Del Lord Movies
Canadian-born Del Lord first came to Hollywood as a member of Broadway-star William Collier Sr.'s entourage. Securing extra work at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, Lord made a name for himself as driver of the Keystone Kops' paddy wagon. Though seemingly reckless, he had the unique ability of staging mammoth car chases and spectacular crashes without ever damaging the vehicles. Promoted to director, Lord turned out first-rate comedies with such Sennett stars as Ben Turpin, Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. His modus operandi was to work backwards--that is, to film the last scene first, then figure out a logical method to build up to the climax. Occasionally wandering off the Sennett lot in the late 1920s early 1930s, he directed two Universal features, Topsy and Eva (1927) and Barnum Was Right (1929); he also directed 2-reelers for First National, Educational, and Hal Roach. When Sennett closed his studio in 1933, Lord found himself unemployed for the first time in two decades. Forced to take a job selling used cars, he was rescued by comedy producer Jules White, who invited him to join the fledgling Columbia Pictures short-subject unit as a producer and director. From 1935 to 1945, Lord turned out some of Columbia's fastest and funniest two reelers; he worked with such old pals as Andy Clyde, Buster Keaton and Charley Chase, and is credited with molding and developing the peculiar comic style of the Three Stooges. He also served as second-unit director on a handful of Columbia features, and received solo directorial credit for such "B" pictures as Trapped by Television (1936) and Kansas City Kitty (1944). Lord left Columbia in 1946 to direct features elsewhere, but returned to the fold at the personal request of producer Hugh McCollum to helm Columbia's Hugh Herbert shorts. After 1951, Del Lord lived in virtual retirement; his last known project was a 30-minute industrial short starring his former Columbia colleague Buster Keaton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1948
While this Three Stooges short meanders with little rhyme or reason, it does contain a number of good gags. The cops are on the lookout for a trio of armed car robbers. Instead they find the Stooges in a trash can. They drag the guys in for a lie detector test but the biggest liar turns out to be the police captain (Vernon Dent). The Stooges have fibbed that they work at the Elite Cafe but when they discover that its owner, Gladys (Christine McIntyre), can't make ends meet they offer to work for free. Once again the boys prove that they should never be left alone in a kitchen. After a few minor disasters, they sit down to eat, and over a bowl of clam chowder (with a very "fresh" clam), Moe virtually plays homage to Curly, who had retired from the group two years before. He even imitates Curly's bark. Gladys receives a letter from someone who wants to buy the old homestead for a thousand dollars. The Stooges think she's being cheated, so they go with her. It turns out that the crooks (led, as usual in the Stooges shorts, by Kenneth MacDonald) are using the place as a hideout. The Stooges find their way into the house only to be pursued by a freakish, humpbacked killer named Angel. But Shemp manages to capture all the crooks by standing on a ledge over a doorway and dropping barrels on them as they come through. The cops show up and cart the bad guys off, but Shemp isn't done dropping barrels -- the last one, filled with flour, lands on Moe and Larry. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1946
This second entry in the Bowery Boys series plays more like an extended 2-reeler than a feature film, perhaps because its director was Three Stooges veteran Del Lord. In this one, Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall) and the rest of the Bowery Boys find themselves in the middle of a "taxi war". Crooked cab company manager Steve Trent (Douglas Fowley) has been sending out his goons to wreck the taxicabs of his independent competitors. Slip and Sach try to convince Trent's boss McCormick (Paul Harvey) that his manager is a crook, but McCormick refuses to believe them until his daughter Marian (Jane Randolph) aligns herself with our heroes. Unlike later Bowery Boys efforts, In Fast Company closely resembles the East Side Kids films that preceded it, with the boys indulging in petty larceny before the plot proper gets under way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Alberni, William Benedict, (more)
- 1946
With a title like Singin' in the Corn, how could the star be anyone else but rambunctious rustic comedienne Judy Canova. This time, Canova plays Judy McCoy, a carnival mind-reader playing the boonies in the company of her partner Glen Cummings (Allen Jenkins). Judy's travelling days come to an end when she inherits her late uncle's estate. But the will has a proviso: She won't get a penny unless she returns a ghost town to a local singing Indian tribe (That's right, operator, a singing Indian tribe). The villain, Honest John Richards (Alan Bridge), connives to turn the Indians against Judy, but she is rescued by the intervention of her uncle's ghost! Director Del Lord, a graduate of Columbia's comedy 2-reelers, relies heavily on stock footage from earlier films to bring the running time up to 64 minutes: one critic commented that editor Aaron Stell should have been credited as co-director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Canova, Allen Jenkins, (more)
- 1946
