Punch Drunks

This, the 3 Stooges' second short for Columbia, is my all-time favorite. Perhaps it's because it's the only one that they themselves wrote. This was the first film to have the Stooges' famous "cure" for a tapeworm ("Four pieces of burnt toast and a rotten egg."). It also truly showcases Larry's violin-playing ability. The sight of Larry running down the streets looking for something playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" are hilarious. However, there were a bit of dangerous bits that came from this short: The actor playing Killer Kilduff actually bloodied Curley's lip and nose. The man on the truck that Larry takes to play "Weasel" broke his arm when he fell off the truck. Also, I think the ending has been cut, at least in the prints that I've seen. The ones I've seen show at least three or four other men stretched out in the ring with Kilduff at the end of the fight. Yet, no explanation of how they all got there. I'm thinking that PUNCH DRUNKS had a similar ending to the later GRIPS, GRUNTS AND GROANS, but is now cut for some reason. Has anyone ever seen the uncut version of this short? I'd really love to see it that way.

"Punch Drunks" is a very good Three Stooges' comedy, with a typically silly situation leading to a lot of confusion and laughs. Moe is a struggling boxing manager who is eating lunch when he discovers that his waiter, Curly, transforms into a formidable fighter whenever he hears the song "Pop Goes the Weasel". Curly soon gets the chance to fight the champ. The fight sequence, cross-cut with Larry's frantic attempts to provide the needed musical accompaniment, is filled with laughs, and caps off a very funny short film. All three Stooges get the chance to perform at their best in this one.

The amazing thing to me is that Larry finds a man on a Truck with a record player playing Pop Goes The Weasel.The Record never ends and even when Larry crashes the truck through a brick wall the song is still playing at exactly the right spot. And Al Hill was a professional fighter albeit with a career than ended about ten years before this comedy. And Curly was the Butterbean of his generation,on a smaller scale. Look for Maxie Rosenbloom as one of the Fighters that Curly knocks out in the Cafe. And when we watch we love how the little shove that Moe gives Larry ends up with him being about ten feet away,head first in the stream. One of my Favorite Stooge Comedies!

In the early 1930s, the Three Stooges and their leader, Ted Healy, were signed to contracts with MGM. Unfortunately, this prestige studio had no idea what to do with them and their careers floundered. When you watch these films it's obvious why--they acted nothing like the Stooges! Sometimes they acted separately (such as in "Dancing Lady") and other times they were odd...but not the usual violent but lovable mugs. In their first short for Columbia, the formula still was missing--and the film was a musical! However, here in their second Columbia film, "Punch Drunks", the trio hit their stride and the film is pretty typical of their films from then on...at least while Curly played the third Stooge.

The film begins with Moe having a trio of angry boxers who hate him as their manager. But before they can pulverize him, Larry happens to be playing the violin and it just happens that the song he's playing turns Curly into a boxing maniac! So, after knocking out the three guys, Moe astutely signs Curly as his latest boxing prospect. See the film to see what's next.

Whether you think this film is good depends on you. If you hate the Stooges, it probably won't change your mind. If you are willing to watch them instead of screaming and running from the room (like my wife often does), then I think you'll enjoy their cerebral humor-- especially since it has a lot more energy than the usual short the team made. This is especially true for Larry. Even though he isn't boxing, in this one he ends up doing most of the work! And, a lot of it is genuinely funny--something that is NOT the case with many of their later efforts.

By the way, like almost every Stooge short, this one ended up getting remade. However, "A Hit with a Miss" stars Shemp Howard BEFORE he became a film Stooge!

Punch Drunks (1934)

**** (out of 4)

Three Stooges short has the wimpy Curley turning into a mean fighting machine each time he hears Pop Goes the Weasel. This is certainly the best short I've seen from the Stooges and i doubt they made one that was better. The laughs are non-stop from start to finish the violent humor is great throughout as well. The site gags are also pretty good including Larry walking into the bar, pulling his hat off and a part of it remaining on. The boxing match at the end also contains plenty of laughs.