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(More customer reviews)Those who remember the cameo the Three Stooges did it "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" will find humor in a similar thematic vein with the trio of Columbia shorts collected on the "False Alarms" videotape:
In the 1936 short "False Alarms" the boys as firemen who tend to miss fires because they take too long to shower and dress when the alarm comes in. The two main bits here are the Stooges being assigned to clean the fire hoses and their demolition of the fire chief's brand new car. This one is relatively standard Stooges fare.
Two years later the boys try the fire fighting routine once again in "Flat Foot Stooges." The issue at hand is whether the fire department should be using horse-drawn or motorized fire trucks, which ends up with the Stooges chasing the horse-drawn truck that is carrying the chief's daughter and a lot of gunpowder into the burning firehouse. Believe it or not, most of this is not the fault of the Stooges, who are called upon to save the day (or at some of it). This one is the best of the lot, especially since it deals more with the idea of the Stooges being firemen than the first short.
"Three Pests in a Mess" is from 1945 begins with the Stooges trying to get a patent on their fly-catching invention. The first reel has to do with a female scam artist (Christine McIntyre) trying to seduce Curly while the second has the boys convinced they have killed someone when they shoot a mannequin, which they take to the pet cemetery to bury. The second half is better than the first half, but this is an average Stooges effort at best.
Besides the first two Stooges shorts on the video having the boys as firemen, they also represent the less than laudable gag of making fun of an overweight woman, which should be commented on. This is a standard comic idea from that period, so the only real complaint is on those few occasions when the humor turns cruel. I know this seems an odd comment to make with regards to the work of the Three Stooges, where we expect eye pokes, slapping, and conking heads. But that is to each other and such actions are not only expected, they are usually deserved. So when you laugh at some of these scenes, at least feel a bit guilty about it.
Click Here to see more reviews about: THE THREE STOOGES ~ False Alarms (1936) / Three Pests in a Mess (1945) / Flat Foot Stooges (1938) (1936)
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