jerry watches a western TV show, and we see chase scenes from GOOFS AND SADDLES.

Then Paul calls the plumbers to fix the sink, and we see parts of MICRO-PHONIES and A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO. And then we see a terribly long scene with Paul telling Jerry the story of Cinderella, acted by chimps.

The film ends with scenes of HALF-WITS HOLIDAY and Paul trying to end the party. Most of the film was good. Without the music, the Cinderella scenes, and cut-down sequences with Paul and Jerry, this would be a major hit!

*** out of 4 stars.

WE WELL RECALL when this compilation/crazy quilt of a movie hit the local shows. This was in the second year of the great 3 Stooges revival. Much like the previous year's release of THE THREE STOOGES theatrical 2 reelers to television, there were no re$idual$ paid by Columbia.

IT WAS THIS initial TV package that did get the names of Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp out to the public, hence the revival. This STOP! LOOK! & LAUGH served no such purpose and had a sort of parasitic effect on the act.

IN THE SAME manner of all devout Stooge converts, the four Ryan kids headed to the nearest neighborhood show; which had it booked for exhibition. In this case, it was the Highland Theatre at 79th Street & Ashland Avenue in Chicago. The trip required the use of a CTA (Chicago Transit Authority*) bus in an extraordinary venturing outside of our own community's turf.

WELL IN THE end, it all turned out to be an extreme letdown. The Stooges' appearance proved to be not original new footage; but rather a myriad of scenes unimaginatively culled from old Stooges Comedies that had already been given to (among others) our own WGN TV, Channel 9 in Chicago. We had seen the schtick before and weren't fooled by the big screen presentation. Kids aren't dumb.

FILLING OUT THE "Cast" was the team of ventriloquist Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney & Knucklehead Smith; who were then very popular on TV and at the top of their game. Added to that was The Marquis Chimps, who also were highly sought after and would soon "star" in their own sitcom, THE HATHAWAYS(Gloucester Prod./Screen Gems/ABC TV, 1961), with Peggy Cass and Jack Weston.

ALL OF THIS may well have proved to be worthwhile for a Saturday matinée had it not been for the fact that it was perpetrate fraudulently.

AND THAT WAS unforgivable to folks like Schultz and his friends! Ain't that right, Schultz?

I saw "Stop!Look!and Laugh!" as part of a double bill when I was a teenager and found it amusing, but strictly for the small fry. Whether the viewer enjoys this picture or not depends greatly on being a fan of the Three Stooges and Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney. Even Three Stooges addicts will be disappointed with the disjointed nature of the editing culled from some of the Stooges best film shorts.

Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney became TV's answer to the extremely popular Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy radio program. Though Winchell was a much better ventriloquist than Bergen, his humor basically was for the kids whereas Bergen appealed to a much wider audience, pleasing adults as well as children. So in this movie, Mahoney is presented as Winchell's little boy who hates school and uses all types of stratagems to stay home.

The film has a major problem in making transitions from Winchell and Mahoney's comic routines to the archival footage featuring the Three Stooges. The transitions are at best forced and at times complete failures. The archival footage of the Stooges presents the goofy trio in much edited versions, sort of like a celluloid Reader's Digest. Still, the slapstick humor of the Stooges often rises above the sloppy editing to make the audience laugh.

Never serious competition for Laurel and Hardy or the Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges could deliver the belly laughs at times, especially the original Moe, Larry, and Curly, with Curly turning out to be one of the best visual comedians of his day. Many of the scripts were well-written and the early shorts well directed. Unfortunately Curly's humor suffered in later years as a result of poor health. So rather than wasting your time on "Stop!Look! and Laugh!," rent "Disorder in Court," the Clark Gable parody, "Men in Black," or "A Plumbing We Will Go" to see the Stooges at their very best. If you're a fan of old-time slapstick you will certainly enjoy the Classic Stooges but may find "Stop!Look!and Laugh!" a bit disappointing.

When this film was first publicized by Columbia Pictures and The film's producer:Harry Rome in l960.They promised that "The Three Stooges"(Who at that time were:Moe Howard,Larry Fine & Curly Joe DeRita)would appear in the film with Ventrilloquist/Entertainer:Paul Winchell and with NYC based kids tv host/performer:"Officer Joe"Bolton.But when audiences did see:"Stop Look & Laugh!"? "The Three Stooges"(Moe,Larry and Curly Howard.Who died during the winter of l952)only appear in stock footage from the l930's and 40's.Hence! "The Three Stooges"never really appeared in this film.Thus depriving the audiences of seeing their favorite comedy trio in action.The film does feaure some witty banter and slapstick from Mr.Winchell and his puppet pals:"Jerry Mahoney"and"Knucklehead Smiff"and a wonderful cameo from"Officer Joe"Bolton.(At that time Mr.Bolton was still hosting reruns of "The Three Stooges"Films from the l930's and 40's on WPIX TV Ch.ll NYC's:"Three Stooges Funhouse!")but the Stock footage with the boys is brief and forgetable.When shown with horrible music and graiting sound effects.And "The Marquis Chimps"parody of the Fairy Tale "Cinderella"(Which also using the charming voice over talents of Ms.June Foray.Best remembered as the voices of "Rocky Squerill and Natasha Fatale')is nothing more than cheap timefiller for the more memorable comedy squences featuring Mr.Winchell and his puppets.Hence! This film should not tell you to"Stop Look & Laugh!".But to"Stay away from this Three Stooges RippOFFF!".