Snow White and the Three Stooges

Plot synopsis:
Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Fortunia, a noble king and his lovely young queen lack but one blessing to make their joy complete. The queen gives birth to a daughter named Snow White, but dies soon after. The king mourns her, but in time, he remarries because of the pleading of his people. His new Queen is a beautiful, but evil woman who soon becomes jealous of Snow White's beauty.
On her 17th birthday, Snow White's father dies and the wicked queen immediately imprisons her. Eventually, the queen's jealousy of her stepdaughter becomes so great that she orders her killed. Snow White escapes her hired assassin and finds refuge in the empty cottage of the seven dwarfs, soon to be joined by the Three Stooges, who are traveling to the castle with their ward Quatro. But the boy they have raised since childhood (also narrowly escaping an assassination attempt by the queen) is in reality Prince Charming, who though he has lost his memory, is betrothed to Snow White.
Snow White and the Prince fall in love, but the queen has him kidnapped when she suspects his true identity. The Stooges, disguised as cooks, attempt to rescue him, but he falls from a staircase in the palace and is presumed dead. Meanwhile, the queen learns from her magic mirror that Snow White is still alive. With the help of her magician, Count Oga, she transforms herself into a witch and succeeds in getting Snow White to take a bite from a poisoned apple.
As she rides back to the palace, she encounters the Stooges, and thanks to an inadvertent wish they make on a magic sword (stolen from Count Oga), she crashes her broom into a mountainside and falls to her death. The Stooges then find the poisoned Snow White, but they do not bury her. Instead, they place her on a bed, and pray to her each day.
Meanwhile, the Prince (Quatro) has not died from his fall. Instead, he is saved by a group of men who want to revolt against the Evil Queen's rule over Fortunia. As the prince recovers, he realizes that his memory has returned, and so he knows that he is indeed a Prince, and that Snow White is the princess he was destined to marry.
After leading a successful revolt which places him on the throne of Fortunia, the prince sends out searchers to find Snow White and the Stooges, unaware that, thanks to yet another inadvertent wish on Count Oga's sword, they are no longer in the country of Fortunia. All searches are fruitless, and Prince Charming is close to giving up hope when he learns of the Evil Queen's magic mirror. The mirror responds truthfully to the desperate Prince's pleas, and the Prince sets off on his journey. He arrives at the Stooges' cabin just in time to dispel the effects of the poisoned apple. Snow White and Prince Charming are married and live happily ever after.

Tags: action

Review:
The sets and opulent costumes boost this film considerably, as do the presence of the very dark, traditional elements of European folklore, and I think this movie would have been a GREAT fantasy film if there had been seven dwarfs in it!
I would agree that Carol Heiss is not a very good actress, but the character of Snow White does not call for the use of great thespian skills.
''Snow White And The Three Stooges'' was the most lavish film the famous comedy team was ever associated with.
However, when production got underway in late 1960, he had been replaced by famed director Walter Lang, known for the many musicals he made during ''Hollywood's ''Golden Age''.In fact, ''Snow White'' was his last film.
In fact, ''Snow White'' was always intended as a vehicle for her skating talents, with the Stooges aboard merely as support.
Edson Stroll, a virtual unknown, played Prince Charming, while British character player Guy Rolfe (beating out Martin Landau) was the evil Count Oga, henchman to the Queen.Also present were Blossom Rock, sister of Jeanette MacDonald, who would gain fame later as ''Grandmama'' on the ''Addams Family'' TV series, as the Prince's onetime Nurse, and Herbie Faye as the Head Cook.And look for veteran ''codger'' Burt Mustin (''Detective Story'') cast as a disgruntled spectator in the ''Medicine Show'' sequence.
The plot is basically the same as the Grimm fairy tale, with the skating sequences added to showcase Carol Heiss' talents on ice.
It is, however, a wonderful fantasy with fine performances by Carol Heiss, who made a lovely Snow White in what was both her film debut and her swan song, the beautiful Patricia Medina (as the Wicked Queen) who conveyed the evil in her character without overdoing it, Guy Rolfe, as sinister a villain as one could wish for, and Edson Stroll, a ''charming'' Prince of whom little was heard from since, outside of a part in the ''Mchale's Navy'' TV series.
Although the film was also criticized for toning down the Stooges antics, there is, after all, little room for all-out slapstick in a fantasy of this kind without destroying the mood.
