An Ache in Every Stake

An Ache in Every Stake (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Nice short has The Three Stooges working as ice delivery men but they can't seem to get a block up a large flight of stairs so they must come up with a new plan. After finally reaches the top of the steps they end up filling in for a cook at a birthday part and sure enough everything goes wrong. This isn't a classic from the trio but I think there are enough laughs to make it worth viewing. As with many of their shorts, this one here isn't the most original thing out there as many elements were borrowed from Laurel and Hardy's THE MUSIC BOX but these elements are mainly kept to the first half. The impact isn't nearly as good as that film but I think we get some pretty good violence early on and especially the scenes with Curly's head stuck in a block of ice and Moe and Larry have to get it out. The cooking scenes aren't all that original either but the three really sell it and get some nice laughs.

Just to correct one thing that was mentioned in a couple of the other reviews here. In this one, Vernon Dent is not a judge. He's merely a guy trying to get home with his birthday cake in one piece. The one where he's a judge is the remake made with Shemp where, as usual, Columbia spliced two stories in order to get one, "An Ache In Every Steak" with "A Plumbing We Will Go". With that said and done...this is without any doubt one of their very best comedies ever. It's right up there with "Men In Black" from 1934. The one thing I never hear though from other admirers of the boys is how their shorts never really seem dated or old fashioned. As much as I enjoy Abbott & Costello, they seem stuck in the 1940's and WWII. The Stooges are timeless because they hit the nerve in all of us and I've seen people who don't even understand English or some of the contemporary references laugh unceasingly at their antics. If that's not a testimonial to greatness, I don't know what is. Just watch this one and don't be drinking anything while doing so or it might come out your nose.

"An Ache in Every Stake" is from 1941 and runs 18 minutes. Starring Moe, Larry, and Curly as Ice Men, Cooks, and Waiters, this delightful romp features 56 year old Vernon Dent as Poindexter Lawrence, Bess Flowers as Mrs Lawrence, Gino Currado as the Cook, Bud Jamison as the Baker, Blanche Payson as the Maid, and Wilson Benge as the Butler. Located in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, the steps we see The Stooges trying to traverse are located between 2257 and 2258 Fairoak View Terrace, whereas, The Music Box, the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Comedy Short in 1932, was located between 923 and 937 Vendome Street, at the intersection of Vendome and Del Monte Street in the Silverlake area of LA. I won't give away the ending, but if you're a Fan of the Three Stooges, you certainly deserve to watch this classic masterpiece!

Larry, Curly, and Moe are chuckleheads delivering ice and coal. They have difficulty carrying ice up a steep hill. They get into a fight with a chef and end up taking his place in preparing for a high class birthday party.

The change from delivering ice to cooking is rather random. This is basically two different stories. They should split this into two shorts. The first half has the fun carrying ice up that staircase. It could have extended it and made it into something special. The second half's best bit is probably Curly dancing with the spring. That's been done before. The second half is a Stooges standard story.

This short begins hilariously, and builds to the riotous ending. It contains several well-known scenes, including the "ice-block down the stairs" piece, and Curly shaving the ice with great patter included. These stairs were also used in a wonderful Laurel and Hardy short involving a piano, and, as usual, Vernon Dent is hilarious as a pompous judge.