The Three Stooges Collection  - Volume Three: 1940-1942 (Sony DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Shorts: B

 

 

Sony continues it’s tradition with releasing endless material on home video with very thorough volumes of The Three Stooges and after covering the previous set, we are just as thrilled about this third installment, which covers the years 1940-1942 in a series of 23 shorts.  It’s evident very quickly that the Stooges are nearly at their peak at this particular time and the episodes seem to get funniest are they go on.  While some bootleg sets have hit the market, there are their top quality editions, as we’ve covered before:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7034/The+Three+Stooges+Collection+–+Vol

 

 

Think also that at this particular time America, and especially the world, was being rocked by yet another World War and things were not all that light and fluffy on the home front.  This is the first portrayal of Hitler on film for American audiences. Characters such as the Stooges, among many others, were just the type of light-hearted zaniness that was needed to lighten the mood.  Of course by this time everyone knows their antics and their nuances, which is the exact formula that not only makes it predictable, but just as funny because of that very same fact.  It’s no different than recent sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond, where after you have established the characters on the show, then you know their next move before they even do so and it is in that comedic moment that makes good shows great.  The Stooges were certainly one of the earlier pioneers of this, alongside other great legends like W.C. Fields and of course Charlie Chaplin.

 

This set is broken down to the following classic shorts:

 

1940:

 

- You Nazty Spy!

- Rockin' Thru the Rockies

- A Plumbing We Will Go

- Nutty But Nice

- How High is Up?

- From Nurse to Worse

- No Census, No Feeling

- Cookoo Cavaliers

- Boobs in Arms

 

1941:

 

- So Long Mr. Chumps

- Dutiful But Dumb

- All The World's a Stooge

- I'll Never Heil Again

- An Ache in Every Stake

- In the Sweet Pie and Pie

- Some More of Samoa

 

1942:

 

- Loco Boy Makes Good

- Cactus Makes Perfect

- What's The Matador?

- Matri-Phony

- Three Smart Saps

- Even as I.O.U.

- Sock-A-Bye Baby

 

Like the previous set these are remastered volumes that offer the full-frame 1.33 X 1 transfer using the best materials available and look good considering the aging factors.  It should be noted that compared to many of the other bootleg and variety of other companies that have been releasing their material over the past few years on DVD, this is perhaps the best and perhaps might be the best we’ll ever get.  Even High Definition will have trouble turning damaged transfers into pristine glory, but we’ll just have to wait and see.  The 2.0 Mono audio track is also acceptable and along with the picture is sufficient considering it’s age.  Let’s hope that more great sets continue!

 

 

-   Nate Goss