Beer Barrel Polecats

Jules White was alternating with Edward Bernds in directing The Three Stooges just as the producer did with Del Lord. The first film shot after Curly was released from the hospital from his first minor stroke was January 1946's "Beer Barrel Polecats." Columbia Pictures' head Harry Cohn had insisted the Stooges resume shooting almost immediately, allowing Curly only a short period to recuperate. Whether White detected any lapse in Curly's comedic skills is open to speculation. But as film reviewer Stuart Galbraith said of the Stooge's performance in the 88th episode of their short movie series, which was filmed in April 1945, Curly was "notably thinner (Curly, Moe, and Larry are about the same weight in this) and inexpressive throughout, his face almost like a mask." This was Gilbert Pratt, a former actor and director who scripted Laurel and Hardy's 1940 "Saps at Sea" as well as the Stooges' 1945 "If a Body Meets a Body," last screenplay. He retired from film, which began in 1917, dying in late 1954. Set during Prohibition, "Beer Barrel Polecats" has the Stooges making their own beer. Confusion sets in when each Stooge, unbeknownst to the others, drops three cubes of yeast into the vat, setting off a cascade of beer suds. Off-screen, Curly sells an undercover detective some of the beer, sending the three to prison. Pratt's script borrowed heavily from Laurel and Hardy's first feature film, 1931's "Pardon Us." Strangely, "Beer Barrel Polecats" ends with a couple of previously released prison scenes from the Stooges 1941 "In the Sweet Pie and Pie" and 1941 "So Long Mr. Chumps." Accounts have it Curly was so ill during its production White inserted the two old clips to fulfill the requisite 17-minute length. Others cite a lawsuit comedian Harold Lloyd threatened Columbia Pictures with for copying his work almost verbatim in "Beer Barrel Polecats." Rather than fight the case in court, the studio excised the offending footage and inserted some previously-released scenes.

While the two latest Stooges movies were being released, Curly found himself in a messy divorce proceeding with Marion Buxbaum after only three months of marriage. During testimony, Buxbaum, seeking much of Curly's life savings, said, "He used filthy, vile language, kept two vicious dogs, he shouted at waiters in cafes, struck and kicked me, put out cigars in the sink." Curly's character witnesses refuted Buxbaum's account, saying he was always a happy-go-lucky guy, and generous to a fault when it came to buying her luxurious gifts. The divorce later had near-fatal consequences for the already unhealthy Curly.

When I first watched this short, I actually was enjoying the new footage and when I saw the reused footage, I was quite dissapointed and when I saw reused footage from another episode, I was even more dissapointed and I think this short is only worth for the first 5-6 minutes and I understand that Curly was ill during this time and I think that Curly was more sick than usual in this short although Curly seemed more healthier in the next two shorts 'Uncivil Warbirds' and 'Three TroubleDoers' although his condition went even more downhill in the two shorts after that.

Beer Barrel Polecats (1946)

** (out of 4)

Curly, Moe and Larry buy a book on how to make beer so the three put their brains together and brew a batch. Things don't go as planned and soon the three are in jail after Curly tries to sell to an undercover cop.

BEER BARREL POLECATS is perhaps the weakest Stooges short up to this point in their careers. This was filmed after Curly had suffered a number of strokes so I'm going to guess that this played a part in the final product. There just isn't too much going on in this film and there certainly aren't enough laughs to make it worth sitting through a second time. The first portion of the film contains a few minor laughs as the beer making process is a disaster but the scenes in jail are all rather weak and they don't contain a single laugh.

This is around the time after Curly got ill. To make things easier for him in this short, they decided to reuse excessive amounts of footage from earlier shorts just as SO LONG. MR. CHUMPS and IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE, and build somewhat of a plot around it (they would end up doing this a lot in the later in the mid-50's). A lame and poor idea, especially since you can notice a huge difference in Curly's performance from the new footage compared to the reused. Also, the footage from SO LONG adds nothing because in it, the Stooges are looking for Convict 41144, yet there's never an explanation of why. That was very lazy and confusing.

The weakest of the Curly shorts.

Larry, Curly, and Moe can't find any beer in town. They decide to make their own. Curly sells one beer but the buyer turns out to be a cop and the boys get arrested. I like the progression of the story. Pomeroy does need a bit of explaining which was probably cut out to save time. I always love the boys especially with Curly. There is plenty of hilarity. They should do more old Stooges. This one has one of the better Stooges ending.