But though it's better appreciated by fans of fantasy than Stoogephiles, the film is successful as a lavish and satisfying adaptation of a classic fairy tale, and no apologies need be made for it..
As I lover of the Stooges, ice skating, romance and fairy tales, I was so thrilled with this movie that I plan to purchase it.
While the amazing costumes and scenery and unique twists on the Snow White story would have been enough to entertain me, seeing the Stooges acting in tender roles make them all the more lovable.The ice skating scene as Snow White lies crying in the snow is absolutely the most visually stunning effect I've ever seen in a movie.The only drawback to this film is that the Moe/Larry/Curly Joe combo never has the same magic for Stooge fans as the Moe/Larry/Curly or Moe/Larry/Shemp lineup.Everyone in my family, even the 9 month old baby, enjoyed this movie tremendously..
Carol Heiss and Patricia Medina are excellent as Snow White and the Queen/Witch.
This movie has been slammed by disappointed fans of the 3 Stooges for good reason!
It put Carol Heiss in the limelight, focusing more on her incredible skills as a champion ice skater and a little less on her not-so-incredible skills as an actress.This movie was standard matinée material in 1962.
(Lou Archer played "Good Time Charlie" in the 1935 Stooge short, UNCIVAL WARRIORS.) The movie showed promise in the beginning.
An introduction with the story book, its pages turning with the Stooges showing up in the wrong time, much to the irritation of the narrator, leads the viewer to believe that this is the makings of a "fractured fairy tale".
In spite of all this, I must give this movie a High Six after all, this film was intended to entertain a younger audience, which it did!The movie trailer for this movie (an added feature on the DVD) accurately described the movie with promises of lots of ice skating, swashbuckling sword fights, love & romance, and (of course) the 3 Stooges..
The sets and costumes exactly what a fairy tale calls for.Don't listen to those people who only wanted the usual Stooges black and white short type of film.
Anyone who loves fairy tale fantasy films will find a lot to like in this production..
That title threatens, at all times, to put this film in the same category as "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" or "King Kong vs Godzilla", so disparate are the names Snow White and The Three Stooges.
Though nothing as memorable as the musical score from Walt Disney's animated Snow White comes out of this film, this children's story has one thing the other doesn't have.
Well three things actually.Instead of seven dwarfs to serve her exiled majesty in the forest, Snow White has Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe at her beck and call.
Snow White And The Three Stooges was a film especially designed to make Olympic ice skating star Carol Heiss, the Sonia Henie for a new generation.
I well remember in the late Fifties when WPIX started running those old Stooge shorts from Columbia there were many complaints about how violent they were, that little kids were imitating Moe doing all kinds of nasty things to their littler brothers and sisters.
As for Carol Heiss as Snow White, she was a great figure skater and might have in a few more films become competent as an actress as Sonia Henie did.
But she preferred the ice to the soundstage and probably was happier for it.Snow White And The Three Stooges is a nice charming filmed fairy tale and it's for Stooge fans of all ages..
20th Century Fox's colorful live-action version of the oft-retold fairy tale is a lavishly-produced fantasy extravaganza featuring the Three Stooges as the star comics.
Cast as Snow White is charming Olympic Champion ice skater Carol Heiss who dances two ice ballets.
The film is a worthy variant of the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm and need not suffer direct comparison with the Disney version, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).Fans of the Three Stooges have long expressed hatred and contempt for this film, which is not neither a slapstick comedy nor a true Stooges vehicle.
Lavish if overlong version of the popular fairy-tale (most famously incarnated on screen via the 1937 Walt Disney animated milestone) which incorporates a skating star (whose numbers go on forever), the comic trio's brand of violent slapstick (replacing the Seven Dwarfs  though they feel constrained by the material, much like the Laurel & Hardy of THE BOHEMIAN GIRL [1936] and SWISS MISS [1938]) and saccharine songs; the familiar plot is further enlivened by an amiable ventriloquist act and numerous swashbuckling routines.
It's colorful and pleasant  certainly more enjoyable than I had anticipated, and wholly undeserving of Leonard Maltin's unflattering BOMB rating  emerging, all in all, to be perfect unassuming entertainment for the festive season.Guy Rolfe and Patricia Medina convey appropriate comic-book villainy in their respective roles (each receive their just desserts in memorable fashion  but while his is particularly gruesome, hers is done in a rather clever way); burly Buddy Baer is their evil henchman who subsequently has a change of heart.
