Three Stooges butchered on AMC

Been watching a lot of Stooges lately. It comes on AMC and we record them on the DVR then watch the episodes at night. However, AMC seems to edit a lot of the episodes down to FIVE minutes cutting most of the stuff out. Back in the 2000 there was a great tv movie made about them that aired on ABC. I recently saw it on TV. So we have been revisiting the Stooges several times a week. My favorite of the bunch is Shemp. Oh I love them all, Moe, Larry, Curly, Joe Besser & Curly-Joe but Shemp has always been my favorite. We got tired of the cuts AMC was making so we bought the entire collection on DVD and some of these I feel like I have seen for the first time because so much is cut out on TV.

The other day I got "I Stooged To Conquer" by Moe Howard in the mail. It is the autobiography he was working on at the time of his death. Some great behind the scenes info and the ABC movie is based off this book. Moe seemed like a really great man. As a kid I thought he was very mean but in real life he was very kind. If you wrote him a letter he would write you back. Here's a guy who wrote Moe many times and then even drove to his house to meet him. The website has a lot of cool information:

http://web2.airmail.net/~/z1528052/letters.htm

One of my favorite episodes is Malice In The Palace. Larry really shines in this episode as the chef. It is so funny to watch him chase the cat and dog with the meat cleaver. Incidentally, Curly was on set for this episode and was supposed to play the part of the chef as he had recovered a bit from his stroke. But I believe he didn't feel well that day and the part ended up going to Larry Fine. After his stroke he did appear in one episode with Moe, Larry and Shemp shown here:



The original cast included Moe, Larry & Shemp. They were billed as "Ted Healy and his Stooges". However, Ted was an abrasive man and Shemp did not like him so he left the group. They asked Moe's younger brother Jerry to join but he had long hair and a handlebar mustache. Ted said he didn't look funny so Jerry left the room and shaved his head and stache. When he came back in the room Ted said "Boy do you look girlie!". Moe misheard and thought he said Curly so from that point Curly was born! After Curly's stroke Moe thought the boys were done. He asked Shemp to come back to the act and he didn't want to but felt that if he didn't Moe & Larry would be completely out of work so he agreed to return temporarily until Curly was healthy enough to return (sadly, he never got better). Shemp passed away before they could finish the remaining 4 episodes of the year so they used what was billed as a "Fake Shemp" to finish out the episodes. Some of them are very disjointed because they used old clips of Shemp mixed with new clips featuring the fake Shemp. The clip below features Fake Shemp starting around 30 seconds, always shot from the side or back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm6kZmBeHBk

And I am lucky enough to have a wife who enjoys the Stooges as much as I do.

 

I know what you mean about the TV airings being butchered. IFC used to show the Stooges shorts but between the commercial breaks and sloppy editing it was hard to watch.

You might want to look into the documentary called "Hey Moe, Hey Dad" which was released on DVD earlier this year. It's by Moe's son and has a lot of rare pictures and clips.

 

When Sony put out the remastered / in chronological order / complete unedited DVDs in 2007, crap like AMC ceased to exist for me.

- Lifelong fan, 57 years.
.

 

You can still get the "black box" for $45. Who knows, by Christmas, it might be back down to $30. There's your fix for HORRIBLE TV.

 

Thank you for the info I will look for it. Sounds interesting. I also found some poor quality videos on YouTube of Moe on the Mike Douglas show and they are great to see.

 

Curly did shoot something for Malice In The Palace but for whatever reason the footage was never used. Curiously, the scene appears in one of the four lobby cards Columbia prepared for the film's release, even though it's not in the finished film.

 

Tell us more about this "black box". Was it salvaged from a wrecked aircraft?

 

This is the one we just bought:


It also includes the movies and some "Shemp" shorts which we haven't gotten to yet because we are watching them in order, usually 2 or 3 episodes a night so it will be a while before we get to those.

 

That's the reason I pass on watching The Three Stooges on television, and also for not watching watching the classic cartoons (Warner Brothers, MGM, Fleischer Brothers, UPI among them) on television. Home video gives me the ability to see the cartoons/shorts as they were.

 

Be sure to read "One Fine Stooge" by Steve Cox, all about Larry Fine. My favorite book on The Boys ... and if you are not already a member for $9 a year you must join The Three Stooges Fan Club. I have been a card carrying member since I was 10 years, 1989.

 

I've owned the Stooges Sony DVDs & Box set for years now and never really got around to watching them all, in order. Until now. Started from the beginning and am going ALL the way through. Nyuk nyuk.

 

Exactly. There is no reason to ever watch The Three Stooges on anything other than their complete DVD releases.

 

The biggest mistake I ever made in my life was when I was a junior in college in 1974 I didn't go see Moe when he spoke on campus. Delusions of sophistication! One kid was smart enough to bring a pie and got Moe to shove it in his face.

