Stoogemania | |
---|---|
Directed by | Chuck Workman |
Written by | Jim Geoghan Chuck Workman |
Produced by | Michael Rosenblatt James Ruxin Chuck Workman |
Starring | Josh Mostel Melanie Chartoff Sid Caesar Paul Garner Mark Holton |
Cinematography | Christopher Tufty |
Edited by | James Ruxin |
Music by | Hummie Mann |
Distributed by | Atlantic Releasing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Stoogemania is a 1986 comedy film, directed by Chuck Workman and starring Josh Mostel as a huge fan of The Three Stooges for whom the line between reality and fiction begins to blur. Stoogemania was made in an attempt to cash in on the Three Stooges' resurgence in popularity during the 1980s, thanks to syndication and the hit novelty song "The Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'n the Saddle Band. The film experienced a brief theatrical release and was poorly received by critics.
In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title Party Stooge.
The film centers on Howard F. Howard (Josh Mostel), a huge fan of the Three Stooges. He is engaged to the woman he loves (Melanie Chartoff), and life seems to be going well. More recently, however, he has been starting to see the Stooges wherever he goes. To save his life and his relationship, he seeks the help of a renowned Stooge psychologist (Sid Caesar). However, his illness is part of a very serious epidemic which has apparently swept the nation. The doctor gives him the wrong medicine: a sleeping pill.
To his dismay, Howard continues to see the Stooges everywhere. He ends up going to "Stooge Row", a seedy part of Los Angeles located between the fictional "Shet Up Street" and "Nyuk Nyuk Boulevard". To combat this, a sanitarium known as Stooge Hills is created. While in an all-Stooge burlesque house, members of Stooge Hills (including James Avery) commit everyone in there to the sanitarium. Over a rigorous program, everyone is deemed cured. During the graduation ceremony, to prove that the Three Stooges are no longer funny, they play a few shorts. However, everyone comes to terms and realize "we love these guys". Howard marries his sweetheart, and the film ends on a happy note.
The film was not endorsed by Columbia Pictures or the Three Stooges trademark holders. Only four shorts are shown through the film, all of which are in the public domain: Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947), Malice in the Palace (1949), Brideless Groom (1947) and Disorder in the Court (1936).
Victoria Jackson played a nurse at the fictional Stooge Hills. Additionally, the local arcade owner is played by Paul "Mousie" Garner, who was one of Ted Healy's stooges and a member of the "New Three Stooges" in the 1970s.
The Three Stooges was an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared over the act's run : Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run and the pivotal "third stooge" was played by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita.
Moses Harry Horwitz, known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades. That group initially started out as Ted Healy and His Stooges, an act that toured the vaudeville circuit. Moe's distinctive hairstyle came about when he was a boy and cut off his curls with a pair of scissors, producing an irregular shape approximating a bowl cut.
Paul Albert "Mousie" Garner was an American actor. Garner earned his nickname by assuming the role of a shy, simpering jokester. He was one of the last actors still doing shtick from vaudeville, and has been referred to as "The Grand Old Man Of Vaudeville."
Jerome Lester Horwitz, known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American vaudevillian comedian and actor. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges. He was well known for his high-pitched voice and vocal expressions, as well as his physical comedy, improvisations, and athleticism. An untrained actor, Curly borrowed the "woob woob" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert. Curly's unique version of "woob-woob-woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, Punch Drunks (1934).
Joseph Wardell, known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita.
Joe Besser was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child in The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man in The Joey Bishop Show.
Swing Parade of 1946 is a 1946 musical comedy film directed by Phil Karlson and released by Monogram Pictures. The film features Gale Storm, Phil Regan, and The Three Stooges, Edward Brophy and musical numbers by Connee Boswell and the Louis Jordan and Will Osborne (singer) orchestras, including "Stormy Weather" and "Caldonia".
Have Rocket, Will Travel is a 1959 American science fiction comedy film starring The Three Stooges. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and new "third Stooge" Joe DeRita. Released by Columbia Pictures, the feature was produced to capitalize on the comedy trio's late 1950s resurgence in popularity. The picture's supporting cast features Anna-Lisa and Robert Colbert.
Woman Haters is a 1934 musical short subject directed by Archie Gottler starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the inaugural entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who would ultimately star in 190 short subjects for the studio between 1934 and 1959. This short is known to be the first program shown on Antenna TV, a channel that was launched on January 1, 2011, by Tribune Broadcasting.
Pop Goes the Easel is a 1935 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the seventh entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Hoi Polloi is a 1935 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the tenth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Bedlam in Paradise is a 1955 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 162nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
In the Sweet Pie and Pie is a 1941 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 58th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Flying Saucer Daffy is a 1958 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 187th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Idiots Deluxe is a 1945 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 85th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Space Ship Sappy is a 1957 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 178th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Stop! Look! and Laugh! is a 1960 feature-length Three Stooges compilation featuring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard. Eleven of the Stooges shorts were shown and bridged together with segments featuring Paul Winchell and his dummies, Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. Near the end of the film, the Marquis Chimps perform a version of Cinderella narrated in rhyme by Winchell, with June Foray providing female voices and Alan Reed providing male voices, as part of Jerry's bedtime story. New York Stooges TV host Officer Joe Bolton has a cameo as a customer in a cafe.
G.I. Wanna Home is a 1946 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 94th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Three Little Pirates is a 1946 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 96th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Cuckoo on a Choo Choo is a 1952 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 143rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.