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Stooges Three

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Curly, Moe, and Larry in “Three Little Beers” (1935)

For the last quarter of a century, my favorite part of the four-day Thanksgiving weekend was the Three Stooges festival put on by the Alex Film Society in Glendale. It was Martine who found out about it and got me into going with her on the Saturday afternoon after Turkey Day. In the intervening years, we have attended most of the screenings, except for those few times I was off to Mexico or South America at the time.

Of course, part of Martine’s interest in the festival are two of her favorite chicken restaurants in Glendale: Sevan Rotisserie Chicken and Elena’s Greek Armenian Kitchen. I am not a great lover of chicken, but I do love to see Martine happy.

When I was growing up, I started liking the Stooges; and I distinctively remember owning a 3-D Stooges comic book. But then, as my little brother Dan (who is six years younger than me) started liking the stooges, I decided they were too downmarket for me and disparaged them at every opportunity.

Now I appreciate the comics and marvel at their long career and the fact that they survived several deaths in the troupe. When Curly became ill in 1946, Moe and Curly’s brother Shemp took over without any diminution in the quality of the films. After Shemp died in 1955, he was followed by Joe Besser and Joe DeRita, who were not quite up to the mark.

The best of the six Stooges shorts I saw yesterday was “Slippery Silks” (1936) in which the boys inherit a fancy women’s clothing boutique and put on the most cockeyed fashion show imaginable.

Fashion Model in “Slippery Silks”

The still above is explained by the fact that, before inheriting the dress shop, the stooges were carpenters who accidentally destroyed a priceless Chinese antique wooden box. I guess they still had their carpentry background in mind.

In any case, I laughed uproariously throughout the two hour screening.

The Annual Stooge-a-Thon

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The Original Thee Stooges: Larry Fine and Moe and Curly Howard

Today, Martine and I attended the Three Stooges 22nd Annual Big Screen Event at the Alex Theater in Glendale. I think that the two of us have attended some 16 or 17 of the annual screenings over the years, missing only those years when I we nt off to South America in November. This is probably the only Stooges event where all the films shown are 35mm prints direct from Sony Pictures, which owns the rights to the Columbia Pictures screen archives.

The Stooges shorts are much more fun to watch with a large, enthusiastic audience—and attendance filled about 95% of the seats this afternoon. (We usually attend only the matinee performances.) Shown, in order, were the following Stooges shorts, all produced by Columbia:

  • “Pardon My Scotch” (1935)
  • “Saved by the Belle” (1939) directed by Charley Chase
  • “So Long Mr. Chumps” (1941)
  • “Studio Stoops” (1950) with Shemp Howard
  • “Three Pests in a Mess” (1945)
  • “Dizzy Pilots” (1943)

Between the two of us, Martine is the big Stooge fan. I was surprised to see that up to 40% of the audience consisted of women, who appeared to be as enthusiastic as the men.

For Martine, it was an opportunity to have some great chicken. For lunch, we went to Sevan Rotisserie Chicken on Glenoaks and, for dinner, Elena’s Greek and Armenian Restaurant on Glendale Boulevard.

 

 

Seeing the Stooges at the Alex

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Curly, Larry, and Moe—The Original Three Stooges

You wouldn’t think that Martine is a big fan of the Three Stooges, but she is. She has seen every one of their shorts innumerable times. For the last twelve years or so, we have trekked to Glendale’s Alex Theatre see see their annual big screen event, usually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Today was the 21st annual Stooges show at the Alex.

The theme this year was a title with the number three in it. Consequently, the program included:

  • “Three Little Beers” (1935)
  • “3 Dumb Clucks” (1937)
  • “Three Missing Links” (1938)
  • “Three Little Pirates” (1946)
  • “Three Hams on Rye” (1950)
  • “Three Sappy People” (1939)

I am not about to claim that watching Stooge shorts is a sophisticated intellectual experience, but it is uproariously funny. There is something about watching same with a large appreciative audience that makes it funnier still.

The Alex Theatre on Brand in Glendale

The Alex Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in the 1920s, it has become a venue for not only films, but occasional concerts. Two of the upcoming film programs include the Nutcracker Ballet with the Los Angeles Ballet (several dates in December) and “The Greatest Cartoons Ever” on December 26.

One of the reasons that incline Martine toward events in Glendale is that she truly loves the way Armenians prepare chicken. (The City of Glendale is the largest Armenian city outside of Asia.) Glendale is the home to Sevan Chicken at Kenilworth and Glenoaks and Elena’s Greek and Armenian Restaurant at 1000 Glendale Boulevard.

The Healing Power of Chicken

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Chicken, Rice, and Hummus at Sevan Chicken in Glendale

Martine has been feeling depressed for some time now. It has affected her eating, the way she spends her time, and the way she interacts with me. Today, there was some clearing. We usually attend the Three Stooges Festival at the Alex Theater the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Martine actually suggested we go. (Yes, there are some women who love the Stooges.) On the way, we stopped at Sevan Chicken, an Armenian rotisserie chicken restaurant at the corner of Glenoaks and Kensington in Glendale. It was always Martine’s favorite place, and chicken has always been her meat of choice. It did me good to see her tear into it.

Then we went over to the Alex Theater on Brand Avenue, purchased tickets, and waited in line to see six Stooges film—in 35mm studio prints yet—including “A Plumbing We Will Go” (1940), as shown in the photo below.

Curly Trapped in His Plumbing

After the films, it was time for … more chicken! We drove to Elena’s Greek and Armenian Restaurant on Glendale Blvd. and Acacia. I had my favorite lamb kebab, while Martine had chicken kebab. I myself am not a great aficionado of poultry, but it made me happy to see Martine come out of her blue funk for however short a time. It means that, maybe, there’s hope.