Beer Barrel Polecats

Beer Barrel Polecats (1946)

** (out of 4)

Curly, Moe and Larry buy a book on how to make beer so the three put their brains together and brew a batch. Things don't go as planned and soon the three are in jail after Curly tries to sell to an undercover cop.

BEER BARREL POLECATS is perhaps the weakest Stooges short up to this point in their careers. This was filmed after Curly had suffered a number of strokes so I'm going to guess that this played a part in the final product. There just isn't too much going on in this film and there certainly aren't enough laughs to make it worth sitting through a second time. The first portion of the film contains a few minor laughs as the beer making process is a disaster but the scenes in jail are all rather weak and they don't contain a single laugh.

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

One of the most hilarious Three Stooges shorts is Beer Barrel Polecats. In this short are Vernon Dent, Robert Williams, Lynton Brent, Eddie Laughton, Joe Palma, Al Thompson, and Blackie Whiteford. The acting by these actors are good especially by Dent and Brent. There are many funny scenes here that I think most Three Stooges fans will love! In My opinion this one of the most different Three Stooges shorts. I recommend this one to all!

As other reviewers have already pointed out, the insertion of archival footage from previous mid-40s Curly shorts is what proves to be the downfall of this particular episode--which is something of a shame, since I found a lot of the new scenes to be quite hilarious; particularly the opening scenes with the stooges making their homemade brew (I'm sorry Moe, the crock skidded).

Of course, the stock footage was probably a combination of events, stemming from Curly's obviously declining health & the old thrift master Jules White showing an early affinity for saving a few dollars (something that came into greater prominence in the '50s).

When I first watched this short, I actually was enjoying the new footage and when I saw the reused footage, I was quite dissapointed and when I saw reused footage from another episode, I was even more dissapointed and I think this short is only worth for the first 5-6 minutes and I understand that Curly was ill during this time and I think that Curly was more sick than usual in this short although Curly seemed more healthier in the next two shorts 'Uncivil Warbirds' and 'Three TroubleDoers' although his condition went even more downhill in the two shorts after that.

Jules White was alternating with Edward Bernds in directing The Three Stooges just as the producer did with Del Lord. The first film shot after Curly was released from the hospital from his first minor stroke was January 1946's "Beer Barrel Polecats." Columbia Pictures' head Harry Cohn had insisted the Stooges resume shooting almost immediately, allowing Curly only a short period to recuperate. Whether White detected any lapse in Curly's comedic skills is open to speculation. But as film reviewer Stuart Galbraith said of the Stooge's performance in the 88th episode of their short movie series, which was filmed in April 1945, Curly was "notably thinner (Curly, Moe, and Larry are about the same weight in this) and inexpressive throughout, his face almost like a mask." This was Gilbert Pratt, a former actor and director who scripted Laurel and Hardy's 1940 "Saps at Sea" as well as the Stooges' 1945 "If a Body Meets a Body," last screenplay. He retired from film, which began in 1917, dying in late 1954. Set during Prohibition, "Beer Barrel Polecats" has the Stooges making their own beer. Confusion sets in when each Stooge, unbeknownst to the others, drops three cubes of yeast into the vat, setting off a cascade of beer suds. Off-screen, Curly sells an undercover detective some of the beer, sending the three to prison. Pratt's script borrowed heavily from Laurel and Hardy's first feature film, 1931's "Pardon Us." Strangely, "Beer Barrel Polecats" ends with a couple of previously released prison scenes from the Stooges 1941 "In the Sweet Pie and Pie" and 1941 "So Long Mr. Chumps." Accounts have it Curly was so ill during its production White inserted the two old clips to fulfill the requisite 17-minute length. Others cite a lawsuit comedian Harold Lloyd threatened Columbia Pictures with for copying his work almost verbatim in "Beer Barrel Polecats." Rather than fight the case in court, the studio excised the offending footage and inserted some previously-released scenes.

While the two latest Stooges movies were being released, Curly found himself in a messy divorce proceeding with Marion Buxbaum after only three months of marriage. During testimony, Buxbaum, seeking much of Curly's life savings, said, "He used filthy, vile language, kept two vicious dogs, he shouted at waiters in cafes, struck and kicked me, put out cigars in the sink." Curly's character witnesses refuted Buxbaum's account, saying he was always a happy-go-lucky guy, and generous to a fault when it came to buying her luxurious gifts. The divorce later had near-fatal consequences for the already unhealthy Curly.