Roast-Beef and Movies

First off, I should point out that I am a fan of comedic shorts from this time period and after (especially The Three Stooges). This short however, I did not like.

This short follows three wanna-be filmmakers as they barge into the screening room at a major movie studio and convince the heads of the studio to watch their film.

The apparent main character, the filmmaker with a horrible Greek accent (I'm guessing it was supposed to be Greek) was annoying. I could barely understand a word he said, so if he was saying anything funny, I sure missed it.

There were a few attempts at slapstick-type humour, but they fell flat. It's unfortunate too, since Curly (here credited as Jerry Howard) is a comic genius, but is only a bit player in this short.

Most annoying though, would be the two dance sequences that are irrelevant. Why the head of the movie studio put up with these three wanna-be filmmakers is beyond me (but then you find out in an unfunny-climax, which I wont "ruin" for you).

Bottom line, this was very unfunny and quite annoying due to its irrelevant dance sequences, lack of humour, and horrible accents.

The premise is three (it would be three, ala The Three you-know-what) knock-abouts somehow wander into a film studio, overhear a film producer in a screening room say he will pay 100 grand for a better picture than his studio can produce, and produce three cans of film as their offer. There is NOTHING FUNNY about any of this. The dialogue is atrocious, pacing laborious, the acting... what acting??

Why in the world would the great Curly agree to participate in such a complete piece of garbage??? Perhaps being under contract with MGM he had no choice (?) Anything remotely 'funny' in this bore-fest is warmed-over gags stolen from The Three Stooges. Interesting only as a chance to see a stifled Curly in a Stooge-less setting.

"Roast-Beef and Movies" (1934) is notable for being the only film wherein Jerry "Curly" Howard acts without at least one other Stooge also being involved. But he doesn't really do a lot here and seems woefully out of place. He's shown as being part of a trio, but he doesn't seem to belong with the other two guys at all.

The dance numbers (left over from other films) do little beyond dragging things out, and their presence here makes no sense. Remove these and what you have left is still a bit dumb, but probably not much worse than the typical comedy fare of the era.

Bottom line: If "Curly" wasn't involved, there would be no reason for anyone today to be watching or talking about this short.

Possibly the only outing for Curly of the Three Stooges fame in a credited role without at least one other stooge or Ted Healy, and his talents were wasted here. I had this short on in the background at first, and heard the voice of George Givot, thinking it was Desi Arnez at first with the fake accent. His line "Well, Hoooow you liiiike that?" Sounded like a catch phrase attempt, not sure if it took beyond this mess. The color tones were interesting, as we've only seen Curly in black and white otherwise. But it lacked that full technicolor look that films would soon adapt. The plot seemed very possible for a Stooges short, and made me wonder if there was an issue back then where Moe and Larry refused to work on this short, or was ,Curly trying to create his own team? There were scenes that George felt like a poor man's Moe, and the other under used stooge, Bobby Callahan was a poor sub for Larry. The uneven script and poor plotting showed how incredible the team working with the real Three Stooges were (or would become). The twist ending was again a typical plot twist from many Three Stooges shorts. An interesting piece of history, worth the view, if only to Curly, but nothing to pay for today. I saw it on a local tv station that airs public domain movies, but I would of been disappointed had I paid for this.

This was a rarity found on the Dancing Lady DVD. It's a very lame short of interest only because it's the only one to feature Curly Howard of The Three Stooges without his brother Moe or Larry Fine. Instead, his co-horts are George Givot who seems to speak in a bogus Greek accent and is the leader and Bob Callahan who only lived a few years after this film. They're "producers" trying to impress a studio head. Oh, and I have to mention this is in two-strip Technicolor and includes a couple of musical numbers meant for other movies. Since they were both filmed in the early talkie era, the stillness of shots makes both numbers quite static except for some overhead shots and not very interesting to watch except for historical purposes. So, really, I can't recommend Roast-Beef and Movies except as a curiosity.