Sony Pictures Home Entertainment extends their hilarious tribute to the world's most famous comedic trio with THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION Volume Four: 1946-1948, featuring Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp in more favorite Columbia shorts.

Volume Five boasts 25 Stooges films from the post-War years, which sadly mark the end of Curly's participation in the act while ushering in the Shemp era of Stoogedom.  As always, the shorts are presented in order of their original theatrical release, allowing for an objective look at this important transitional period.  While Curly's health was failing, he committed to the raucous physical humor and face slaps the best he could until Shemp Howard stepped in to carry on the Stooge tradition.

This fifth DVD set includes numerous standout shorts like Rhythm and Weep,Three Little Pirates, Fright Night, Shivering Sherlocks and Heavenly Daze just to name a few.

Building on the success of Volume One, Two and Three and Four, this two-disc box set THE THREE STOOGES Collection Volume Five will be a must-own landmark collection for all Stoogephiles.

DVD PRESENTATION

SPHE carries on their five-volume winning streak for restoring these classic Columbia shorts, presented in higher quality than ever seen in television syndication.  While the restoration work might have been reduced given the post-War dating of these later shorts, image quality matches the excellence seen in prior volumes with no film scratches, splices or fading. Contrast balance of the original negatives is likely superior to the 1930s shorts already, but again all efforts were made to eliminate grainy and washed out footage or mismatched cinematography.

Audio tracks are similarly restored for crisp dialogue and delightfully zany Stooge sound effects in a new Dolby Digital mono soundtrack.  Production standards had improved by the post-War era as well, so the trademark head bashes, nose smashes and Stooges crashes deliver maximum comic effect. As with the previous four volumes, this fifth collection of Stooge shorts also offer Closed Captioning for the hearing impaired.

SHORTS REVIEW

This post-World War II era of 1946-1948 offers a variety of topics across these 25 shorts, from the veteran-themed G.I. Wanna Home to casting Moe, Larry and Curly as southern "gentlemen" in Uncivil Warbirds, and even ancient Egyptian con men in Mummy's Dummies.  With the war over, it's notable that the Stooges' shorts lost a bit of the satirical, political edge they gained skewering the Axis enemies through the opening of the decade.  Fans who know their Stooge history well will find many favorite routines replicated in this collection (often to lesser comedic impact than on their first runs), along with the outright remake of 1935's Hoi Polloi as Half-Wits Holiday — sadly the final Stooge short starring Curly Howard, who suffered a stroke on the last day of filming.

With the first 10 shorts in Volume 5 marking Curly's slow withdrawal from the Stooges due to his deteriorating health, he still contributed some classic moments at the end of his tenure.  While Curly's speech and comic timing are both a bit slower and his waistline slimmer by 1946, he still delivers the goofy goods in memorable shorts like Three Little Pirates, which contains the enjoyable "Ma ha, ah ha!" routine as the trio pretend to be foreign dignitaries to fool the Governor of a pirate-era island.  Moe and Curly's double talk routine laced with slang insults of the locals is highlight of this collection, and one which I feel is a much better send off for Curly than Half-Wits Holiday , his final starring Stooge effort.  Jerome "Curly" Howard made one final cameo in 1947's Hold That Lion as a snoring train passenger (with a full head of hair!) before retiring from the act and show business completely due to his health, later passing away in 1952 at the far too young age of 48.

Volume Five documents the personally difficult yet professionally successful transition period for the Stooges, as Moe Howard recruited his brother Shemp to return to the trio act — a role he originally occupied until Curly replaced Shemp in 1932.  Shemp had enjoyed individual success as a character actor in films through the 1930s-40s, including appearances in W.C. Fields' The Bank Dick and several Abbott and Costello hits. Ask fans who their favorite Stooge is and you'll likely start a passionate debate (if not a skull-bonking fight) between Curly devotees and Shemp aficionados.  His impact on the trio in altering the tone and style of The Three Stooges is undeniable, while taking nothing away from Curly's contributions for over a decade of Columbia short subjects beloved the world round. Shemp rejoined Moe and Larry in 1947's Fright Night as the boys mismanage a love-struck boxer and manage to gain the wrath of a gangster.

The comedic action definitely got more physical with Shemp's return to the act as Moe's hair-pulling hijinks increased the simulated abuse he dealt out to his cohorts.  It's also interesting to note how quickly Shemp stepped to the forefront of the Stooges, getting a lot of close ups and solo moments in which he could exploit his unique verbal tics and facial expressions.  Of course Shemp was no stranger to the act, having originally worked with Larry and Moe before Curly, but his movie career immediately infused his Stooge character with palpable personality from his first short subject.  New shorts in 1947 like Out West and Brideless Groom centered on Shemp's character as a dynamic force driving the absurd situations as the hapless 'tough guy' coward whose bravado was a mask for his enjoyable imbecility.

These years also mark the introduction of two popular and prolific Stooge foils by two memorable character actors: Emil Sitka (left) began his long association with the Stooges playing a snooty butler in Half-Wits Holiday, later gaining fame as the "Hold hands, you love birds" justice in Brideless Groom.  He later became a part of the Stooges act itself in the 1970s replacing Larry Fine, but two planned projects never materialized and Moe's death in 1975 officially ended the Stooges' career in comedy.  Visit Sitka's fan site here. Ever the tough guy with the booming deep voice, Kenneth MacDonald first joined the Stooges in Monkey Businessmen, and quickly became an iconic villain in the guise of gangsters, bullies and killers who inevitably wind up undone by the trio. MacDonald earns kudos for staying in stern character amid the Stooges' wild routines.

The Curly era ends and the Shemp years begin amid this complete title list of all 25 shorts, shown by year:

BEER BARREL POLECATS A BIRD IN THE HEAD UNCIVIL WARBIRDS THREE TROUBLEDOERS MONKEY BUSINESSMEN THREE LOAN WOLVES G.I. WANNA HOME RHYTHM AND WEEP THREE LITTLE PIRATES HALF-WITS HOLIDAY FRIGHT NIGHT OUT WEST HOLD THAT LION BRIDELESS GROOM SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS ALL GUMMED UP SHIVERING SHERLOCKS PARDON MY CLUTCH SQUAREHEADS OF THE ROUND TABLE FIDDLERS THREE THE HOT SCOTS HEAVENLY DAZE I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE MUMMY'S DUMMIES CRIME ON THEIR HANDS

DVD SPECIFICATIONS

THE THREE STOOGES Volume Five presents these 25 shorts in their original black-and-white, 1.33:1 theatrical aspect ratio for full-frame television viewing.  DVD navigation menus with full-color art are enhanced for widescreen 16:9 viewing. Audio is offered in English Dolby Digital mono with English (US) subtitles for the hearing impaired. Total running time is approximately 432 minutes in this hefty collection of Stooge history. No Special Features are available in this set.

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MESS-TERPIECE!

Curly bids a bittersweet farewell to Stooge duty as Moe and Larry welcome Shemp into the act during THE THREE STOOGES Volume Five 1946-1948.  This fifth DVD collection has its share of hits and misses in these three years, mainly due to the uneven scripts which range from tolerable to terrific.   Volume Five remains a crucial documentation of this historic transition period in Stooge entertainment as Shemp steps to the forefront of the trio with his pug-mugged charm and distinctive character work.  Fans of The Three Stooges shouldn't miss adding this set to their collection to witness a sad ending and hilarious new beginning for these classic comedians.

For more Stooges hilarity, read our reviews of THE THREE STOOGES Collection Volume Three: 1940-1942 and THE THREE STOOGES Collection Volume Four: 1943-1945