Three Little Pirates

Only a fool would try to argue that any Stooge short is the "best", but some, like Three Little Pirates, can definitely be termed "one of the best". If you are a Stooge fan, this is the one that you HAVE to see.

The premise is simple: the Stooges, as castaways on an island seemingly locked in the Middle Ages and under despotic rule by an impetuous Emperor, must escape with their lives and take His Majesty's betrothed with them. Easier said than done!

Comedic highlights include the Stooges trying to break out of their cell with a jackhammer, numerous anachronisms (the jackhammer, a pinball machine), Curly's disastrous knife-throwing routine, a painting which comes to life, and jokes about execution.

The highlight, however, is the indescribable "Maha? Aha!" routine. The Stooges are trying to con their way out of the palace as nobility from foreign lands. Curly is the "Maharashi", and Moe is his translator, the "Djinn of Rummi". They chatter in a made-up language, and even though Curly repeatedly bursts into perfect English, and Moe repeatedly slaps him, the Emperor notices nothing.

If you love the Stooges, this is a must-see. It is undoubtedly one of the best ever.

It was only until i first logged onto IMDb.com that i realized this short was one of Curly's last episodes. It is also one of his best. One or two other of episodes with Curly "Idiots Deluxe" & "Micro-phonies" possibly could top this. What makes "Three Little Pirates" special is all the 'SECOND LANGUAGES' that is spoken here. You will find,hopefully, that i took quotes from this episode directly from Closed Captioning and added it to help die-hard Stooge fans decipher what exactly is being said(i still can't figure it out.) I may also take some quotes from the other two episodes i mentioned earlier. In Idiots Deluxe, Moe scorns a black cat for "Stomping Around" and in Micro-phonies Moe exclaims on a radio broadcast that GRITTO spelled sideways is OTTRIGGG-GGG-GGG!!! I wish i could find out why the FCC has deemed their episodes as PG(other than the petty violence). That's exactly what is meant by SLAPSTICK COMEDY!!!

I originally saw this flick about 15 years ago (could have been more) on a TV special and it stuck in my mind completely. I'd watch The Three Stooges religiously on television, especially Saturday morning to hopefully see it. Unfortunately I never saw it again until it was released on video and I quickly added it to my collection a couple of weeks ago.

IT STILL DID NOT LOSE ITS EFFECT ON ME!!!!

Supposedly this island that they have landed on is still in the middle ages They are dressed in modern navy garb, while the governor (Vernon Dent) and others are dressed in middle ages dress. At first the governor doesn't recognize the modern navy dress and refuses to believe that they are sailors.

I guess this could be an historical comment when Rita (Christine McIntyre) enters the room and the Three Stooges whistle at her. The governor states that yes they are definitely sailors.

Another funny situation is still in the governor's chamber where he sentences the Three Stooges to death because they whistled at his betrothed. So the governor asks in what way they wish to die and Larry states "old age". Here Moe is ready to give him a slap across his kisser (which he does innumerable times) but the tall guard beats him to it. Moe thanks the guard.

This story supposedly is, like I stated before, taking place in the middle ages. So how come, when Rita comes to help the boys escape, she shows the boys modern day utensils, such as a jack hammer, electricity, axes, chisels etc. hidden under the mattress. It adds to the nonsense and classic Three Stooges mania. JUST LOVE IT!!

Rita gets the boys dressed up in eastern garb and Curly is the Maharajah of Canarsy. He and Moe meet the governor and offer him gifts. The funny thing is, in this scene, that Moe is supposedly a translator to Curly, and he is talking to Curly in english and because Curly doesn't cooperate completely, Moe slaps him on numerous occasions and the governor is oblivious to all of this.

The final scene takes place in Black Louie's Pirates Den where Curly is enticed into a knife throwing contest with Black Louie himself, Larry being the target.

The piece de resistance was the old pinball machine with its unique TILT applicator (I'm laughing as I am writing this), a huge mallet that comes down and conks the player on the head for cheating at pinball. Larry uses this machine to his advantage in the final melee that takes place.

I find it funny how Moe gets into a picture and knocks the bad guys out with a pendulum that was taken from the clock hanging on the wall.

The clanking on a pipe, when someone gets hit on the noggin adds to this very humorous Three Stooges short.

A MUST SEE for Three Stooges fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many Curly fans are disappointed with his 1945-46 performances during which his health got worse and worse to the point where he was no longer his old energetic self. However, his performance in this is as good as one could hope for (no one can play a maharajah better than Curly!) and fans of Curly and the stooges in general would love this short (which I consider to be their best of 1946). The plot: The stooges are sailors who wind up in ancient times and are sentenced to death by the ruler. Luckily, lady Rita is there to help them escape. Using their wits (disguising Curly as a maharajah) and their fighting abilities (they later face a band of cutthroat pirates who challenge them to a game of knife-throwing), they are eventually victorious. As mentioned, Curly's performance in this is just wonderful and there are memorable sight gags throughout. I consider this and "Fuelin' Around" to be director Edward Bernds's best Stooges shorts. RECOMMENDED

I remember this one best for the film in which Curly wears the ultra-thick black- rimmed glasses with a turban on is head, pretending to be the Raja of Canoli (or something like that).

The story is kind of a time-travel one. The Three Stooges and their garbage scow are washed up along the shore many miles away, off Deadman's Island. They seem to have entered a different period in time where it is now the late 1600s. Immediately, they are called spies and put into jail.

In the first five minutes, this is a very loud episode - at least in prolonged skit early on with guys trying to drill their way out of jail. After that, it's more of a verbal Stooges in that the dialog dominates more than the physical, which is very unusual for a Three Stooges film. Maybe part of that was Curly beginning to fail in his health. However, he seems pretty spry here, but most of his gags come with his dialog with Moe.

The film was done in the short period (mid '40s) where Curly kind of changed his voice. It was higher and that high pitch led to some funny material, although his voice gets a bit grating in this episode. However, you can't help but laugh at his comments.

The story is basically about the Stooges, with help from Rita, trying to escape from the island. She'll help them if they'll take her with them. She (series regular Christine McIntrye) doesn't want to be married to the governor, played by another series regular, Vernon Dent.

The ending is a classic with half-blind Curly (because of the fake glasses) having some knife-throwing contests with "Black Louie" the pirate, and then the boys - and Rita - getting into a brawl with Louie's gang at the saloon. Silly, but fun.