Stooge O-Rama Blu-ray Review

In the world of comedy there are few more iconic teams that that of Moe, Larry and Curly otherwise known as The Three Stooges. Later Curly would be replaced by his brother Shemp and than he replaced by Joe Besser and Curly Joe DeRita. But no matter how the third stooge chanced one thing remained the same and that was the fun.

Now as we are coming upon the 90th anniversary of the boy original first short films Women Haters, Cinemuseum LLC, Kit Parker Films and MVD Visual are releasing a 3 Disc Blu-ray set of stooge fun with Stooge-O-Rama. Let's take a look at what is included in this epic set.

The main feature of this set is the 1994 documentary movie The Three Stooges: The Men Behind the Mayhem. This film that runs just over an hour and tracks the lives and careers of The Three Stooges.

This documentary is probably the best I have seen of The 3 Stooges. It was written and directed by Paul E. Gierucki and in this we see archival footage of our favorite stooges as well as interviews with Lyla Budnick (Larry Fine's Sister), Janie Howard Hanky (Curly's Daughter), Julie Gibson (Bowery Buckaroos), Janie Howard Hanky, Paul 'Mousie' Garner (at the time, the last surviving member of Ted Healy's Stooges), Adam West (TV's Batman) and Billy West (Ren and Stimpy, Futurama).

Now this award winning documentary had been digitally remastered and presented in HD. In addition to a tremendous looking version of this film, we get a new introduction by Curly Howard’s real-life grandson, Bradley Server. 

The award winning documentary is a tremendous one and it looks spectacular in HD. I have seen this documantery before but it looks crisp and clean on Blu-ray! Now for me to have this documentary in my collection would be enough, but MVD Visual, Kit Parker Films and Cinemuseum LLC went big with this Blu-ray release. This Blu-ray set is filled with all kinds of amazing bonus features. Take a look at all the goodies included in this Stooge-O-Rama. 

Disc 1

EXTENDED INTERVIEWS:

* Lyla Fine Budnick – Larry Fine’s sister

* Nate Budnick –Stooges stage show sound man

* Billy West – Voice actor (REN & STIMPY, DOUG, FUTURAMA, DISENCHANTMENT)

* Lola Jensen – Actress (FLAT FOOT STOOGES & YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA)

* UNAIRED COMMERCIAL BUMPS (1992) – Never before seen unused commercial bumps for the first TV airing of STOOGES: THE MEN BEHIND THE MAYHEM

PHOTO GALLERIES:

* Lyla Fine personal Scrapbook – Gallery of rare family photographs

* Stooge Memorabilia – Gallery of rare Three Stooges collectibles and memorabilia

Disc 2

* STOOGES LOST AND FOUND

* Fox Movietone News – Sound newsreel outtakes featuring Moe & Shemp Howard (Aug 6, 1929)

* Stooge Home Movies – Ultra rare B&W / color snippets of the Stooges at work and play (1920s – 1960s)

* Everybody Likes Music (March 9, 1934) Long unavailable Shemp Howard Van Beuren short

* Surprise, Surprise (October 31, 1937) Lost theatrical featurette, with Moe, Larry & Curly, promoting their Pillsbury Projector toy giveaway.

* Ed Wynn Camel Comedy Caravan – Complete TV Kinescope (March 11, 1950)

* Andy Wade’s California Home Movies (July 1956) Extraordinary home movie reel featuring color footage of Moe, Larry, Joe Besser & Emil Sitka clowning at Columbia Pictures, the last known footage Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, and more!

* On The Go (April 15, 1960) The complete TV interview with Moe, Larry & Curly Joe DeRita

* Strictly For Laffs (July 1, 1962) – Complete TV Pilot featuring Moe Howard.

* Star Spangled Salesman (Feb 9, 1968) Government PSA for Savings Bonds

* Kook’s Tour Outtakes (Dec 7, 1969) Unseen color outtakes from their final film!

* Joe DeRita Interview (1976) Sound home movie footage with historian Randy Skretvedt

* The Funniest Guys in The World – Documentary Outtake Reel (1983) Director Mark Gilman’s interview outtakes and workprint featuring Ted Healy’s replacement stooges Paul “Mousie” Garner, Jack Wolf & Dick Hakins, Stooges co-star Emil Sitka, director Jules White, director Edward Bernds, writer Elwood Ullman, actors Paul Winchell, Frank Mitchell, Jock Mahoney, Julie Gibson and more!

