The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze

Phileas Fogg the Third, great-great-grandson (?) of the original Phileas Phogg, is convinced by a criminal confederate to go around the world in 80 days without spending any money in this Anglo-American production.

The Three Stooges are the servants of Fogg in this series of vignettes often filmed on location. Along the way they pick up a white American woman abducted by slave traders in India and deface a picture of Mao Zedong in China when captured by "technicians" of the Red Army (possibly a reference to contemporary events leading up the 1964 Sino-Indian War).

They get lost in the East China sea, but luckily avoid reaching Singapore where Lee Kuan Yew would have made them into Soylent Green. Then before the melodramatic end, it all hanged in the balance with a flight from Canada in a De Havilland Comet.

It's now the 60s and Phileas Fogg III great grandson of the original Fogg of Jules Verne's famous story makes a similar bet with a couple of crooks who have just robbed the Bank of England and thrown suspicion on him. But instead of a Cantinflas like man Friday he has three house servants who accompany him. Guess who those servants are?

There's a twist to this bet. Jay Sheffield has to do it all without spending a dime or working for passage. No credit cards allowed. But as Moe says he's fortunate to be employing three of the biggest chiselers around. The Stooges are ingenious at finding ways to travel on the arm.

Like in the book and the Mike Todd extravaganza the super punctual Phileas Fogg finds some romance in India and in this case it's stranded Joan Freeman from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

My favorite bit is how the guys drive the Chinese Communists crazy by resisting brainwashing techniques. Quite simple, they're too stupid for them to have any effect. Shades of The Manchurian Candidate.

Another good piece is Curly Joe's attempts at Sumo wrestling. You have to see this one.

Stooge fans should approve.

A little intro if the readers may allow me, the Stooges were in my infancy my first heroes ever, in those shorts at noon as schedule at TV with my fellows mates, henceforth I used to watch all them full length feature like this whereof the best from my beloved troublemakers.

Quite sure The Three Stooges go Around the World in a Daze was the best production at its time at least for me for the writers had allowed an average screenplay, instead in the others that were lame and fuzzy, this turn a presentable classic story of which in advance the producers put their apologizes to make a joke with so prized novel, ours friends work at England as loyal servants of so upstanding member of British aristocracy Phileas Fogg III (Jay Sheffield) that is challenge for a journey around the world in 80 days without spending a penny as his ancestor did, it actually is the defiant set up to Phileas leaving the bank with a previous stolen money without noticed.

They start the long journey hidden in a Cargo vessel toward Istambul, at this time the Scotland Yard is aware of the robbery and is there to arrest Phileas along with the crooks that intent to kill him aiming for erase any hint that leads them to, thus enters the wiseacres Stooges with more lucky than sense, the next stop at India where as stowaways on train stumble with an American tourist girl Amelia Carter (Joan Freeman) reaching in a palace of a scoundrel Maharajah that wills for take the gorgeous girl to add his vast harem, once more the Stooges save the day on a show of flying knifes among singing clarinet that Curly Joe becomes furious to listen certain tune, they headed to China imprisoned previously in the border.

Arriving there the Stooges undergo a brainwashed by Chinese, pure nonsense instead the Chinese are brainwashed becomes in a instant Stooges themselves, they are spelled from there in a little boat that adrift for a while, they reach at Japan so awaited arrival at Tokyo, there a fight with a strong Japanese is settle to in San Francisco a final match will be on those gimmick singing clarinet, after that they planned go straight to New York and at last crossing the sea to reaching in time in London, right? Absolutely not they wrongly headed to Canada spending a precious time and the high stakes, well not so fast, the destiny will be seal their luck until there, at last something palatable to Stooges exposes their standard physical comedy!!

Thanks for reading.

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First Watch: 1977 /How many: 5 /Source: TV-Youtube /Rating: 7.

Hi I'm 13 years old. I'm a big fan of the Stooges! and the Three Stooges Go Around The World In A Daze is good and funny! Moe, Larry, Curly Joe, Are Going Around The World In Eighty Days It Is A good movie But I Like The Other 2 movies better! Of Them!! But It Is Still Good Though!!

Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, The (1963)

** (out of 4)

The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry, Joe DeRita) play servants to the great-grandson of Phileas Fogg. Fogg the third (Jay Sheffield) is taken by a con man who says he won't be able to make it around the world in eighty days so Fogg takes the bet with the Stooges going along for the ride. This was the fifth feature film for the Stooges after regaining their popularity and sadly it's really not a very memorable one. It goes without saying but the film is spoofing the Jules Verne classic but it seems like the writers just thought that the Stooges spoofing it would be funny enough and it's not. The film contains a few nice laughs but the thing falls well short when it comes to big laughs. One of the running gags has Curly Joe going crazy when he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel" and fans of the group will remember this is something the original Curly did to perfection in some of their earliest Columbia shorts. The comic bit is decent here but it never gets a major laugh and when you see it you can't help but think back to when Curly was doing it and doing it much better. Another gag early on has the boys inside some large trunks, which of course get bumped and tossed around. The joke here doesn't work because it's obvious the Stooges aren't in any trunks and its even more obvious that the camera is doing the "twirls" that we're seeing. One funny gag that does work has the boys in China when three psychiatrists are trying to "work them over" but instead they come out acting as dumb as crazy as the Stooges in their original shorts. This bit actually has some good laughs in it and there's even a nice joke about the eye poking that this group of Stooges wouldn't do any more. Moe, Larry and DeRita are all in fine form but it's clear that age slowed the boys down. I know many fans can love all stages of the Stooges but I'm still in belief that their greatest days were their earlier ones and these here just don't have that same power. This film here will probably appeal to younger viewers because it is very child-like but I think most adults will still prefer the earlier shorts where the Stooges were at their prime.