The Lost Stooges (1990)

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This documentary, narrated by respected film critic Leonard Maltin, focuses on the year or so that The Three Stooges spent at MGM studios, from 1933 to 1934. At the time, the trio -- Moe Howard, Larry Fine and newest Stooge Jerry, better known as Curly Howard, were still sidemen to Ted Healy. The footage shown is relatively obscure, compared to the Stooges' Columbia shorts, but most vintage film fans have seen at least a few of the feature film appearances shown here, most notably Hollywood Party and Dancing Lady (there's a great scene in which the boys attempt to serve as musical accompaniment to Joan Crawford's footwork!). But for the most part, the clips from the shorts the Stooges shot with Healy prove that they were better off without either Healy or MGM. Although Nertsery Rhymes has the advantage of being shot in two-color Technicolor, its material is decidedly poor. Perhaps the best short the guys did during their MGM tenure was Beer and Pretzels, and this documentary shows it in full. Overall, this should be left to real Stooges and/or vintage film fanatics -- for pure, unadulterated enjoyment it's better to watch the Columbia shorts. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi