Hello Pop

Back in the early 1930s, Ted Healy and His Stooges were signed to a contract by MGM...the premier studio of its day. The problem was that MGM had absolutely no idea what to do with this routine and they tried the Stooges individually as well as Healy on his own...with very poor results. They even placed them in a few prestige films...doing the strangest things (such as Larry playing piano for Joan Crawford in "Dancing Lady"). It's hard to image that a rather crappy studio like Columbia would have a much better idea what to do with them, but MGM, despite its glamour, never really understood comedy teams. The films they made with Laurel & Hardy and Buster Keaton were big misfires and after the success of "A Night at the Opera", the studio began putting the Marx Brothers in progressively worse and formulaic pictures.

This MGM short actually teams Healy with the Stooges...a rarity. The plot (such as it is) has Healy playing a show producer whose sons (Larry, Moe and Curly) wandering about as the show is being rehearsed. The trio are dressed like small children and look like full grown men pretending to be kids! They get into trouble repeatedly as the assistant (Eddie Brophy) is supposed to be closely watching them. The overall effect isn't very good...but at least it's closer to a Three Stooges Film than most of their efforts with MGM.

By the way, this film was assumed destroyed in a fire in 1967. Only recently was it rediscovered. The copy on DVD could use further restoration, as the Two-Color Technicolor is faded--making everyone appear as if they are wearing heavy face powder. However, considering how poor the film is, I am not surprised it's not a high priority for restoration. Very few laughs and a film best seen by Stooges fans and film historians.