Incidentally, this was the first of five belated feature films starring The Three Stooges  the others being the equally improbable THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962), THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT (1962), THE THREE STOOGES GO AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE (1963) and THE OUTLAWS IS COMING (1965).Frank Tashlin is said to have contributed to the film under review but, at any rate, the producers involved did have their hearts in the right place by employing director Lang (whose last effort this proved be)  having been responsible for the splendid Shirley Temple fantasy vehicle THE BLUE BIRD (1940)  and screenwriter Noel Langley  who had co-scripted the classic MGM version of THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).
By the way, this viewing of SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES came in anticipation of my acquiring a 2-Disc collection of the comic trio's vintage shorts....
Snow White and the Three Stooges is a very good film that has a good cast which includes Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Joe DeRita, Carol Heiss, Edson Stroll, Patricia Medina, Guy Rolfe, Michael David, Buddy Baer, Edgar Barrier, Peter Coe, Marie Blake, Mark Bailey, Bill Blackburn, and Mel Blanc!
Poor skater Carol Heiss looks positively in pain as Snow White, which may provide some unintentional comic relief from the sub-Disney nonsense on hand.
I have a VHS tape of this movie and the reason I recorded it was because of the beautiful ice skating of Carol Heiss.
I am a Three Stooges fan, to this day, but we all know from the other reviews that this movie wasn't about the Stooges and their kind of slapstick comedy, but a fantasy, fairy tale with ice skating.
I saw this movie when I was a young, impressionable 11 year old girl and I think that after I had seen it, I only wanted to ice skate.
I suppose The Three Stooges were getting a little fatigued by the time they did their work in SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES because they're less exuberant than usual, in fact you might even say their slapstick is much more restrained.
But this is good because Fox never intended this to be a showcase for them--rather, it introduces Olympic Skating Champion Carol Heiss and features Edson Stroll doing a nice job as Prince Charming.Walter Lang did the directing and he's given an A budget on which a lot was obviously spent on costumes and settings, so from a strictly pictorial viewpoint the film is pleasant to look at in stunning technicolor.
Gorgeous PATRICIA MEDINA has fun with her role as the wicked Queen who disguises herself as an old hag.Just to make sure Miss Heiss' ice-skating is not totally ignored, they've given her two big production numbers and both of them are skillfully filmed and performed in winter wonderland type of settings.Fans of The Stooges may be disappointed, but actually this is not a bad re-telling of the fantasy using a totally different approach.
I am a big Three Stooges fans, been watching them ever since I was a little kid, and I loved each and every short they did.
This movie is a terrible adaptation of the Snow White stories and the Stooges don't help any.
Another problem was the casting of Olympic ice skater Carol Heiss in the role of Snow White.
They are a pale shadow of their real selves.In the meantime, we get to watch a very lavish fairy tale with mammoth sets, script by the guy who wrote the WIZARD OF OZ film, and direction by one of Hollywood's prime musical directors.
I thought this is going to the stupidest movie ever and ruin the Snow White story.
I thought this is going to the stupidest movie ever and ruin the Snow White story.
As a huge stooge fan, it was a heartwrenching film to watch.
DO NOT waste your time by seeing this movie, but PLEASE....do not make the mistake of basing any opinions of the stooges solely on this film.
If you enjoy the Three Stooges then don't watch this film.Snow White and the Three Stooges was the most expensive and the least funny of all of the Three Stooges films or shorts.
All that being said, I'm speaking as someone who loves the Three Stooges--mostly from their prime years at Columbia Pictures making the short subjects from 1934 to about 1952 with Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp.There were a few good films made after 1953, but they were few and far between.
At any rate, I don't think the entire problem with the stooges during the late 1950s and into the 1960s was necessarily Derita, but more of a symptom of how the stooges were being perceived at this time--somehow, someone got the idea that the Stooges were merely "Children's Entertainers".Add to that, the fact that a lot of Parental Rights Groups were bitching and moaning about the violence in the old stooge shorts & subsequently you had to tone down the slapstick during the Derita era.Which leads us to the turkey that is "Snow White".
That's because much of it is really an ice skating movie featuring Olympic champion Carol Heiss (or whatever the spelling is) AND it has the most unfunny of all "stooges"--Joe DeRita.
