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Snow White & The Three Stooges (1961)

 
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 10:57 am    Post subject: Snow White & The Three Stooges (1961) Reply with quote



Snow White and The Three Stooges, June 21, 1961, a 20th Century Fox Production. Just watched this one this morning on one of the movie channels. Got myself ready for the worst. It received poor reviews at the time of its release and isn't thought highly of to this day.

So, I won't try to sell you on this as a wonderful movie.

However, it was more entertaining than I thought it would be, given the critics and fans dislike for this film.

The production hired top notch talent, and the budget was a lavish $3,500,000. It was the most expensive Stooges film ever. It was also their only feature film starring them to be in color.

Walter Lang, who directed the movie, was well established in the field. State Fair (1945), Cheaper By The Dozen (1950), Call Me Madam (1953), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), and The King and I (1956) are just a few of his many films on his resume.

Having done a number of musical movies, Lang was a perfect fit for this musical Stooges film.

No, the songs won't ever make you forget the score for the classic Disney animated version of Snow White. And yes, the songs are pretty corny in this 1961 iteration of Snow White.

Lang handles it all smoothly given his experience.

The sets, costumes, stunts, and visual effects are all handsomely done. The cast performs admirably for this fairy tale film. 1960 Olympic Gold winning skater Carol Heiss is no actress by any means as Snow White, but she wasn't hired as such, she was hired for her skating prowess.

Her skating is performed on the exact same ice rink used by Sonja Henie in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade.

Edson Stroll (1929~2011) plays Prince Charming, who was saved as a young boy by Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe from an assassination attempt. Stroll also was in two Twilight Zone episodes and played a crew member of the P.T. 73 on MacHale's Navy (1962~1966), and appeared in The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962).

The evil queen is nicely played by actress Patricia Medina who had a lengthy movie and television career and was married to Joseph Cotton.

Paul Frees (1920~1986) is both the narrator and voice of the Magic Mirror. Frees was a legendary voice over artist with a huge number of credits in film and television.

Frees was one of the scientists at the science research station in the terrific sci-fi movie The Thing From Another World (1951), and he did the alien voice for Ray Harryhausen's Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956).

The one-and-only Mel Blanc provided the voice of the ventriloquist's dummy. English actor Guy Rolfe portrays the Queen's evil sorcerer.

Burt Mustin, who excelled at playing elderly gents (Gus the fireman on Leave It To Beaver) has a bit as a farmer. Edward Platt (Chief on Get Smart) is a villager.

Buddy Baer plays the imposing huntsman who cannot murder Snow White as so ordered by the dastardly queen. Buddy was 6' 6 & 3/4" tall; brother of heavyweight boxer Max Baer, uncle of Max Baer, Jr (Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies).

The visual effects are expertly handled by the renowned L.B. Abbott (1908~1985). Abbott did the special effects for such movies as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (both the 1961 film and 1964~1968 TV series), Fantastic Voyage (1966).

Emil Kosa, Jr (1903~1968), another great visual effects artist, also worked on this Stooges movie. Emil also worked on Planet of the Apes (1968), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Land of the Giants (1968~1969), and City Beneath the Sea (1969).

It is a handsomely mounted production given all of the talent behind the camera.

Moe Howard was sensitive regarding the number of complaints received by parents over the violence of the Three Stooges. The Stooges Columbia short films had been released to television in the 50s. Kids loved the wild physical comedy in those shorts . . . parents not so much.

To that end, the typical Stooges rowdy slapstick humor was played down in this movie.

None of the Stooges thought highly of this movie, even though they were astonished at having such a large budget for one of their films. Clearly something they were not used to in their long careers.

Moe referred to the movie as a 'Technicolor Mistake.'

Yes, I would have preferred more slapstick for this movie by Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe. I would have loved to have seen them do fresh material though, and not their thirty-year old routines.

Comedy teams often resort to performing their tried-and-true routines over and over until the routine loses its originality and surprise. I get that they wanted to go with the sure fire material that they've honed to perfection.

But they forgot that audiences can weary of seeing the same act over and over without having brand new aspects created.

Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd knew this fact. They always strove in their terrific silent comedy films to create new routines and slapstick with each movie they did. They rarely did the exact same physical comedy over and over in their movies because it would be boring for them and dull for the audience.

So sure, more (original) slapstick for this Stooges movie would have been most welcome, but having the three of 'em toned down wasn't the disaster you'd think it could have been.

