The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/27/2008 Run time: 412 minutes
By 1937, where Volume Two of this long overdue chronological collection picks up, Moe, Larry, and Curly had been performing together for over a decade, and appeared in several feature films and 19 short subjects for Columbia. They were just getting warmed up; there is nary a clunker among the 24 shorts on this two-disc set. Several rank in the Stooges pantheon, including "Grips, Grunts and Groans" (with Bustoff the wrestler), "Violent is the Word for Curly" (with "Swinging the Alphabet"), and "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb" (the Stooges live the hotel high life after Curly wins a radio contest). These comedies must have been a great escape for Depression-era moviegoers, particularly the ones in which the rich are reduced to food-throwing goofs ("Three Sappy People"). For the Stooges, it?s not prosperity that?s around the corner, but more often, con men on the lookout for "suckers" to swindle ("A Ducking They Will Go," "Playing the Ponies"). Reflecting America?s can-do spirit, the Stooges are nothing if not resilient. These shorts may find them down, but they are never out. The boys are ungainfully employed as Calvary spies ("Goofs and Saddles"), janitors ("Three Missing Links"), dog washers ("Mutts to You"), firemen ("Flat Foot Stooges"), traveling salesmen ("Saved by the Belle"), and vets ("Calling all Curs"). Some of the best shorts turn on mistaken identity: They are confused for college professors in "Violent is the Word for Curly," high society escorts in "Termites of 1938," and famous decorators in "Tassels in the Air." For all the hair-tearing, eye-poking, and shovel-clobbering, the Stooges surprise with the odd musical grace note, such as their rendition of the silly "The Lollipop Song" in "Wee Wee Monsieur," and their music box-accompanied pas-de-trio with pilgrim lasses Faith, Hope, and Charity in "Back to the Woods." One also does not ordinarily look to the Stooges for pathos, or, for that matter, heartwarming happy endings, but "Cash and Carry" delivers both as the boys set out to raise $500 for a crippled boy's operation. "Flat Foot Stooges" is something of a milestone. It marks the debut of "Three Blind Mice" as the Stooges new theme song, which would replace the twittering "Listen to the Mockingbird." The shorts are presented complete and uncut, which means the PC police are standing by to issue citations for such egregious stereotypes as the grunting, shrieking "savages" in the colonial comedy, "Back to the Woods," and the Stooges? turn as Yiddish-speaking Chinese launderers in "Mutts to You." --Donald Liebenson
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939 Accessories
 The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 1: 1934-1936
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 3: 1940-1942
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 4: 1943-1945
Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2: 1938-1940
The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection
Get Smart - Season 1 (The Original TV Series)
Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Vol. 6
Popeye the Sailor: 1941-1943, Vol. 3
Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Five
The Three Stooges: Extreme Rarities
The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 2: 1937-1939 Reviews
Two of my favorites from this period are "The Sitter-Downers" as well as "Playing the Ponies". This DVD set continues from years 1937 to 1939 with the Stooges prime comedy.
If you have never seen the Stooges, you are in for a real treat. Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk.
What can one say. Quality of the set is superb.
If you are in need of a good laugh (and who isn't these days)I urge you to get this set, curl up with a bowl of popcorn and prepare to laugh yourself silly. They simply were the best of the best.
These guys were the greatest.
This was a Christmas gift for my "30" year old son who actually requested Stooges gifts. He loved the video and would recommend it to any fan of any kind.
I highly, highly recommend these collections- it has been far too long to get them ALL, in the right order too. The appearance of President Roosevelt (an actor, of course) and the Stooges saluting them at the end of Cash and Carry is quite a moment. The best shorts which have never even been on DVD, Cash and Carry and The Sitter Downers, are hilarious and should have been out long ago. I bought the first collection, and it was so great that I was even more happy to see the second one there to buy.
Once again Sony Pictures has done an incredible job with the video and sound remastering and they should be commended for their efforts. Missing from the newly remastered shorts is the debris, grain, dirt and sound hissing that used to plague these wonderful shorts. - Episode Selections. * Termites of 1938. * Three Dumb Clucks. The digitally remastered video transfers are simply amazing; no longer do these shorts look like they were made over 70 years ago and the completely restored soundtrack is the best I've ever heard. By 1937-39 the "Three Stooges" were finding their groove and the quality of their shorts was a testament that bigger and better things were still to come from the trio.
* Yes, We Have No Bonanza. Disc #1. - Play All Episodes. * The Sitter Downers. * Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise. In the past Sony Studios has been famous for releasing products with inferior quality and sometimes canceling future installments for no reason leaving fans with incomplete sets. * Grips, Grunts and Groans. - Play All Episodes.
The debut of "Three Blind Mice" melody as the Stooges new theme song, which replaced the "Listen to the Mockingbird." theme is a welcomed change and it enhanced the stooge shorts from then on. * Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb. * Wee wee Monsieur. * Tassels in the Air.
* Playing the Ponies. * Back to the Woods. * A Ducking they did Go. Disc #2. * Dizzy Doctors. The set contains 24 shorts on two single sided discs packaged in slim cases. DVD Features:. Hip Hip Hooray.
The disc artwork and packaging is fantastic to say the least, making this set even more attractive and highly collectible for fans to own. Of the 24 shorts presented in volume two many of them really stand out "Grips, Grunts and Groans", "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb", "Three Missing Links", "Calling all Curs" and my personal favorite "Violent is the Word for Curly" are filled with hilarious high jinks as only the three Stooges could serve up for their legions of fans. * Saved by the Belle. Well "Three Stooges" fans can now exhale because Sony Pictures has released the second "Three Stooges Collection" volume two from 1937-1939 with the same amazing video and sound quality as found in the volume one set. * Three Missing Links.
* We Want Our Mummy. * Flat Foot Stooges. * Calling all Curs. Once again fans will be happy to find that all 24 shorts in this outstanding two-disc set are in chronological order and In my opinion they're isn't a bad one in the bunch. - Episode Selections. * Violent is the Word for Curly. On a final note Stooge Fans will be pleased that these newly remastered shorts are finally presented complete and uncut, politically incorrect and in all they're Black & White splendor for fans to enjoy over and over.
As a "Three Stooges" fan who purchased the first "Three Stooges Collection" volume one the 1934-1936 years I wondered if Sony Pictures would continue to release future sets with the same level of quality shorts found in the volume one set or if this was another studio ploy to screw stooge fans out of their hard earned money, yet again. Volume two is also somewhat of a milestone for the Three Stooges as we are treated to the new stooge theme song as first heard in the short "Flat Foot Stooges". * Goofs and Saddles. * Three Sappy People * Three Little Sew and Sews. * Cash and Carry. * Mutts to You.
In my opinion, this is (overall) the best volume of the four that have been released so far, as there isn't a bad episode in the bunch. After purchasing the first volume of the Three Stooges collection and watching it with family members, I was pleasantly surprised that the second volume was out so soon. If you enjoyed the first collection, or just love the Stooges in general, buy this product with confidence that it will give you many hours of side-splitting laughs. I pre-ordered it as soon as I could and, after viewing each short from 1937-1939, was not disappointed in the least. The first volume had a few (but ONLY a few) clunker episodes as the Stooges and their directors were still trying to find their niche, but this volume is air-tight in both acting and directing, as the Stooges really find their formula in appealing to the baser instincts of Depression-Era film-goers (as movies were one of the few things they COULD afford for entertainment).
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