 

I like the AMC 5 minute versions, in a way. Those are edited down to the core, or edited to make a 5 minute story. Somehow they could title them better to make clear they are seriously cut down versions. They've been done with some taste, considering. Each is different than seeing the original again. A 5 minute one is better than a 22 minute one cut to 17 minutes for commercials.

I have the "black box" too - but I have not watched most of it yet! One of those things that, just by having it, I don't have to watch it.

 

I remember back when the Family Channel used to air the Stooges, back then called "Stooge TV". I used to record them on VHS but of course that channel butchered the episodes as well and wasn't really worth watching.

I am a bit surprised about AMC though...several years back when the late Leslie Nielsen used to host the Stooges, they had shown most of the episodes uncut. There were only a few where bits were edited, like the word 'swine' that was used in 'Movie Maniacs' episode, and the other in 'Uncivil Warriors' regarding the baby.

Ever since I found out about the DVD set that Sony put out back in 2007, I didn't hesitate to jump on that. With all the episodes uncut and complete, I no longer had any reason to watch them on TV anymore, plus there were some episodes that never aired on TV like 'The Yoke's on Me' and a few others.

 

5 minutes ??? !!!

 

There are several on Youtube. I guess those are authorized, or PD. Possibly not the exact edits that AMC has. AMC doesn't show the "crackle" titles.

 

I was one of those guys who wrote to Moe in 1974 and got a nice handwritten letter back from him, along with 3 different autographed pictures.
A few months earlier I wrote to Larry Fine and at the end of my letter to him, I asked for Moe's address. I think Moe was very pleased I had written to Larry which may be the reason I got the 3 different autographed pictures from him. Larry also included an autographed picture in his handwritten letter to me.
I saved these letters in an album and have been offered over $1000 for both letters and autographs. Not interested in selling.

 

I always though it was sad that Curly didn't live longer so that we could have see interviews with him on television or to have him appear in any of their movies.

 

That's pretty awesome that you gotten an autographed letter from both Moe and Larry. It's unfortunate that I was born 2 years after they both passed as it would have been really cool to write to and hear back from two of the most famous comedy legends for their time. Can't write to anyone today since the letter would never reach the intended recipient. Of course I believe all of the Howards were born at the tail end of the 19th century so I would say they have lived a long life (with exception of Curly and Shemp).

Curly I believe has a daughter if memory serves.

 

Nope, I would never sell either. That is very cool. I know Moe had a part in placing Larry in the care facility where he lived out the rest of his life. Here are some of his letters. I was having trouble the other day accessing this site but it seems to be back up now. Bob even dropped me an e-mail and said he is getting ready to update it with bigger pictures and better scans of the letters.

http://web2.airmail.net/~/z1528052/letters.htm

He also has a few letters from Larry.

Some more interesting stuff on the Stooges: Vernon Dent was also a cast regular and was best friends with Shemp. You may recognize him



As of 2012 his widow was still alive at the age of 105!! I don't know if she is still alive or not because there is no info on her online that I have been able to find.

Another key cast member was Emil Sitka "Hold hands you love birds!"



After Larry's stroke Moe wanted to continue the Stooges with Sitka in Larry's place but they only did publicity photos



I believe he passed away in 1997 or 98. His tombstone is also pretty cool



Sorry to flood the thread with pictures and links but it is all interesting if you like the Stooges.

Here is another interesting read on Christine McIntyre. Before the age of the internet this guy tracked her down and struck up a friendship. He also wrote Moe and Larry and asked about her but they did not know where she was. Moe said that if he ever found her to let him know. I believe by the time he did Moe's health was very poor or he had already passed. Please read the link below, I think you will find it interesting

http://taillefer.tripod.com/ChristineMcIntyre/msfcm.html

 

Almost as they were.
Unfortunately the producers are often required to edit, or completely omit, certain portions of episodes in order to get legal releases to finish the product.
This results in you seeing what you think is the full, unedited, version when in fact it has been altered by the producers, for many different reasons, usually social in nature.
Never the less, the quality box sets are as close to "original and uncut" as the vast majority of us will ever get.

 

It has become fairly common to find a show edited, cut, altered, to run on TV and often times the alteration is quite dramatic.
Sometimes the edit makes sense in order to run the show during prime time, you know, cut out the grotesque whatever to make the censor grade.
Unfortunately some TV programs are cut to make way for commercial run time and not much else. When this happens the program is basically bait to get you to watch the commercials...and that burns my biscuits something fierce. Not to mention it offers a poor representation of what was good originally to those who do not know any better.

 

Thanks for sharing this info i really enjoyed the read, especially about the supporting characters and Christine. Makes me appreciate my box set even more having owning a piece of comedic history.