User reviews

All right, what I'm now reviewing is the fourth M-G-M short featuring Ted Healy and His Stooges (Moe, Larry, and Curly) with their usual female foil "Bonny" (Bonnie Bonnell). By the way, their third one-Hello Pop-is lost. Anyway, this is their vaudeville act transposed on film with hit-or-miss gags and punchlines but the energy is pretty infectious especially whenever Curly does some funny moves or a hilarious laugh. There's also a couple of musical numbers taken from another film that provide their own entertaining moments. Incidentally, some of the music sounds like the theme played on Leonard Maltin's "The Lost Stooges" VHS tape-of which excerpts of this short played-when that was released on the early '90s. In summary, no great shakes is Plane Nuts but this is still a very interesting look at the early careers of Howard, Fine, and Howard before their more iconic stint at the studio of the Torch Lady.,..

It's Ted, Moe, Larry, and Curly, along with Bonnie Bonnell, who also joined the troupe in the MGM shorts. They do a bit of their stage routines, with lots of slapping, broken up by dance numbers featuring chorines, shot by an uncredited Busby Berkeley with some overhead shots.

It's a burlesque-style revue, directed by Jack Cummings, who was in charge of MGM's shorts department. Cummings was Louis B. Mayer's nephew. After the usual apprenticeship, he became a producer for the company, with almost 40 movies to his credit by 1972. He died in 1989, 89 years old.

Plane Nuts (1933), is straight-up vaudeville stage show, complete with the curtain in the background and people walking on, from off-stage, while Healy and the boys, tear things up. It's bits and gags, bits and gags, with the Stooges, in-between Healy singing, a somewhat, lame song. Plane Nuts (1933), however is saved, by Moe, Larry and Curly. Larry seems to have a bigger part in this one. However, the finale is pretty cool, with dancers, dressed as planes (yes planes), doing a big finale, with an epic dance performance, at the end of the film. The bits were good, but the thing just seemed like a recording of a stage-play. This was the fourth of five films, produced at MGM. It definitely looks like the least expensive title, of the MGM, "Ted Healy and His Stooges", shorts. It wasn't very creative. But is a fairly good attempt to fill the five film contract.

5.5 (D- MyGrade) = 6 IMDB.

Thanks, craigbhill. it is indeed Busby Berkeley's work. In fact, clips of the musical numbers used in this short are from "Flying High" (1931), as documented in the compilation film "That's Dancing!" (1985).

This is easily the weakest Three Stooges film I've seen: it is a straightforward filming of their stage act, but it wasn't filmed in front of a live audience. Watching Ted Healy struggle to sell the act to a camera is painful - the lack of audience reaction saps his confidence, and his lack of confidence destroys his timing: the whole film sags as a result. There isn't any canned laughter to ease the tension, either (the Three Stooges never used canned laughter - their films were meant to be shown in a cinema, where you'd be surrounded by a laughing audience). I don't mind the Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers: for me, they're a relief from the ordeal of watching Ted floundering. The Stooges themselves seem more at ease, so this film may have helped influence the Columbia executives toward offering the Three Stooges a contract - without Ted.

For those who hate The Three Stooges, this short film from their MGM days is about the worst thing they ever did and makes you long for the "sophistication" of their later days with Columbia Pictures! If you are a big fan, than unless you are insane, then this film will be a major disappointment, as the Stooges' humor isn't evident and the film is jam-packed full of stupid and awful dance numbers like you'd expect from Busby Berkely.

Now understand that until late in 1934, The Stooges were under contract at MGM and the studio had no idea what to do with them or their front man, Ted Healey. Oddly, they are cast as supporting players in the Gable-Crawford musical DANCING LADY (and Larry is cast as a piano player) and this short was an attempt to market them to the public. Unfortunately, the act just wasn't funny--either because their Vaudeville routine stank (I have no way to know this, as I never could have seen them on stage) or the MGM writers were idiots. Either way, it just isn't good as the Stooges and Healey just slap each other again and again with no finesse or energy or plot.

By the way, Healey was, according to books I have read, a huge jerk who insisted on top billing above HIS Stooges. He also supposedly treated them like they were replaceable and gave them a very small cut of the profits. If this is so, this would explain why they soon split and signed on at Columbia without him. Considering how annoying Healey was as a contract player through the 1930s after the breakup, I think Moe, Curly and Larry made an excellent move.

PS--In addition to this, the Stooges also made the awful short BIG IDEA with Healey at MGM. It's a tad better, but that's not saying much.

