From the moment the Three Stooges shorts were released to television in the late 50s, Cookoo Cavaliers (1940) quickly became a fan favorite and remains so today (currently rated in the very good range at 7.5 on IMDb). However, one will occasionally encounter less enthusiastic opinions (somewhat surprisingly, one of them comes from Stooges author Leonard Maltin). One problem according to certain naysayers is that the storyline is broken into two separate locales which seem to be arbitrarily joined with the opening section set in San Diego and the second set in Mexico. Also, as the Three Stooges moved into the 40s, they were increasingly under the direction of Jules White. While a talented and prolific filmmaker, White's anarchic style of comedy, often incorporating extremely violent slapstick, was not to everyone's taste and most of his work stands in marked contrast to some of the best Stooges shorts of the 30s under more polished directors such as Del Lord and Charley Chase.
With these critical niceties out of the way, let's say up front that Cookoo Cavaliers is an extremely funny short and White's unrefined style of comedy will not in any way bother the vast majority of fans. Rather than review the entire film, let's look at a portion in the second part for clues to its enduring popularity.
Moe, Larry, and Curly land in a Mexican village with expectations they've purchased a saloon, when in fact it turns out to be a beauty salon. Their ignorance on how to be beauticians will inevitably lead to comic disasters. A local cantina owner shows up with four of his brunette chorus girls with a wish they be changed to blondes. The real fun begins when the first girl to be treated is played by Dorothy Appleby, veteran of many two reel comedies at Columbia. While she tries to take a nap, Curly cracks eggs on top of her head (some of the yolk dribbles onto her face) and then uses an egg beater to improvise making a shampoo. He then uses glue to keep her rollers and clothes pins in place on her hair! On an earlier request to give her a mudpack, all three of the Stooges then inundate her entire face with enormous globs of mud. They continue to keep piling on this slop over her face until it almost takes on mountainous dimensions. While the whole standoff between the Stooges and Dorothy Appleby in this film is continuously hilarious, this scene of Dorothy's humiliation strikes comedy gold and needs to be seen to be believed. It's also good to suspend one's disbelief at this point and for the sake of comedy not ask the obvious question on how she would have been able to breathe! Returning now to our narrative, Moe puts the finishing touches on Dorothy's "manicure" by cutting her nails too short. He then bites off any irregularities on Dorothy's nails with his teeth and spits them to the ground! Moe then sprays her fingers and nails with black paint. More hilarity now ensues as Curly yanks out several huge clumps of Dorothy's glued hair--with the connections being pulled straight out of the roots on her scalp! With the mud covering her face now starting to harden into cement, the boys proceed to attack the mass with gusto--using a mallet, hammer and chisel, and an electric drill. With the violent energy the Stooges apply to this task, they appear to have not given much thought that Dorothy's face is embedded at the center of their target! Finally, Moe brakes through the cement with a mighty hammer blow. At this point, Dorothy slowly lifts herself up from her ordeal, with her face marked with cuts and bruises, and, thanks to Curly and the glue, her scalp now shows multiple bald patches! Finally, Dorothy makes a wavering retreat out of the salon. The comedy then proceeds to the Stooges efforts with the other three girls, but I think this is sufficient to give you an idea at how outrageous, off-the-wall, zany, violent, and hilarious the combination of Jules White and the Three Stooges can be. Highly recommended and be prepared to laugh.