In this musical, a group of veterans and their gals put on an amateur show at the summer resort being visited by a Broadway producer in the hopes of making it to the Great White Way. Musical mayhem ensues and of course, they succeed. Songs include: "It's Great To Be Young", "A Thousand And One Sweet Dreams", "Five Of The Best", "That Went Out With High Button Shoes", "Frankie Boogie", and "Bumble Boogie"--based on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight Of The Bumble Bee". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Brooks, Jimmy Lloyd, (more)
- 1945
Let's Go Steady was Columbia's annual "audition" musical, spotlighting the studio's latest crop of young contractees. Cheated out of their bankroll by a phony music publisher, a group of talented youngsters come to New York, hoping to promote their songs with their own, self-stage musical revue. Trouble is, none of the big-time bandleaders want to risk utilizing unknowns. Thus, the kids persuade a GI band to showcase their tunes, thereby attracting big-time support from various Broadway bigwigs. Standing out among the youthful cast members are June Preisser, Arnold Stang, and a personable singer-drummer named Mel Torme. Screenwriter Erna Lazarus manages to work in a plug for Columbia's Cover Girl, while director Del Lord, a graduate of the studio's Three Stooges comedies, finds a spot for perennial Stooge supporting player Vernon Dent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pat Parrish, Jackie Moran, (more)
- 1945
In this tuneful comedy, an opera talent scout is in the country one day when he overhears a beautiful hillbilly milkmaid singing to her cow. The gal has an exquisite voice and he immediately snaps her up and takes her to the big city to become his newest star. Unfortunately, for all her musical gifts, the poor girl couldn't act her way out of a milk pail and so the wily agent has her sing off-stage while her double performs on stage. Things go okay for a time, but then the singer rebels, finding opera music tiresome and too snobby. One night she decides to sing her own version of Rossini's "William Tell" which she calls "Tillie Tell." The audience goes mad with delight and she becomes a great success. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1945
The Blonde From Brooklyn is perky Susan Parker (Lynn Merrick), gainfully employed as a "jukebox singer", back in the days when jukebox patrons could request that their songs be performed live via telephone hookup. Teaming with showbiz-minded G.I. Dixon Harper (Robert Stanton), Susan passes herself off as a Southern belle in order to land a job singing radio commercials for a Dixiefied coffee company. The fun begins when Susan is mistaken for the heir to a Southern plantation, forcing her to keep up her "yew all"s and "sho' nuff"'s indefinitely. Director Del Lord (of Three Stooges fame) resurrects any number of old two-reel-comedy routines in this trivial Columbia musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Stanton, Lynn Merrick, (more)
- 1945
Rough, Tough, and Ready looks a great deal like all those Victor McLaglen - Edmund Lowe "friendly enemy" actionfests of the 1920s and 1930s. Indeed, McLaglen stars in the film as Owen McCarey, though the "Edmund Lowe" part, Brad Crowder, goes to Chester Morris. The story is the old bromide about two brawling buddies, duking it out over the same girl, in this case pert Jo Matheson (Jean Rogers). Owen and Brad own a salvage company, but split up over Jo. Both separately sign up for the army, and both are reunited in the Pacific. One of the protagonists saves the other's life in combat, signalling a happy reunion-at least, until the next dame comes along. Director Del Lord handles Rough, Tough and Ready in the slaphappy manner of one of his Three Stooges two-reelers: one is surprised that the stars don't poke each other in the eyes and shout "Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chester Morris, Victor McLaglen, (more)
- 1945
In their first two-reel comedy of 1945, the Three Stooges mistakenly believe that Curly killed a man (actually a store mannequin) and attempt to dispose of the body in, of all things, a pet cemetery. Three Pests in a Mess is actually a remake of El Brendel's 1941 two-reeler Ready, Willing but Unable. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1945
I Love a Bandleader is an easy-to-take vehicle for personable orchestra leader Phil Harris. "Old Curly" is cast as housepainter Phil Burton, who while suffering from amnesia imagines that he's the leader of a popular swing band. While suffering this delusion, Burton falls in love with perky Ann Carter (Leslie Brooks). When his memory returns, Burton returns to his meek, untalented self-but not for long, if Ann has anything to say about it! Costarring with Harris is his fellow Jack Benny Show cohort, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, who does his usual flawless comic job-and even gets to sing! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, (more)
- 1945
In this, their second two-reel comedy of 1945, the Three Stooges play fishmongers who decide to buy a boat and catch their own fish. Unfortunately, their "new" boat proves to be an old wreck and sinks in the middle of the ocean. Surviving on a dinghy, the Stooges wave a paint-splattered flag to attract attention. Unfortunately, the rag resembles the Japanese flag and the attention they attract is not what they had anticipated. Brunette Columbia starlet Rebel Randall joined regular Stooges performers Vernon Dent and John Tyrrell in this otherwise average comedy short. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1944
