The Three Stooges [2 Discs]

Editorial Reviews

Although Abbott & Costello are much loved by children, Jack and the Beanstalk is one of the few films they made that was specifically geared toward that audience. (It is also one of only two color films the comedy team made.) Those adults who are diehard fans of the duo will certainly enjoy Jack, but they may be a little disappointed, as the film keeps the two separated for great lengths of time and doesn't allow for as many opportunities for the discombobulated dialogue routines (a la "Who's On First") that are their strengths. While slapstick is always a part of a "Bud and Lou" flick, there's much more of it in Jack than is usual. There's also a great deal more music than one might expect, and it must be admitted that most of the tunes are rather more perfunctory than inspired. However, the fairytale framework does give Jack a more cohesive feeling than many of the team's outings, and there are a great many memorable moments, including an amusing exploding egg sequence and a very funny dance sequence between little Costello and the Amazonian Dorothy Ford. Although Abbott & Costello, as previously noted, are not allowed to engage in their usual repartee, they are otherwise much the same as usual, which will delight some and annoy others -- although the children at whom the film is aimed will undoubtedly fall into the former category. Shaye Cogan and James Alexander sing well but are otherwise quite dull, and the supporting cast in general is adequate rather but little more. But one doesn't watch an Abbott and Costello film for the supporting cast. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi One of W.C. Fields' funniest short works, The Dentist delivers sly, antisocial laughs that are just as funny generations later as when they were first filmed. The picture was considered risque at the time and still raises eyebrows, especially during an infamous bit with Elise Cavanna. The patient straddles the dentist and hangs from his torso as the drill bores deep into her molar, a hilarious and sinister scene rife with barely disguised sexual innuendos. The Dentist is full of wickedly bawdy humor like this, as well as Fields pouring out both physical and verbal abuse at the entire cast. Modern viewers who know W.C. Fields as little more than a familiar cultural archetype will be shocked by the magnitude of political incorrectness that the man was capable of, but what's more appealing is his razor-sharp timing and a riotous sense of the surreal. The Dentist is a thinking man's slapstick which celebrates rebellious spirit and a man's God-given right to bulldoze his way through life. Though he never takes a single drink onscreen, it's one of the purest distillations of Fields' distinctive comedy. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi A send-up of temperence dramas -- a genre for which you know W. C. Fields felt not an ounce of sympathy -- and Northern adventure stories, this W. C. Fields short is one of the stranger, more surreal movies in the comic legend's output (and that's going some, to which anyone familiar with Never Give A Sucker An Even Break can attest). Practically every shot and line is a comedic barb, aimed at the melodramatic sensibilities of the audiences of the time -- and the presence of gawky George Chandler as the wastrel son only adds to the level of absurdity being bounced around the tiny cabin and the 18-minute confines of this picture. It probably helped in appreciating it for one to have come out of the era in which it was made, but the passage of seven decades has only added to the surreal nature of the comedy, all aimed at puncturing a lot of overblown dramatic and philosophical notions of its era. By its description, it might seem like little more than a comedic sketch with a few extra flourishes, but in many ways -- along with The Dentist -- The Fatal Glass of Beer was Fields at his most "out there" and uninhibited. And he is the dominant personality here, even if Clyde Bruckman -- a veteran gagman who worked for another two decades, recycling a lot of the same jokes and gimmicks -- was the director. Fields was not only the star but -- big surprise -- co-authored the screenplay as well. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi