Cuckoo on a Choo Choo

1952
15m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Victoria Horne, Shemp Howard, and Patricia Wright in Cuckoo on a Choo Choo (1952)

Larry and Shemp are living in a stolen railroad car. Larry wants to marry his girlfriend, but she won't consent until Shemp marries her sister. Shemp however, is constantly drunk and in love... Read allLarry and Shemp are living in a stolen railroad car. Larry wants to marry his girlfriend, but she won't consent until Shemp marries her sister. Shemp however, is constantly drunk and in love with "Carry", an imaginary giant canary. Moe is an investigator from the railroad, sent t... Read allLarry and Shemp are living in a stolen railroad car. Larry wants to marry his girlfriend, but she won't consent until Shemp marries her sister. Shemp however, is constantly drunk and in love with "Carry", an imaginary giant canary. Moe is an investigator from the railroad, sent to discover how the car was stolen from a moving train. Moe is also in love with Shemp's gi... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

403

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos6

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Moe Howard

Moe
(as Moe)
…

Larry Fine

Larry
(as Larry)

Shemp Howard

Shemp
(as Shemp)

Patricia Wright

Lenora

Victoria Horne

Roberta

Reggie Dvorak

Carrie the Bird
(uncredited)

Director
- Jules White
Writer
- Felix Adler
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews21

6.3403

Featured reviews

stooge60540

Not the average Stooge short

CUCKOO ON A CHOO CHOO is a very bizarre Three Stooges short. The gags are all rather silly and dumb other than genuinely funny, and the Stooges act stranger than usual here. I think it's one of the worst ones I've ever seen, and I never was a fan of the shorts that have the boys playing different characters. That comes off too forced and drama-like.

Grade: D-

holme-1

Average, but weird short

This short is extremely weird, but some of the gags are quite funny, but some of the gags are just too silly. The idea about Shemp seeing an imaginary canary is absolutely ridiculous and very silly. Unfortunately, Shemp is not that funny in this one because he spends too much time acting drunk than actually being funny. But Moe and Larry do a pretty good job. Overall: C+

7SnoopyStyle

weird Three Stooges and I like it

Larry and Shemp are living in a stolen railroad car. Lenora won't marry Larry until Shemp marries her sister Roberta first as dictated by family tradition. All Shemp does is get drunk. Railroad investigator Moe tracks down the stolen railway car. He's actually been searching for Roberta who turned down his marriage proposal. Meanwhile, Shemp is hallucinating a giant canary.

This one stands out a little more with the canary and the skunk. They do plenty of gorilla suit characters, but this is a giant canary-man. It's a surreal ridiculous sight. It's weird and I like it. It's mildly humorous. The skunk is also unusual. They used a real skunk at times. I think they can de-sense the skunk, but it still smells.

Ed in MO

Definitely the Worst of the Stooges Shorts

This short is without question the worst of the Stooges shorts. The problem is that the big bird quickly becomes irritating and Shemp's drunk act grows very old. Larry used to watch this short over and over again when he was in the old actor's home and liked it best because he thought he looked like Marlon Brando from "A Streetcar Named Desire." Avoid if possible.

7nightcrawler4141

Love it or hate it

That appears to be the general attitude regarding "Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo". This episode draws a great stir among stooge-heads, pro or con. Myself, I'm on the "pro" side. The weirdness of the "imaginary canary" doesn't seem to farfetched if you keep in mind this is a Three Stooges comedy and the fact that once Moe gets on the train, the regular dynamic of Moe bossing the other two around, quickly settles in. I would recommend any stooge fan watch this short and see for yourself what side of the fence you may fall on. Grade: B+

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Trivia
The plot is borrowed from two popular films and a musical of the period. The idea of a stolen railroad car is a parody of "A Streetcar Named Desire", while the imaginary animal friend parodies the film "Harvey" (Victoria Horne had starred in the latter). The theme of a woman's unwillingness to marry until her sister can be found a willing husband-to-be alludes to "Kiss Me, Kate", a Cole Porter musical.

Goofs
When Detective Moe gets out of the car and starts walking towards the stolen railroad car, he is supposed to be outside walking on dirt, but the sound he makes while walking is that of a wooden soundstage floor.