Although this isn't one of the better Three Stooges shorts, it still has its moments. The boys play bellhops at "Hotel Snazzy Plaza," and fight with each other to get an opportunity to give special service to an attractive woman. Unfortunately, she has a mean-tempered husband who happens to be a knife thrower. He is also secretly importing a wolf man -- he assures his wife that the monster is not dangerous unless he hears music. Later on, when the Stooges are cleaning up the room, they turn on the radio, which enrages the wolf man who breaks free from his cage. The creature disturbs a couple of sleeping women, and one of them reports him as a burglar. The Stooges cause quite a bit of wreckage either pursuing or being pursued by the creature, and there is one really great moment where the wolf man mirrors Curly's actions from the other side of a frame which has lost its mirror. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this drama, a piano teacher buys a song-publishing business only to discover that it is on the brink of bankruptcy and is embroiled in a lawsuit over the song: "Kansas City Kitty". Other songs include "Tico Tico", "Nothing Boogie from Nowhere", and "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1944
In this musical drama, a woman turns her mansion into a boarding house for soldiers on furlough, providing them with room, board, and musical entertainment. She also does a little matchmaking for the lonely fighters. The fun begins when one of the lodgers falls in love with a pretty singer. At first the soldier is unsure as to whether the chanteuse returns his affections, but by the story's end he is convinced. Wedding bells ring out, songs are sung and happiness ensues. Songs include: "Who Said Dreams Can't Come True" (Benny Davis, Al Jolson, Harry Akst), "I've Waited a Lifetime" (Edward Brandt), "I Can't Remember When" (Robert Schermann, Jack Krakeur), "What the Sergeant Said" (Jackie Camp), "My Other Love" (Bob Wright, Chet Forrest), "Mom" (Saul Chaplin), and "American Prayer" (Lawrence Stock, Vincent Rose, Al Stillman). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Frazee, Larry Parks, (more)
- 1944
When their short-order restaurant -- The Jive Cafe -- only serves up mounting bills, the Three Stooges enter Curly in a cow-milking contest. Busy Buddies was one of the team's lesser two-reel comedies and demonstrated only too well that a hectic schedule was taking its toll on especially Curly, whose baby face was beginning to show the strain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1943
In spite of its name, Peaceful Gulch is riddled by bullets and bad guys. The sheriff needs some men either brave enough or stupid enough to get rid of the varmints. When he sees a wanted poster for The Three Stooges (their crime is vagrancy and the reward is fifty cents, or three for a dollar), he decides to go the latter route. Although he plants an item in the paper claiming they're famous marshalls, the boys are almost chased out of town after an encounter with a medicine show. The sheriff finally puts them in charge of guarding the bank, which gets robbed while their backs are turned. To avoid being lynched, the Stooges scour the nearby area, using Curly as a bloodhound. Eventually they find the stolen money under the floorboards of a cabin and capture the bad guys with the use of bear traps. But the main varmint (the ever-dependable Bud Jamison) enters the cabin and Curly has to hide with the loot in the stove. The bandit drops his cigar in the stove which sets off the bullets in Curly's gun belt. The wildly spinning stove sends off a hail of gunfire for an abrupt ending. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1943
This clever Three Stooges comedy opens, like many of their films do, with a sign: "Drs. Heart-Burns and Belcher." But that's not referring to the Stooges -- they're merely the night janitors, and not very good ones. They have the usual round of mishaps, the funniest being when Curly gets his head stuck in a fish bowl. Even after Larry and Moe free him from the globe, he's not quite right, so they stick him behind the fluoroscope and discover he has swallowed a fish. They retrieve it by sticking a fishing line -- with bait -- down his throat. Their work is further interrupted by a trio of crooks. While escaping the police, one of them was shot in the shoulder, and they insist that the Stooges -- who they have mistaken for doctors -remove the slug. The wounded crook insists on being anesthetized, which confuses the trio until they're told, "That means he wants to be knocked out!" "Ohhh---" they reply knowingly, and they knock him cold with a hammer. But the wounded crook slides off the gurney, out the window and into a waiting police car. To fool the other two gun men (who apparently aren't much smarter than the Stooges), Moe and Larry stick Curly under the sheet. The police finally show up looking for the crooks and both the gunmen and Stooges go running. While the crooks are nabbed, the Stooges wind up in a strange storage area with a bunch of mannequins, a gigantic, spooky jack-in-the-box, a frightened night watchman and a vat of plaster. Curly falls into the plaster and his ghostly white visage scares everyone he encounters until the short comes to a rather abrupt end. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
