Three Stooges Collection, The: Volume Three, 1940-42 (DVD)

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"The Three Stooges Collection" is the kind of project you'd expect from an archive or university, not a commercial outfit. But with Volume Three, Sony continues their tribute to the iconic comedy team by releasing another complete, chronological set (1940-42) that's been lovingly restored and remastered in High Definition. Moe, Larry, and Curly never looked so woo-woo-woop wonderful. The entire collection is a must-have for fans, but these episodes are so sharp-looking and the guys so catch-you-off-guard with their ability to prompt spontaneous (and unwilling?) laughs that the set is likely to foster a few new fans.

There's little doubt that the "Golden Age" of the Stooges were the nearly 100 short subjects that featured Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Moe's brother, Curly. Those shorts were produced between 1934 and 1947, after which Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Joe DeRita tried to replace the late Curly but never had near the same appeal for fans or the same chemistry for the trio.

Fans have their own favorites, but this latest installment leads off with one of the most significant short films, "You Nazty Spy!," in which Moe apes Hitler, while Curly and Larry spoof Herman Goering and Joseph Goebbels. It's the first time Americans saw one of their own poke fun of the Nazi leader and the tactics that enabled them to rise to power so quickly. This volume also contains fan favorite "A Plumbing We Will Go," which Curly Howard also said was his own personal favorite. All of the elements are here which make the Stooges feel at home: the clash between poor uneducated workers and rich socialites, the run-ins with coppers, "a simple job for simple people" turned into a Rube Goldberg by the boys, and accomplished straight men to react to the comedy and mayhem. In this one, it's the not-terribly-politically-correct cook, who as a wide-eyed and mystified witness ("This house has sure gone crazy!") falls into the Stepin Fetchit stereotypes. But hey, the Stooges were never about political correctness.

This installment also contains one of my favorites, "Nutty But Nice," in which the boys play singing waiters who set out to find a girl's missing father, a bank teller whom police suspect met with foul play. But the boys home in on him by yodeling, and the battle in the basement is the stuff of old Warner Brothers cartoons. "How High is Up" is also in this collection. In this one, the Stooges end up posing as top-of-the-line construction workers, only on the 97th floor things aren't so rosy for these riveters.

Some of the slapstick goes on too long, as with one gag where Moe and Larry spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get Curly's sweater off in what amounts to little more than a bunch of hammering, sawing, and prying. But more slapstick numbers work than fizzle, and they're supported by the occasional verbal gag, as when Larry looks skyward and asks, "Is that the sun up there?" "I don't know," Curly responds. "I'm a stranger in town." Gags like that could work in any episode, and they enliven those in which they appear.

Here's a rundown on the 23 episodes, which were transferred to two single-sided discs and are housed in two slim clear plastic keep cases inside a cardboard slipcase:

1940
"You Nazty Spy!"
Crazy circumstances make Moe dictator of the kingdom of Moronica, and after they start a "beer putsch" to "Make our country safe for hypocrisy" the Stooges create goose-stepping storm troopers (who kick each other in the pants as they walk) and a Swastika that's formed from two serpents. Little touches like that make this one not just a classic but a historical artifact. Stooges fans revere this one because Moe said it was his all-time favorite.

Rockin' thru the Rockies
In this one the boys are down-but-not-out actors who get a gig leading Nell and Her Belles across the country to their next performance on the West Coast. But of course Indians (oops--look for more political incorrectness) intrude, and Curly contends with a bear.

A Plumbing We Will Go
The fates of the boys and a magician/snake oil peddler entwine in this 18-minute film (they all run 16-18 minutes) about the Stooges on the lam who pretend to be plumbers to get away from the cops. The scene of Curly trying to stop a leak in the bathroom is a great example of those Rube Goldberg complications that arise.

Nutty But Nice
In this one, the Stooges are singing waiters who Yodel-ahee-ahee-odelay-who their way to rescue the father of a girl who's so traumatized by his disappearance that she's been bedridden in the hospital.

How High is Up?
Tinkers become riveters in this funny short, which has Curly blindfolded or walking with greased feet on those girders high above the ground.

From Nurse to Worse
The Stooges plan to fake Curly's insanity in order to pull off an insurance scam, but Curly's dog act (where he all but froths at the mouth) is so alarming to doctors that they prepare for a "cerebrum decapitation," which sends the boys off on another run to stay a step ahead of their pursuers.

No Census, No Feeling
The guys are on the lam again, and this time they end up being census takers. Society types, look out. But the mayhem continues at a football game. Some funny moments here.

Cookoo Cavaliers
Showgirls show up at the boys' place of work wanting new dos, only the boys aren't very good hair dressers, because they thought they were going to run a saloon down in Mexico, not a salon.

Boobs in Arms
No good deed goes unpunished. When the boys try to help make a wife's husband jealous to improve their relationship, they end up being chased again . . . right into the line outside a recruiter's office. Just as the judge from "A Plumbing We Will Go" turns out to be the owner of the mansion they boys destroy, it turns out that the officer in charge ends up being that jealous husband, who ends up being as much of a problem as the enemy. Look for a hilarious laughing gas scene in this classic episode.