STOOGES: THE MEN BEHIND THE MAYHEM (1994) |
|
Starring
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, Edward
Bernds, Lyla Budnick, Joe DeRita, Paul "Mousie" Garner, Ted Healy, Emil
Sitka, Adam West and Billy West.
Written by
Paul E. Gierucki.
Directed by
Paul E. Gierucki.
Distributed by Mackinac Media. 64 minutes. Not Rated. |
 
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Stooges: The Men Behind the Mayhem
All of today's cavalcade of comedians, from Jim
Carrey to Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy to
the late John Candy owe a huge debt of gratitude to those comedic
pioneers, The Three Stooges.
Stooges: The Men Behind The Mayhem (which was
originally made for A&E's Biography series) provides a
winning look at the rise and fall of these comedic giants. Produced and
written by Paul E. Gierucki, the
program, winner of the Best Documentary International
Telly Award, illustrates the saga of
how a bunch of East Coast based vaudeville misfits, the
Howards, Moe, Curly and
Shemp and partner-in-crime, Larry
Fine, redefined the parameters of slapstick. The show utilizes rare
photographs, vintage newsreels, an
archival audio interview with Moe Howard and contemporary interviews
with family members --
Larry's sister, Lyla
Budnick and
Curly's daughter.
Also on hand are Batman actor Adam West, and
voiceover artist Billy West (who
impersonated Larry's voice to great effect in the popular Nineties
cartoon series, The Ren &
Stimpy Show).
The special covers all the bases
--from their early work with comedy visionary Ted Healy to the
trio's emergence in the Thirties as
stars in their own Columbia Pictures shorts.
From the tragic deaths of Curly and
Shemp to the unfortunate later addition
of lesser talented Stooge add-ons,
Joe Besser and
Curley Joe De
Rita. Long forgotten by the public at
large, by the end of the Fifties, the kooky
antics of Moe, Larry and Curly were passé. Yet, as the special explains
in detail, thanks to the rise of television, the Three Stooges were
rescued from has-been land and transformed into slapstick
superstars, resurrected
by perpetual re-runs on the boob tube.
One intriguing piece of trivia revealed in the show: early in his life,
native Philadelphian
Larry Fine had an accident that damaged his left hand. To
strengthen it and regain use in his hand, he took up violin, and became
quite a talented player in the process. Larry was often featured playing
the instrument in Stooge shorts.
Taking down the documentary a few notches is the lack in variety of
interview subjects queried, only four or five people are featured
(including bit player, comedian Mousie
Garner). Another weakness of this documentary is its failure to
secure existing contemporary interview footage of the Three Stooges,
which would allow the comedy trio to
posthumously exert more of a role in the show. Moe Howard, for
example, appeared several times on the popular TV talk program, The
Mike Douglas Show. Including excerpts of
Howard's interview and ensuing pie fight with Soupy Sales would
have strengthened the story.
Having said that, the second disc is packed with a generous array of
bonus features including four digitally
remastered Stooges shorts, rare trailers, TV appearances and
unedited interview footage from the special, all helping to make
Stooges: The Men Behind The Mayhem a must
see for those with an affinity for "the Curly Shuffle" and a good poke
in the eyes. (4/05)
Ken
Sharp
Copyright ©2005 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: April 25, 2005. |
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Copyright ©2005
PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: April 25, 2005.
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