 * Mousie Garner - Mousie performs his stage act live at the Three Stooges Convention in Trevose, PA (1994)

Disc 3

Commercials featuring The Stooges:

* Instant Simonize (March 15, 1960)

* Don Lamond spot – KTTV TV-11 Los Angeles (1961)

* Mr. Poplolly – Cartoonerville Trolley promo – WJZ TV-13 Baltimore (circa 1961)

* Dickie’s Work Clothes (March 31, 1969) 60 second spot

* Dickie’s Work Clothes (March 31, 1969) 30 second spot

* Stroke of Luck Book (Nov 1, 1973) 60 second commercial featuring Larry Fine

* Three Stooges Tee-Shirt (June 1, 1974) surviving fragment – featuring Larry Fine

Movie Trailers and Coming Attractions

* Turn Back the Clock (Aug 25, 1933)

* Dancing Lady (Nov 24, 1933)

* Hollywood Party (May 24, 1934)

* Time Out for Rhythm (June 5, 1941)

* Gold Raiders (Sept 14, 1951)

* The Three Stooges Laff-A-Rama (1950s)

* Have Rocket, Will Travel (Aug 1, 1959)

* Three Stooges Fun-O-Rama (Sep 1, 1959)

* Stop! Look! And Laugh! (July 27, 1960)

* Snow White and The Three Stooges 1 – B&W (June 12, 1961)

* Snow White and The Three Stooges 2 – Color (June 12, 1961)

* The Three Stooges Meet Hercules 1 (Jan 26, 1962)

* The Three Stooges Meet Hercules 2 (Jan 26, 1962)

* The Three Stooges in Orbit (July 4, 1962)

* The Three Stooges Go Around the World in A Daze (August 21, 1963)

* 4 for Texas (Dec 25, 1963) – Color, Widescreen

* The Outlaws Is Coming (Jan 14, 1965)

* The Outlaws Is Coming radio trailer (Jan 14, 1965)

Archival Audio:

* Fiddler’s Three – Ultra rare recording of Moe, Larry & Shemp’s song rehearsal, from Moe Howard’s personal 78RPM (1948)

* WBAL-AM Baltimore – Brent Gunts interviews Moe, Larry, and Shemp (April 6, 1950)

* WERS-FM Boston, Audio 66 – Ron Barry, aka Ron Klugman, interviews Moe Howard (Nov 30, 1964)

* HEADSHOP – KBSC-TV 52, Los Angeles, Moe Howard with Elliot Mintz – audio excerpts of lost video interview (Jan 27, 1972)

* WOHO-AM Toledo – Ken R. Deutsch with Moe Howard (November 1972)

* WVSC Radio – Moe Howard at Salem College in Salem, West Virginia (March 2, 1973)

* Larry Fine interview at Illinois State University, Bloomington, Illinois (circa 1973-74)

* Larry Fine Q&A with Jeff and Greg Lenburg at Loara High School. Anaheim, CA (March 2, 1974)

* Moe Howard at State University of New York, Buffalo (September 24, 1974)

* WFAA-AM Dallas – Ed Busch with Moe Howard & Larry Fine (May 1975 replay of Sept 27, 1974 broadcast)

* Rich Gallo calls Stooge’s director Ed Bernds (circa 1985)

* Rich Gallo calls Joe Besser (1987)

* Rich Gallo Visits Actor Emil Sitka (April 1987 – August 1988) Rare audio and video footage

* Chris Seguin interviews Moe’s daughter Joan Howard Maurer (May 26, 2009) – Surviving excerpts

New Material 

* No Census, No Feeling – Modern short subject featuring comedians Shwartzy and Pagana, and Curly G

* Curly G Meets Shemp’s great granddaughter Chandler Isaac


So as you can see above there is so much bonuses included in this Blu-ray set it would take hours of binging to get through all of the material. There is over 10 hours of video and audio files in this 3 disc Blu-ray set. Included are rare programs and some that have never seen a physical media released. 

I am so glad to put this Blu-ray set right along side the complete Three Stooges shorts set, The Big Box of Nyuks, and the Three Stooges movies right here at Classic Cinema + studios. It is that good!

So if you are as much of a Three Stooges fan as I am, this new Blu-ray set Stooge-O-Rama is an absolute must add to your collection. It is also available on DVD if you prefer. Head over to Amazon and order your copy. You're gonna love this set.


Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) The Blu-ray of Stooge-O-Rama receives...