Spook Louder

I recall an extremely cold February afternoon. I went over to Freddie's house to mess around and read the playboy magazines his Father has stashed away. Obviously Freddie's folks went to some party and we thought the house was ours but to our surprise Freddie's Mom at the last minute hired a baby sitter to watch his two younger siblings. The babysitter wasn't very friendly and wanted to corner the only color set in the living room. We were mad that she took over our territory so we went outside and decided to harass her. Throwing crab apples on the roof and ringing the front door bell while hiding in the adjacent bushes. Just an all out onslaught against the helpless sitter. SPOOK LOUDER is definitely my favorite of all the Three Stooges shorts. Our story begins with what appears to be a young impressionable reporter (Stanley Brown) hearing a tale about three master salesman (The Stooges) peddling a weight reduction machine to would be house wives from the lips of Professor Dunkfeather (Lew Kelly) narration. The deplorable Professor is interrupted by the inquiring hack as to what does selling a weight machine have to do with the story? Our eccentric story teller continues spinning a goofy yarn how our Three Stooges stumble upon a mansion. They meet the owner of this spacious dwelling Inventor deluxe,Mr. Graves (Theodore Lorch) as they are instantly hired as caretakers. While the inventor Mr. Graves has to travel to Washington. Foul play ensues outside unbeknownst to the three newly hires. The foils enter the house in Halloween garb and try to scare off Moe Larry and Curly. Chase scenes, balloons, prat falls and plenty of pies get thrown at crucial parts of this comedy. Just a funny collection of non- stop comedy only the Stooges could provide. Plenty of belly laughs in this unforgettable short. I grade this 8 nyuk nyuks. Who threw those pies? I threw the crab apples!

The Stooges land in a haunted house where ghosts are throwing pies! This has got to be the most insane comedy they have ever done! I have watched this for years as a kid, and now as an adult I am still laughing as it is sooo outrageous! Lew Kelly as the nutty professor (Dunkfeather!) tells a reporter the weird tale of how "strange things" were happening in his house. The bad guys, all dressed in Halloween costumes, make it more hilarious as Moe, Larry and Curly are scared out of their wits in almost every scene. Curly steals the show (doesn't he always?) thinking a balloon on a string attached to his coat is a mad ghoul. The face on the balloon is a hoot! There's a lot of running around and yelling and it's so much fun to watch. WATCH OUT FOR THE FLYING PIES!!! Recommended for Stooge addicts, and you will be addicted! Get the dvd box set.

Spook Louder (1943)

*** (out of 4)

A reporter goes to interview Professor Dunkfeather (Lew Kelly) who tells him about two separate cases, all involving the Stooges. One involves the boys going around trying to sell weight reducing machines. The next has the boys inside a spooky house where a skeleton, a devil and another man tries to scare them.

SPOOK LOUDER isn't the greatest short in the world but there's no doubt that fans of the Stooges should enjoy what humor there is. I'd say the weakest stuff deals with the Dunkfeather character as there's really no humor to be found here. The first story contains a couple decent laughs but the highlight is certainly when the three manage to finally get a buyer only to have Curly mess it up. The majority of the laughs come from the second portion of the film as the boys are running around scared of just about everything that jumps out at them. There are some really funny moments to be found here including one where Curly keeps getting punch by someone behind a book shelf.

Scriptwriters for the Three Stooges dug deep in their memory holes to dig up comedy skits of the past to give the comedy team material to work with. Early film historians can trace some of the Stooges' brilliant routines from past movies. A prime example is April 1943's "Spook Louder," set in an old dark house where the boys are scared every second by disguised enemy spies dressed in Halloween costumes intent on capturing a top scientist's 'Death Ray.' Film reviewer Dave Sindelar notes, "The Stooges had a way of packing a whole movie's worth of gags into a seventeen minute short, and this one is great fun." One of the key mysteries in "Spook Louder" is why and who is throwing pies at the Stooges and the professor who relates the tale to a reporter of the trio's adventures. Diligent research reveals the answer to the mysterious pie throwing can be traced to the 1931 Mack Sennett comedy, 'The Great Pie Mystery,' with Harry Gribbon and May Boley. Writer Clyde Bruckman, who had a habit of modifying older movie gags for the Stooges, was credited for adopting the pie-in-the-face gag into the story of their night in the inventor's house. Coincidentally, Del Lord directed both the Sennett film and "Spook Louder." The Stooges open "Spook Louder" as weight reduction machine salesmen who knock on the door on the house of an inventor who's planning to drum up interest of his a 'death-ray' machine to government officials in Washington, D. C. His butler answering the door is played by actor Charles Middleton in his only Stooges' film. Fans of the "Flash Gordon" serials will recognize him as Ming the Merciless. Meanwhile the inventor is acted by Ted Torch, who played the High Priest in the same Flash Gordon serial. The inventor asks the three to housesit for the weekend while he's away in D. C. That evening, three spies, intent on stealing the machine, go about scaring the Stooges. Writer Bruckman sketched the gag showing Curly unknowingly tethered to a balloon with a face drawn on it. The balloon, hooked onto the back of his sweater, frightens everyone he meets, a skit taken from Harry Langdon's 1929 comedy film "The Big Kick." The movie is also the first to show Moe's hair rising when scared.

"Professor I can't stand it any longer! Who threw that pie?!" You'll be asking yourself this same question while watching this great slice of comic mayhem. The Stooges are key figures in the breaking up of the Great Spy Ring in this short. But they are not spies. They are just simple salesmen who wander into horror, hell, and very funny situations. After assigned as bodyguards to a professor's house the boys meet up with skeletons, mummies, strange sounds, U.F.P's (unidentified flying pies) and the Devil?! Great piece of mystery/silliness that has it all. Look closely for Charles Middleton (Emperor Ming of the 1930's Flash Gordon serials.