Arglist im Palast

Most aficionados of The Three Stooges consider Malice In The Palce to be their best short with Shemp. It certainly provides all of them with good moments.

The boys start out as waiters here in a restaurant somewhere in North Africa and a couple of rough customers come in for service which they get Stooge style. A rather lengthy bit with all the others including Moe and Shemp think Larry is cutting up cats and dogs for the dishes served at the establishment.

But the two villains decide that since a curse is on the famous lost diamond of King Rootin Tootin is said to strike the first who lay eyes on it, these guys are definitely expendable members of the human race. The Stooge mission is to retrieve that diamond and if one of them spots it first, no loss.

Of course there is a providence in heaven for women, small children and a Stooge. Check that last routine where the three of them come disguised in Santa Claus suits to fool the bad guys holding the Rootin Tootin diamond.

It's quite a rock and quite a Stooge delight.

MALICE IN THE PALACE is probably Shemp's best and most popular short. I can't say it's number 1 on my list, but I'd make it number 5. The best scene is when everyone thinks Larry is chopping up cats and dogs in the kitchen.

My Rating: A++

oddly enough,Curly Howard had a brief gag appearance as the head chef in the restaurant but while this seen was in theaters it got cut from all TV and video copies and may have been lost forever.I would love to see that scene as it was the only post Hold that Lion cameo Curly made since his May6,1946 stroke that forced his retirement.That cut scene was also never used in stock footage as train passenger scene was.All that survives is a poster showing Curly holding a rolling pin at Larry and Moe.Does this have to do with TV rights,copyrights and things that were signed after Curly's death in 1952? Other that that the short was one of Shemp,s best,hilarious,even colorized.IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST SHORT WITH THE BLOCK PRINTING OF THE THREE STOOGES IN THE BEGINNING SEQUENCE AS UP FROM 1945-1949 OTHER SHORT HAD THE three stooges IN SCRIPT WITH FIRST CURLY AND THEN SHEMP.

When looking through the video 'discount bin' the next time you go shopping, you'll probably notice a tape saying "Three Stooges Classics" or something like that. No matter the design of the sleeve, and no matter what company manufactured the video, there is about a 99% chance that this video will contain the following episodes:

Disorder in the Court, Brideless Groom, Malice in the Palace, Sing a Song of Six Pants

Yes, these are the Three Stooges episodes that somehow slipped through the fingers of our friends at Columbia Pictures, and have found themselves in the ranks of Public Domain Films. I received copies of these episodes when I was nine or so, mainly because they were the most affordable, and I watched them quite possibly 50 times. Nowadays, when I see an episode of the Three Stooges, I tend to think its juvenile and unfunny. But these four episodes still make me chuckle. Are they funny because they're public domain, or are they public domain because they're funny? I guess it's one of those chicken/egg questions.

Malice in the Palace is one of the all-time greats. It's almost impossible not to laugh in the scene where everyone is convinced Larry is chopping up the cat and dog. And just like any Three Stooges episode, loaded with plenty of puns and lame jokes, and pokes and slaps galore. 3 1/2 stars.

This is one of my favorite Shemp shorts, I think other fans would agree that this is one of the classics.

This takes place in the middle east where the boys are cooks. When two very important treasure hunters come in with a map for King Rutan-Tutan's diamond, they are very optimistic and ask the boys for their help. The boys agree and serve a dinner to the men, Larry being the head chief is in the kitchen alone with his two pets, a dog and a cat. When the boys and the men are discussing the plan, they hear the dog and cat screaming from a fight, and you know the assumption. But then something else goes wrong, the men find out that the diamond has already been taken and instead of running to retrieve it, they start crying. Moe takes advantage with Larry and Shemp and go to get the diamond back themselves.

10/10