Bud once mentioned his dislike for the team is that they were so stupid going about everything they do. I get that. Some of the best comics are ones who create characters that make mistakes or honestly misunderstand something that propels them into a wild and crazy mess.

But they are not outright dumbbells.

Again, look at the films of Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd. They might have been innocent and naive in their plots. Rarely were they just plain idiots. Bud liked The Three Stooges Meet Hercules because the Stooges were funny and clumsy but not imbeciles in it.

The same can be said for this Stooges movie too.

It's a fun and entertaining movie which achieves what it sets out to do, with a good cast and production values.


Last edited by Pow on Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:00 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________

By gum, I saw this movie at a drive-in during my younger years, although it might have been a re-release several years later to provide a second feature for whatever movie was playing that night at the South Expressway Drive-in near Atlanta.


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Oddly enough, the only memory I have of the movie is the scene in which the Stooges are crossing a snowy landscape and see the queen after she's transformed herself into a witch as she flies nearby on her broomstick.

As she does, Curly-Joe says, "I wish that queen would go straight to Hades!" Shocked

Unfortunately for the queen, Curly-Joe possesses the magical Sword of Power which they took from the Queen's evil count, and it grants the bearer's wishes. So, Curly-Joe's pronouncement causes the queen to crash to the ground! Shocked

Gentlemen, I'm happy to report that YouTube has a reasonably good copy of this movie (although it's not as sharp as we'd wish), and the title work alone made such a good impression that I decided to watch the whole movie! Very Happy

While doing so I discovered that the Stooges don't even appear until the 18:00 minute mark, and the story prior to this is presented as a big-budget and beautifully done fantasy tale — with no trace of humor whatsoever! Shocked

I was very impressed. And the musical numbers are surprising good — especially the dream sequence near the end which presented a beautiful ice ballet.

The climactic battle scene at the end, in which the commoners attack the castle, is spectacular — on of the best I've seen in a medieval adventure movie! Cool

The version below is one of three which YouTube presents. One of the other three includes the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning — but it's running time is 20 minutes short! And it's labeled SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES (1961) with Columbia sound effects/songs deleted.

To put it politely, folks — to hell with that crap! Sad

But the version below has the correct running time (minus the brief Fox logo) — so I'm watching it right now, based on Pow's wonderful posts, along with my newly acquired appreciation for the Three Stooges after enjoying The Three Stooges Meet Herculesl . . . which Pow also recommended in a fine post!

Guys, I promise that if you watch the title work, you'll be eager to give this movie a chance.

But if you do watch it and don't enjoy it, simply stop by the ticket booth on your way out of the drive-in and request a refund! Very Happy

And please don't forget to return your speaker to its post. Cool



__________________


_____ Snow White and the Three Stooges-REUPLOAD


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Patricia Medina and Carol Heiss did not get along during the shooting of this film.

Heiss attempted to have Medina fired!

Wonder what the problem between them was?

If this movie had been a smash hit at the box office and 20th Century Fox had gone forward with more Three Stooges films with a lavish budget, what type of movie would you have wanted to see them in?

Another fairy tale, science-fiction, detective genre?

I'm always a sucker for a good ole comedy/horror movie.

I'd like to see 'the boys' do one set in a haunted castle or mansion and meeting classic movie monsters.

Something like "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein."
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 18, 2021 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I too would love to see more movies with the trio being presented in a more intelligent manner, the way they were in this movie.

Here's a few ideas off the top of my head. (Please pardon the dandruff . . .)
Embarassed

~ The Magnificent Three . . . Stooges!

A version of The Three Amigos and Galaxy Quest, plain and simple. They're hired by Mexican peons who think they're real gunslingers because they starred in a Stooges short that parodied Westerns. But the boys use brains rather than bullets to banish the bandidos. (I just love alliteration.)

~ First Three Stooges IN the Moon

A MUCH better story than Have Rocket, Will Travel. And it parodies the Wells novel, with a sphere coated in cavorite.

~ The Three Stooges Meet the Hound of the Baskervilles

Sherlock has three crime solving companions instead just one (Watson). And if you think the boys aren't smart enough for a story like this . . . hell, they couldn't be any dumber than Nigel Bruce in the Sherlock Holmes movies from the 1940s! Rolling Eyes

~ The Three Stooges Meet Sinbad the Sailor

In this Arabian Nights fantasy, the trio are distant relatives of the famous captain, and he bravely rescues his relatives from the headsman's axe in Baghdad after some scandal involving the Sheikh's harem, after which he makes them part of his crew on a new adventure.

That's all I have at the moment. Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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