My Wife and I Played a Game of Screen Drafts to Determine the Best 3 Stooges Theatrical Film

In the past, I have played or hosted games of The Incinerator Podcast; most of those are listed somewhere on this blog. I was not able to do a write up on the Nicolas Cage game a friend and I played. I was deep into my podcast at the time and I lost my notes. But for anyone curious the top three of that game were: 3) Color Outside Space 2) Mandy and 1) Joe.

But my wife and I wanted to play a game of Screen Drafts for a change. 

A normal episode of the Screen Drafts is played with two people. It is a 7 film draft. Each Player gets a veto. And order is determined by trivia (related to the topic of film being discussed, a recent pod episode was on Tobe Hopper). The winner of trivia can chose if they want more picks (7,6,4 and 2) or the number one pick (5, 3, and 1). The films being chosen are usually theatrical films but if both parties agree, a rule called "the mooch rule" can allow for television films to be played. Screen Drafts also has mega episodes and mini mega where far more than seven picks are drafted. and more than two people play 

The original plan was to do a mega with multiple players for 2000's horror because my wife and I know a bit about that as do our friends. But scheduling was tough and by the time we had a crew, there was not enough time to prep for the game. Early October, I bought six Three Stooges with Joe DeRita films at a Vudu sale. I like the Stooges but had only seen Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze and the sale was so good, I thought let's binge the films. I always found it interesting that the stooges had renewed popularity thanks to reruns of their shorts on television and that this led to films that young people went to see.

I found out about an unsold pilot called Kook's Tour (1970); the pilot marked the last time Moe, Larry and Curly Joe worked together. With seven films at my disposal (and honestly all of these films are on YouTube), I asked the biggest favor of my wife V, a woman who has maybe seen a few shorts but didn't know Curly Joe from Joe Besser; she agreed to a Screen Drafts Three Stooges game, and this was even after I added 1951's Gold Raiders (with Shemp) just so we'd have eight films and a bit of drama as one of the films would not make it. 

There was talk of adding the 2012 film. And I would have been happy to watch Stoogemania from 1986, but those two did not happen.

These are the eight films we chose from:  The Gold Raiders (1951), Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959), Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961), Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962), Three Stooges in Orbit (1962), Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963), The Outlaws is Coming (1965) and Kook's Tour (1970)

I will admit to liking to loving four of these films and only actively disliking two. V disliked two and liked three of them quite a bit. 

Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963)

V and I both felt this film to be quite weak. Jay Sheffield as the lead was charming, but the plot that found him taking a bet to go around the world without a penny made little sense. The knife throwing scene went on forever. And the ethnic humor was likely cringey on release.  This was the film that did not make our list.

I won trivia (Thank you Scott for putting the questions together, and to keep it fair these were only questions about comedy films in general), and I chose to have the most picks (7,6,4 and 2). 

7.  Gold Raiders (1951)

This is the only film we watched that featured Shemp. He did not leave much of an impression in this threadbare western about an insurance salesman. Yup, an insurance salesman. The Stooges played second fiddle in this one. And I let it make the list only because I liked the villain. V found the film boring and thought it was much longer than its 58 minute running time.

 

6. Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

Have Rocket, Will Travel was a good size hit so the studio spent four times the budget to make a big spectacle film with the stooges even though the stooges do not even get top billing in the title. Snow White is maybe not the best way to capture the young boys who want to see stooges hit each other. Snow is played by figure skater Carol Heiss. This film has (fast forward ready) songs and runs over 100 minutes. It only made the list because there are a few good jokes in it and it has some creativity. 

5. Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959)

V's first pick was my third favorite film! She did not like non-stooge characters. There was a female scientist who was dispassionate, and the male lead is a psychiatrist who is constantly gaslighting her to fall in love with him. She liked everything else, but that was a bridge too far. I liked all the world building. The boys land on Jupiter where a robot alien has electromagnetic powers and there is a flying unicorn. It is a weird movie but well worth anyone's time.

4. The Outlaws is Coming (1965)

Next, I picked V's second favorite film. It did not start out that way. I first played Kook’s Tour and then had pangs of regret. And I vetoed myself and went after Outlaws.  I did not mind Outlaws is Coming. The film is about conservation. It has a lively Adam West. Nancy Kovack plays a smart, strong Annie Oakley. But it is more a them film than a stooges film. My wife loved the two leads, but since she agreed it was not much of a comedic stooges film, she did not veto it at four.

3. The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962)

 Three Stooges in Orbit was probably my favorite of the films. Emil Sitka is a treasure. And V and I were discussing how the best pie fight is in this one and how there are actually jokes meant for adults in this one. Still there is something touching about the aged Stooges in Kook’s. 

2. Kook's Tour (1970)

I got vetoed. I tried to play Three Stooges Meet Hercules here, and my wife said NO. I talked myself into going all in on Kook’s but she vetoed.  She did admit to liking the vacuuming scene in Tour. She loved the dog but did not find much to this travelogue that had the now retired stooges fishing in various lakes. Larry Fine had a stroke while making this, and they all look so old. They do not hit each other in this, but I really enjoyed (yes the dog but also) the gentle nature of the special. I could have seen a show like this working in the 1970s, and I would have watched it much later as I was a kid of the 1990's.

1. The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)

I cannot fault this choice. It is in my top three. It is nice to see Hal Smith play a king. Samson Burke plays Hercules as a bad guy, which is original. And Quinn Redeker makes a fine romantic lead. He is an inventor that creates a time machine. Jokes and scenes are lifted from Have Rocket, Will Travel, but they work better here. The creativity of the sets are also top notch.

V and I enjoyed playing this game. There may be more in the future, and I am curious how others would rank these films.