Through the years, I've seen stills and miscellaneous data about this one, and I thought it was "lost", but came upon it in a Stooges video package a few days ago. This is not the stereotypical "3 Stooges", but Howard, Fine & Howard doing pure vaudeville on film! The slapstick is primitive and crude with no added sound effects, the acting is purely stage wooden. But the pleasant highlight of the film is the excellent pre-Busby Berkely choreography done by the Albertina Rasch Dancers who take up the bulk of the film's length. For purposes of comparison with the Stooges comedies we all know, the three on stage with Ted Healy and Bonny Bonnell (Ted's 1st wife) gives us a glimpse of their beginnings. Even with Healy slapping them around, (not funny but rather cruel), we can see their individual characters beginning to form.

For anyone interested in what the Stooges looked like before the Columbia shorts, this is one to watch! Catch it if you can, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Plane Nuts (1933)

** (out of 4)

Ted Healy and Howard, Fine and Howard (future Three Stooges) put on one of their acts here but I've gotta think the act was funnier in person than this is. The film has a couple musical numbers, which are very big and quite impressive. The actual comedy show has a fair share of laughs but this early version of the Stooges isn't nearly as good as when they moved to Columbia. I think one of the biggest differences are the sound effects, which were added to the Columbia shorts.

Big Idea, The (1934)

1/2 (out of 4)

Incredibly bad MGM short has Ted Healy and His Stooges (future Three Stooges) working at the "Big Idea Company" where they come up with new ideas while people wait in the office. I had to read the IMDb listing to come up with a plot because I couldn't spot one while watching the film. There isn't a single laugh anywhere in the film and that includes the Stooges who come off really, really bad. A really horrible film with an awful dance sequence.

It's hard to sit through this miserable MGM short wherein THE THREE STOOGES go through their paces with TED HEALY acting as a sort of master of ceremonies in an act that falls flat before the first two minutes are over.

At least the Stooges get into their slapstick routine of face slapping nonsense with their usual aplomb, but Healy is neither charismatic as a performer nor much of a singer, given the songs he attempts to sing here.

The only bit of inspiration comes from the dance routines that a bevy of chorus girls do, twirling propellers around and photographed from above in Busby Berkeley manner for some eye catching formations simulating planes.

This is the kind of act that must have killed vaudeville. I found myself impatiently waiting for the twenty minute short to conclude. Not soon enough for me. Agonizingly bad stuff, dated and cornball from start to finish and a bit crude in the style of humor.

Even Stooges fans will have a hard time recognizing their heroes in this two-for-one picture. Ted Healey tries mightily to deliver a song before a closed curtain while the Stooges constantly interrupt. Although Moe takes charge of his team, Larry Fine actually has more lines and more gags, which are lessened by the absence of their familiar sound effects. Two big musical production numbers highlight the movie as a reminder this is an MGM production. It's interesting for movie historians and Stooges buffs, but overall it's a big disappointment and you won't want to sit through a second viewing.

What a great and unique film. It's the Three Stooges and Ted Healy. It was Curly and Moe's brother, Shemp, who was with Moe, Larry and Ted in Vaudeville, but after they went to Hollywood and did one film (Soup to Nuts (1930)), Shemp left and Curly joined.

Still, this film is what their Vaudeville act must've been like. Even though the Stooges are in it, don't expect to see any of the antics that they're the most famous for, as this film was released a few years before they left Ted Healy, started doing the Columbia shorts and got settled into their well-known characters. You DO see SOME things that that you see in the Columbia shorts. I can't believe this site didn't give Bonnie Bonnell credit for her role in this film. She was in at least two other films with the Stooges as well. (See "Nertsery Rhymes" and "For some reason, her name is spelled "Bonny" (just "Bonny", no Bonnell)

Some highlights of this film- the Stooges want to act out a script and Moe gives Ted a part. Moe says to Ted, "When the music plays "The Gates of Hell Are Open," that's where you walk in". Also, there's a song they all (minus Bonnie) sing where Ted seems to be the main singer and each Stooge is doing his own thing. Watch Larry doing his "I'm from the south...HEY, HEY!" act at this time.

Some lowlights- the dance scenes. For folks like me that were born after 1960 or so, dance scenes in early films bore you and make you want to fast forward through them. Other than that, lowlights are non-exsistant. So you'll definitely enjoy this film if you're a fan of Vaudeville type acts whether or not you're a fan of the Stooges.