Cuckoo on a Choo Choo

I must be one of the few people that likes this short. I guess you have to understand what The Stooges are making fun of here. This film makes fun of A Streetcar Named Desire, hence the reason Larry is trying imitate Marlon Brando and the torn T-Shirt, and Harvey, which explains Shemp seeing and animal no one else can see and Shemp imitating James Stewart when he is talking to the canary. Coincidently, Victoria Horne who plays Roberta in this film appeared in Harvey. My favorite gag is when Larry tells Moe, "If you don't want to lose Roberta, you'd better play ball with me." I guess this is 50's slag for You better Listen to me. Then after that, Moe whips out a ball and he and Larry toss it at each other. Although there are better shorts, this one is ok.

This short is without question the worst of the Stooges shorts. The problem is that the big bird quickly becomes irritating and Shemp's drunk act grows very old. Larry used to watch this short over and over again when he was in the old actor's home and liked it best because he thought he looked like Marlon Brando from "A Streetcar Named Desire." Avoid if possible.

I am among those who are drawn towards this bizarre Stooges short; certainly because of the reference to the "Penciltucky R.R. Co." (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk) and the railroad car named "Schmow," among others, plus this not being a "typical" Stooges entry. (And in this film in particular, Larry looks almost like a hippie version of former New York Mayor Ed Koch, especially when you consider the longer hair.)

But one has to wonder if this being judged among the worst of their offerings has as much to do with what was going on behind-the-scenes at Columbia's short-subjects department at the time this was being produced, as anything else in the film. This was from the period after Jules White became the sole producer/director of the Stooges (a situation, or 'soicumstance' if you will, which would stand until the closing of the short-subjects unit in 1958), following the firing of producer Hugh McCollum and the resignation of director Edward Bernds (all of whose directorial efforts of the Stooges were under McCollum) out of loyalty to his just-sacked boss and mentor. It is agreed among many Stooge-o-philes that the quality of their shorts plummeted mightily after White took full control. (To be sure, the Stooges' films weren't Shakespeare or anything else even slightly resembling "high art"; but for what they were, opinions differ among fans on when the quality decline took place - Curly's career-ending stroke and Shemp replacing him, the aforementioned backroom studio politics, etc.)

The question thus has to be asked (and probably unlikely to be answered, since almost all the participants are now dead, with the possible exception of actress Patricia Wright who played "Lenora"): How would the McCollum/Bernds duo have tackled such an unorthodox, offbeat script as this? Bernds is usually regarded by Stooge aficionados as helming some of their better entries, and especially his dealings with the actors and working around them (i.e. the final Curly shorts he crafted, where he took into account Curly's illness when making them, unlike White who merely shifted the action towards Moe and Larry; not to mention, in general, White's forcing everybody to work according to his idea of what "worked" in two-reel comedy).

This is well known as one of the most controversial Stooges shorts. Some say it's the worst they ever did, while others defend it. What most agree on, however, is that it's really STRANGE.

I don't think it's particularly good or bad. In fact, I find it somewhat reminiscent of earlier Stooges shorts that satirized things that people today may or may not be familiar with. "Men In Black", "You Nazty Spy!" and "I'll Never Heil Again" were similarly satirical, and (more to the point) similarly surrealistic and plot-less. It also anticipates the different-in-a-not-so-good-way features of some Besser shorts, showing once again that Besser didn't make the Stooge train head downhill -- he merely hopped onto it when it was already heading that way.

Still, some parts did make me laugh -- at least parts near the beginning involving Shemp. The line "Horrible, but I like it!" was funny. So were the weird music & sound effects whenever someone took a drink -- or at least they were funny until they'd happened too many times.

The weirdest thing is the imaginary canary. The most nonsensical thing is Shemp, finding himself in trouble, calling out "Moe!" as in some other short -- but in this one Moe's character is some stranger he's barely noticed! The most unfunny thing is the blond lady, whose loud, annoying crying and running away didn't always have a coherent motivation. Then again, there isn't much coherent about this one anyway. And maybe there doesn't have to be.

That appears to be the general attitude regarding "Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo". This episode draws a great stir among stooge-heads, pro or con. Myself, I'm on the "pro" side. The weirdness of the "imaginary canary" doesn't seem to farfetched if you keep in mind this is a Three Stooges comedy and the fact that once Moe gets on the train, the regular dynamic of Moe bossing the other two around, quickly settles in. I would recommend any stooge fan watch this short and see for yourself what side of the fence you may fall on. Grade: B+