Odeio Mulheres

This is a fairly good comedy by the Stooges, although they would soon produce much funnier films. For whatever reason, all the dialogue in this one was made to rhyme - it doesn't get in the way all of the time, but it seems unnecessary, and doesn't really help in any noticeable way. The plot is based on the boys joining a "Woman Haters" club that prohibits its members from marrying - on the same day that Larry had planned a wedding. The ensuing situations are relatively funny, but most of the laughs come from the slapstick and eyepokes that the Stooges would soon become famous for. This is a fairly funny film, but probably mostly of interest to those who are already fans of the Stooges.

WOMAN HATERS, where it all began for The Three Stooges at Columbia, is more of an anomaly in The Three Stooges series. Officially, it is part of The Musical Novelties series, a series in which all the dialogue is spoken in rhyme and accompanied by music. Well, "novelty" is a good way to describe this short because that is exactly how I view it.

I'm glad this short exists because it gives us a different look at The Three Stooges in a musical role, and Larry in particular does a fine job (no pun intended). That said, would I be a Three Stooges fan if all 190 shorts were like this? Not exactly. Musicals aren't really my thing, and this one holds my interest simply because of three certain actors who are in it.

The rhyming dialogue gets old after a while and the Stooges really have to conform to the rhythm of the music as opposed to the rhythm they would naturally develop in later shorts, so it sounds a bit forced. I don't have much else to say with this one except I find it to be a fascinating one off.

Woman Haters is far from the best of the Three Stooges, but it is a nice start to the Columbia shorts and does offer a unique and interesting thing or two. The plot sees the boys joining the Woman Haters Club - a club that prohibits its members from carrying on with women. But no sooner than they become members, Larry (they actually have character names, but they don't really matter) finds himself at the altar. He does his best to keep Moe and Curly from finding out he's secretly gotten married and he does his best to keep his new wife from finding out about the Woman Haters club. As expected, a great deal of eye poking and head knocking ensues.

The two best things Woman Haters has going for it (beyond its curiosity value) is the rhyming scheme of the dialogue and Marjorie White as Larry's wife. While I've seen some complaints about the rhyming dialogue, it worked for me. I thought it was very clever. Now, it might not have worked for a full feature, but for a two-reeler, it's okay. As for Marjorie White, she more than capable of holding her own with Moe, Larry, and Curly - more so than most women I can think of off the top of my head who appeared in other Three Stooges shorts. It's too bad she didn't live long enough to see where her career might have taken her.

While I've known this one for many years, only today I watched an MGM Busby Berkeley musical from '33 titled "FOOTLIGHT PARADE" staring among others James Cagney, Dick Powell, and a bevy of others. What captured my attention was the big main production number: The rhythm and melody, and even the lyrics could well be the source of the rhyming sing-song of WOMAN HATERS! Just listen to Dick Powell & Joan Blondell crooning "You-hoo-hoo-hoo" to each other, and you'll see where Larry Fine & Marjorie White got theirs from! While maybe not EXACTLY a duplicate, but so close, it's almost scary! While watching and listening, WOMAN HATERS was the first thing that came to mind! But altogether, WH is the better of the two by leaps and bounds!

Here is the very first of nearly two hundred Columbia two-reel Three Stooges short subjects which Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curley Howard made on their own, without their unfunny old straight man, Ted Healy. The results are pretty good but mixed, depending on how you approach it. For those who are not prepared, you may be taken aback by the style here: it is a musical comedy, where occasionally we'll get a Stooge or two break out into song, and every line of dialogue is spoken in rhyme. The plot line is that Moe, Larry and Curley join a misogynistic organization called "The Woman Haters", and vow not to have anything to do with females. Trouble begins to arise, however, when a woman takes after Larry and then starts to set her sights on the other Stooges as well. Not for everyone, and it's not indicative of their latter films, but taken with an open mind it's not a bad piece of work for a debut line of shorts. **1/2 out of ****