$Jules White, the head of the short subjects department at Columbia, steered quite a few Three Stooges comedies into propaganda territory during World War II. While not as forcefully patriotic as some of the others, this quirky short (directed by Del Lord) takes a few potshots at the Japanese. It opens in the offices of special investigator J.O. Dunkfeather, who is being interviewed by a high-strung young reporter. Dunkfeather proceeds to tell him the story of three traveling salesmen -- Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, of course -- who wind up working as caretakers for Graves, an inventor, after they have no luck peddling their "Miracle Reducing Machine." Graves has to go to Washington with his Death Ray, and he leaves his spooky mansion in the hands of the salesmen. He warns them to be on the lookout for "Jap" spies, who show up as soon as he leaves. As disguises, the spies (who, incidentally, don't look at all Japanese) are wearing Halloween costumes and this is enough to terrorize the Stooges for the rest of the film. There's also another baffling dilemma -- pies come seemingly out of nowhere and hit various people in the face. The reporter anxiously demands to know who was throwing the pies -- he seems to care more about this than the fact that the Stooges manage to stop the spies (which is pretty miraculous, considering the boys' perennial ineptitude). Finally Dunkfeather admits he was the culprit... and promptly is slammed in the face with a pie. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1943
The Three Stooges are literally dropped on wartime Berlin in this two-reel comedy, one of their weakest. They play auto mechanics hiding from an enemy in what they think is a pipe. It is actually a bomb and soon they find themselves, unscathed, behind enemy lines. They disguise themselves as German officers, dallies with a pretty fraülein and steal enemy secrets from under the nose of Axis General Bommel (Vernon Dent). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1943
Having been teamed unsuccessfully with Tom Kennedy and the eccentric Elsie Ames, El Brendel was paired with Columbia second-banana Monte Collins this time around, to slightly better results. El and Monte play home auxilliary workers who run afoul of a Mad Scientist (played with glee by "Ming the Merciless" himself, Charles Middleton). The 2-reeler was remade by Columbia in 1950 as Dopey Dicks, this time featuring The Three Stooges and with Philip Van Zandt as the villain. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1943
While The Three Stooges made a number of propaganda-laced comedies during World War II, the Axis references are relatively slight here until the end. It starts off with the threesome offering their services as "Fix-All Fixers." A frighteningly plain woman calls them over to fix a broken doorbell. What the Stooges don't realize is that the house belongs to a Nazi/Japanese spy ring which is giving out orders to a submarine somewhere out in the ocean. While the spies are at work so are the Stooges, who are going about their usual business and completely demolishing the house. After ripping apart several walls they realize the problem is in the wiring outside and after a few mishaps, Curly climbs up the nearest telephone pole and starts in on the wires. This disconnects the telephone service for miles around (look really quick -- Lloyd Bridges is one of the disgruntled customers). They also screw up communication to the submarine, which promptly becomes the victim of an Allied bomb (much of the footage here is lifted from 1939's Three Little Sew and Sews). Eventually the boys wind up back in the house and discover they've infiltrated an Axis spy den. Moe disguises himself as Hitler and Larry dresses like Tojo, and they manage to slapstick the enemy into defeat. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1943
In his first 2-reel comedy of 1943, hayseed comic El Brendel plays a newlywed who keeps running into his new wife's former husbands. Louise Currie, of low-budget horror fame, played the wife and the otherwise seasoned supporting cast also included a very young Lloyd Bridges. Although making a living playing Swedish hayseeds, Brendel was actually a Philadelphian of Jewish ancestry. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1942
In one of their all-time most hilariously insane comedy two-reelers, the Three Stooges save a destitute mother and her child by winning the big race -- with monies "borrowed" from the child's piggy bank. They are then cheated by a ventriloquist into buying a retired race horse, in effect losing all their winnings. Curly, however, saves the day by swallowing horse vitamins and giving birth to a colt. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1941
When wealthy Mrs. Bullion informs her husband, Ajax that they are adopting a "little refugee" -- a common event amongst society people during World War II -- he is less than thrilled. But a trip to the dentist changes his perspective. Instead of getting his tooth pulled by his regular guy, Dr. I. Yankum, he winds up with three building janitors -- none other than The Three Stooges -- working on his mouth. Later, when he finds them hiding out in his car, he decides to take them home to Mrs. Bullion as not one, but three, long-awaited refugee children. But Bullion doesn't realize what he's in for -- Johnnie (Moe Howard), Frankie (Curly Howard) and Mabel (Larry Fine) steal his cigars and play craps with the butler. Mrs. Bullion throws a party to introduce the little darlings to her friends, but the festivities are interrupted when her furious husband chases the Stooges from the house with an ax. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
