Disorder in the Court

This is one of the all-time famous Three Stooges films. It's total insanity, start-to-finish, and even though it's corny it still gets a ton of laughs even today. To me, it also demonstrates the comic genius of Curly.

All the action takes place in court and we see only one witness: Curly, of all people! He and the boys are trying to get their friend "Gail Tempest" (those who remember actress Gail Storm will appreciate this humor) out of a murder charge. "Who killed Cock Robin" is the question here.

Curly goes through his classic routine of trying to take his hat off, raise his right hand and put his left hand on the Bible all at the same time! It's almost become a classic routine. He does other things in here, too, that only Curly could pull off.

Watching this yesterday for the first time in about 20 years and probably the 10th overall, I still laughed out loud at several things, namely: What the jury looked like after the attorney says, "It is merely an attempt to influence this intelligent, broad-minded and most-intelligent jury!" (You see 12 of the dumbest-looking people you've ever seen!); Moe shooting a "tarantula" (some guy's wig) and Larry doing his Tarzan yell.

What can you say? This is The Three Stooges at the height of their hilarity.

Disorder in the Court is truly one of the funniest shorts The Three Stooges ever made. The timing and delivery of the jokes was pure perfection for Larry, Moe and Curly. Some of the "special effects" were pure hilarity, such as the scene where Larry flings the bow from his violin, removing the stenographer's toupee.

This short is truly a testament to brilliance of their slapstick. Almost 70 years later, and The Stooges are still being televised and sold on video and DVD.

For anybody that wants to familarize themselves with the Stooges, or for any fan that wants 20 minutes of unstoppable laughter, Disorder in the Court is perfect.

Before I begin, i'd like to give a message to this chowderhead fellow.

Dude, get a life, this whole gimmick that you hate everything you've reviewed here is really pathetic.

With that out of the way, I must say of all of the Curly Shorts, this one is the funniest (with Punch Drunks coming in a close second). His "take off your hat" routine always has me in stitches. I recomend this short to any Stooge fan who has unfortunately never seen it or to any person who just wants to laugh!

other recommended Curly shorts: Punch Drunks, Violence is the Word for Curly, Three Little Pirates, and We Want our Mummy

This short sets the stage for the Stooges' next 10 years of greatness. It includes a rubber head scene involving a letter press, a stunt double for Curly, a risque (for that era) dance, and some classic Stooge lines, including, "Oh, superstitious. eh?", "Take off your hat!", and, "I'm a victim of soicumstance!". Nonstop mayhem, and Bud Jamison is a riot. Finally, during a brief audience shot, Curly's and Moe's real mother and father (Mr. and Mrs. Horowitz) are sitting in their left front row!

Even with periods of dementia and depression, my 88-year old mother remains discriminating about which videos merit both her close attention and her laughter. Family members try to select compatible, bright-spirited films for Mom (from family situations, animal stories, musicals, comedies, and international intrigue), while weeding out offensive sex and violence. An area of trial and error has been Slapstick Comedy, which produced mixed and sometimes disappointing results -- all pies in all faces are not slam-dunk belly laughs -- or even condescending smiles. Complex, sophisticated, or subtle humor may be difficult for Mom to process at this stage in life.

Initially, she did not respond well to recent viewings of The Three Stooges -- in a lucid state, her more traditional values carry over. With earlier cultural and social restraints prevailing, she remembers the guys as silly goofs. But in current showings, she laughs openly - sometimes to a point of tears - at the zany antics of Moe, Larry, and Curly (only "Home Alone (1990)," brings out as much unrestrained laughter). It could be inferred that, when dementia erodes Mom's inhibitions of long standing, she is more relaxed and laughs easier (or, maybe she has developed a liking for The Three Stooges). Hopefully this simplistic discussion is neither insensitive nor disrepectful in suggesting that any form of happiness - free of tensions and uncertainties - is preferable to debilitating depression.

We have purchased several Three Stooges full-length and short feature DVDs, together with other slapstick comedies. "The Three Stooges Go Around The World In A Daze (1963)," a full-length parody of Jules Verne's book / Michael Todd's film, "Around The World In Eighty Days" scores high on my mother's laugh-meter; but her favorite is "Disorder In The Court (1936)," a short feature film, with Moe, Larry, and Curly at their classic best -- memorable routines of a comedy form that can only be described as, "Dear God, please don't ever let me see my children behave like that in public."

Aging is a one-way journey, often difficult; and taking The Three Stooges along with you will make it a much looser and happier ride. A slap, poke, gouge, kick, or scream from Moe, Larry, and Curly can't be all bad -- can it?