We Want Our Mummy

Moe, Larry and Curly are three detectives. They go to Egypt to find the mummy of king Rootin-Tootin and of course things are not as they seem and do not go as planned. Some very nice moments, even the predictable moments are funny, make this a great funny short from the Three Stooges!

We Want Our Mummy (1939)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Classic Three Stooges short has the boys playing detectives who are given the case of going to Egypt and locating the mummy known as King Rootin-Tootin. A museum will pay $5000 for him but what the boys don't know is that there is a curse with it. This here is pure madness and ranks as one of the best Stooge shorts out there. Everything people love about the Stooges can be had in this short as we get a great storyline, classic laughs and some terrific dialogue. There are many highlights here but one classic scene has Curly accidentally smashing the mummy and having to be wrapped up himself to try and fool some bad guys. Another great moment is when Moe looks through a telescope to see the desert but he ends up seeing something else. There's really not a dry moment anywhere in this film as it gets started with some great laughs and just keeps getting funnier as it moves along. As a die-hard horror fan I'd also go out on the limb and call this one of the best mummy movies ever made. It's certainly a lot better than many of the spoofs out there that deals with the mummy creature.

A BLAST. No other way to describe this campy classic. What all us kids lived for, a Stooge horror film. The phenom success of the MUMMY inspired this comedy, and with all the eerie trappings. The production folks burned the midnight oil, coming up with some creative sets. Director Del Lord worked his magic.

Moe, Larry and Curly are "ace" detectives, hired to find noted archaeologist Professor Tuttle (Robert B. Williams), lost somewhere in Egypt, searching for the mummy of King Rutentuton? Plenty of gags and silly one-liners fill the lopsided adventure, the Stooges playing hide and seek with dopey thieves who kidnapped Tuttle. By the way, check out the stunts, which are excellent. The stunt team is to be commended for gymnastics 101.

Atmospheric and Stooge spooky in spots; tall and lanky Theodore Lorch plays the mummy under lots of bandages. No, he's not Boris Karloff, but still a cool monster on the loose. Bud Jamison plays Dr. Crowell and James C. Morton plays Professor Wilson. If you're a tv western fan, Robert B. Williams later appeared in GUNSMOKE, the VIRGINIAN and BONANZA.

Beautifully written by Stooge pros, Elwood Ullman and Searle Kramer. Yes, there's a rare bit where Curly compares notes with the crooks, mentioning the 1938 World Series between the Yankees and the Cubs. A Stooge first.

Look out for Queen Hotsy Totsy.

The success of this comedy short may have inspired the writers at Universal to produce THE MUMMY'S HAND the following year. It makes sense.

Always on Columbia dvd, generally decades box sets, 30s, 40s and 50s episodes. Some sets have theme-related episodes. Thanks always to METV for running these oldies Saturdays.

This is an excellent Stooge short from 1939. Curley was still at his prime now. Only a few years later will show is illnesses. There are so many priceless expressions from Curly in this short especially when he hears this echo on his own voice 2 times and the third time the echo's voice from Moe's! There are some really good stunts in this short as well. One with Curley's stunt person falling backwards into the well and then towards the end, the three villains all fall into the well at once. Great to see Bud Jamison and James Morton. Real good sets too....lot's of lifelike Egyptian features. Trivia: 1952 was not a kind year for some of the cast. Curley Howard, Dick Curtis and Eddie Laughton all died in 1952. All in all this is a classic Stooge short highly recommended for a couple of good laughs. You can now find in on Hulu.com and watch it on your computer. All in all this short is great fum from 70 years ago

This was one of the better Three Stooges shorts. I especially liked how, despite very little material that didn't involve the Stooges themselves, the filmmaker managed to create a credible background for the "straight men" without taking time away from the Stooges. (Though it's clear the villains aren't terribly bright-anyone who couldn't tell an alive Curly wrapped up from a real mummy has no business studying ancient artifacts! Cartoon logic, which transfers strangely well to live action here...). The alligator is a welcome addition to the story, though it does seem to come from out of nowhere...