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NOTE: THESE REPLIES ARE FROM THE LUNKHEAD'S ZONE EZBOARD
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Megaloman
Lamebrain
Posts: 423
(12/6/04 10:52 pm)
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#2 - PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
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you never hear the song the same way again after watching this short. i am surprised they didn't get to write more, but then Columbia would have had to pay them more, i'm sure.
<a href="http://megaloman.proboards24.com/index.cgi" target="blank"><img src="http://lunkhead.net/xenorama/xenlog.jpg" border="0"></a>
<br>"I've been reading more, and looking up the hard words"<br>
<br>"No Guilt", The Waitresses<br>
stoogefan65
Wiseguy
Posts: 256
(12/7/04 4:29 am)
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I enjoy this short also. Larry has some good bits , such as his "I lost my ba-lance" reply to Moe after he falls out of the wagon , and his pulling a huge fish out of his coat , ("lookit at") , after making his way out of the pond.
I also get a laugh out of his running all over town to find "Pop Goes The Weasel" after his fiddle gets smashed at ringside , not to mention his getting clobbered by Moe w/the bucket of water as he is playing a tune for Curly's girl.
Lunkhead
Grand Imbezzle
Posts: 916
(12/7/04 9:40 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: #2 - PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
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The past couple summers an ice cream truck came down our street playing the weasel tune. I immediately thought of Curly going crazy.
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I love that "I lost my ba-lance" bit.
"Oh ya lost your ba-lance ay." ~
"Yeah" ~
"Well go find it!" ~
<<shoves Larry by the forehead into the lake>>
Listen to it here =>
http://lunkhead.net/curlyboxing/balance2a.wav
Edited by: Lunkhead at: 12/7/04 9:45 pm
jamiemark
Pumpkinbrain
Posts: 5
(12/13/04 8:05 pm)
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One of the most enjoyable of the whole run...
"Just when they think they have the answers, I change the questions"
Bruckman64
Grapehead
Posts: 41
(1/4/05 3:33 pm)
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Re: #2 - PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
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The first Columbia short which can really be called a true Three Stooges comedy. It's pretty clear that after Woman Haters, Moe must've realized the only way for them to make a solid impact on audiences was to persuade Columbia to allow them to script their own material, so as to shape their characters and integrate them into a comedy plot which would highlight each character. So despite the MGM work and Woman Haters, this is the real debut of Moe, Larry, and Curly in their mature form; everything which came after was mere refinement. Additionally, it's a simple but sound plot, hinging on a basic device of some stimulus triggering Curly's manic behavior, which the Stooges were to rework in succeeding films. But Moe must've realized Curly really needed no impetus to act nonsensical; that was his essential character, and in some ways Curly's mannerisms work better when no explanation is given at all! In a way, it's almost strange to see how subdued Curly is in the opening scenes of this film; there's a meekness which wouldn't be repeated until much later, as a result of Curly's failing health, to his characterization in the opening scene in the restaurant.
However, from a marketing strategy point, establishing a causal relationship between Curly's comedic energy and some external plot point was probably very sound at this point in Stoogian history, and certainly helped cement them as mainstays of Columbia's short subject dept. from here on.
DangerkittyToTheRescue
Pumpkinbrain
Posts: 7
(1/8/05 2:11 am)
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One of my all time favorites for sure. Moe taking charge, Larry playing the weasel song, Curly going ballistic when the song played.
Years ago when they took the Stooges off the air because they were too violent, the old Royal Oak Music Theater had a one-night feature of "All Curly's". It was a night that I will never forget. 1300 fans jonesing for a stooge fix had jammed into the theater, hanging from the rafters, standing room only, we had that place just a rocking. So we are all screaming "go Larry go" "go Larry go" as Larry was running up and down the street in search of the weasel song, the theater just erupts when he plows through the wall in the truck with the song playing.
Anytime that I hear that weasel tune,,,,, I always remember that night of enthusiasm and mayhem.
Lunkhead
Grand Imbezzle
Posts: 941
(1/10/05 7:03 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: #2 - PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
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That must've been a blast. I've seen PUNCH DRUNKS on the big screen myself and it's always a crowd pleaser.
Thomas Hedison
Nitwit
Posts: 79
(3/16/05 7:28 am)
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Definitely one of my favorite Curly shorts. Larry really demonstrates his talent for playing the violin, doing a great job with not only "that Weasel tune", but the beginning of "Let's Fall in Love" (which as Lunhead said, Moe put a quick stop to). I'd rather hear Larry finish the song in this short though, than to hear Muriel Landers in ther Besser short, "Sweet and Hot" singing and dancing to a jazzier version of the whole song.
The whole thing about Curly going crazy upon hearing the tune was great, and even though it was better done than with Curly-Joe DeRita in "TTS Go Around the World in a Daze", I liked seeing it in that film too. It helped the boys and Phinneas Fogg at points all through the film, and helped make the film one of the best of the DeRita era. Interesting that Larry played a clarinet (or something similar) all though that one. I wonder if he was really playing it, because no Stooge book I ever read said one way or the other (or I just forgot).
Btw- the footage of the kid throwing the candy at the bell and of the timekeeper was replayed in the "Daze" match as well.
But back to "Punch Drunks", There's lots of good stuff here. Curly's boss was very Moe-like! I love it when Curly punches his boss up to the ceiling fan and turns it on before he leaves! If I remember correctly, there was even a sound effect as the scene faded out, of the motion of the fan throwing his boss off, and him landing with a thud!
The outdoor scene and arena scenes were great as well. That was some foxy babe that the Stooges were fawning over! And of course the ending shot was classic-- Curly woo-wooing like a madman as he walked toward the camera!