Some More of Samoa

Watching a Three Stooges short film is like viewing two movies in one. A great example is December 1941's "Some More of Samoa," where the opening segment is in an America suburbia before our boys are transported to a Pacific island.

In the first half of "Some More of Samoa," the Stooges are arborists whose talent can cure any sick plant. Responding to a telephone call from a cantankerous owner summoning the three to help turn around his sick rare puckerless persimmon tree, Moe and Larry are confused when Curly rips their land-line phone off the wall and places it into his suitcase. Asked why he did it, Curly says, "in case we get a call while we're gone." This is the first instance in film where the concept of a cell phone is shown and explained, years before Motorola came out with the first one in 1973.

The short film takes a sharp turn once the arborists diagnose the tree's problem by noting it needs to cross-pollinate with a similar species to revive its sinking condition. The eccentric tree owner offers a $10,000 reward if they find and deliver such a tree, which can only be found in the fictional Pacific island of Rhum Boogie. There the natives live on "milk from contented coconuts," a play on Carnation Milk's slogan claiming its milk comes "from contented cows." Things couldn't get any wackier on Rhum Boogie when the Stooges are the main ingredient for the natives' boiled stew. They eventually escape and find the rare persimmon tree. "This is one of those shorts where the Stooges are firing on all cylinders," says film reviewer Dave Sindelar.

The Three Stooges are tree sturgeons and they have to take care of a tree that belongs to a sick and grumpy old man. Larry, Curly and Moe think the tree needs a girlfriend, another tree, and the man promises to give each of them 10.000 dollars if they bring a tree. The problem is that the tree only grows on an island where the natives live in houses made of bamboo and where they drink milk from coconuts, as it says in this short.

This short as a complete thing is not very good, but the separate parts both have their moments. Especially the part on the island with a gag involving a alligator is terrific. This is not their finest short, not even close actually, but as always it is entertaining enough.

I noticed that Some More Of Samoa was released three days before Pearl Harbor. Soon enough the American movie going public would be inundated with films about the Pacific War and enough films showing a less humorous view of the South Seas.

But in this short subject we have the 3 Stooges now in the profession of tree surgeons. That's like giving the job to a professional arsonist.

However a millionaire client whom they persuade that his rare tropical tree deserves a mate sends the boys on a trip to the South Seas that they make by row boat.

They can get a tree, but the chief's ugly sister likes Curly and he has to marry them. Otherwise the boys are the main ingredient in cannibal stew.

A bad dilemma in this funny short subject.

A rich crazy old coot has recently bought a rare puckerless persimmon tree and keeps it in his room. He calls for tree surgeons and gets the Three Stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe. Moe claims that the tree needs a mate to bear fruit. The old man offers them $10 to bring back another tree from Rhum Boogie.

It's weird to have a white family lead a cannibal native tribe but somehow the double negative cancels each other out. The stupidity of it makes it fun. If it was me, I wouldn't get that close to an alligator. The alligator is a good bit. I like the ending although I kept expecting the water bailing to magically refloat the boat. If they could do that, it would be better.

Some More of Samoa (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The Three Stooges play tree surgeons who are offered a job by a crazy old man who is in love with his special tree and wants the boys to find it a mate. The Stooges head off for a jungle where they find the tree but with it are cannibals and an alligator. SOME MORE OF SAMOA isn't a classic and there are many dry spots throughout it but there are enough laughs scattered around to make it worth viewing. If you're new to the trio then it's best that you don't start here since it really doesn't show the boys at their very best but fans should get enough laughs out of it. I think the highlight of the film comes towards the end when the tree falls into the mouth of an alligator and the boy have to find a way to get it back without losing any of their limbs. The scenes with Curly attempting to get it back are quite funny as are the scenes where the cannibals are about to cook him after he refuses to marry the chief's extremely ugly sister. The first half of the show is pretty much misses in regards to laughs, although the surgery sequence with the old man got a few chuckles.