I loved all the fairy tale trappings, the singing, the skating (only Olympic gold medal winner Carol Heiss does her own thing on the ice, the others are pros taking place of the other players), and, of course, the Stooges' antics getting balanced with their more dramatic lines and scenes.
So on that note, I recommend Snow White and the Three Stooges to anyone who doesn't mind the boys being a bit subdued in their fairy tale trappings..
In doing research for a project on Snow White, I watched it again a couple of times, and the movie is actually a pretty good version of the story.
I like the added dimension of the Prince's back story, the Stooges, while not playing their usual characters, are integrated nicely into the story, and even though Carol Heiss can't act or sing, she is a lovely dancer and skater.
Patrica Medina is superb as the witch and it's a pretty enjoyable film.While you're at it, watch the Fairie Tale Theater version.
Yes as The Renowned Movie Critic,Leornard Maltin from Entertainment Tonight Fame had put it very well in his TV,Movie,and Video Guide even kids will find this film to be Stodgie.It has no plot to speak of it may have a few funny moments like when Curley Joe makes his 3 wishes on the magic sword to not give too much away but the stupidest aspects as we may all agree are the ice skating scenes.Perhaps because sometimes compared to others a remade variation of a Fairy Tale just can't be spread over a 2-hour block.Coitainly,Stephen "Steve" G.
The acting in the movie is horrible, the stooges are not at their comic best either.
From 20th Century Fox comes a highly expensive motion picture musical extravaganza that turned out to be a major disappointment: "Snow White and the Three Stooges".
It seems that the primary aim of "Snow White and the Three Stooges" was to capitalize on the ice skating prowess of Carol Heiss, who fits the role of Snow White even though she is not known to be an experienced actress.
Personally, although I am indeed a Stooge fan, I believe this film is quite charming and not as bad as others say.My favorite sequences from "Snow White and the Three Stooges" include the following (DON'T read any further if you have not yet seen this movie).
When the Stooges and their adopted son Quatro (Edson Stroll) stage a performance for Snow White, Quatro's ventriloquist dummy Quinto (voiced by the great Mel Blanc) sings the beautiful tune "Because I'm in Love", accompanied by Larry on violin, Moe on flute, and Curly Joe on concertina.
i'm not into the whole 'Sonja Henie' ice skating movie genre, but i thought Olympic skater Carol Heiss was graceful and a real treat to watch.i'm not sure this movie deserved the 1961 WGA award for best musical, but it is a lot better than most of it's scornful critics would have you believe.it also helps to like the Stoogies.
Quatro is kidnapped, and it's up to the Three Stooges to save the day and bring Snow White and the Prince back together.This film has been unfairly panned by critics over the years, which is a shame.
True, the Stooges' trademark comedy is played down in this film.
However, they do manage to sneak in a few funny moments (they ARE the Stooges, after all), and they prove themselves to be fine dramatic actors as well, such as when they find Snow White poisoned by the Queen.
What makes this SNOW WHITE unique is that Snow White is played by Olympic ice skater Carol Heiss, whose skills are put on display in several lovely fantasy sequences.
Snow White + The Three Stooges= Vintage Magic!!!.
Snow White and the Three Stooges is a conflicted little film.
It's a fairy tale, a capitalization on Carol Heiss's (then) new-found fame as an Olympic figure skating champion and a Three Stooges vehicle, all at once.
The plot devotes much of it's time in telling the Snow White story rather than focusing on the slapstick comedy of Larry, Curly and Moe, and herein is where a lot of disappointment lay, during it's theatrical run, for those who were eager to see a Three Stooges film in color for the first time.
For those who aren't well versed in Stooges entertainment, or are willing to overlook the lack of traditional Stooges comedy, I suspect this won't cloud your judgement of this delightful film.Now onto the rest of the cast: Carol Heiss is Snow White, Patricia Medina is the Wicked Queen, Guy Rolfe is Count Oga and Edson Stroll is Prince Charming.
Heiss wasn't an actress and one can see that here in her performance as Snow White, but she suffices, and Stroll makes for a dashing, if not particularly noteworthy, prince.The production design is lavish, colorful and truly befit for a fairy tale.
But I suspect some viewers, if not most, would find them tedious to sit through as they slow the story down somewhat.Snow White and the Three Stooges has become something of a "forgotten" film.
this movie is not for Stooge fans.
Fans of fairy tale movies and junk like that may find this movie to be a delightful version of the tale of Snow White, Stooge fans will cringe at the sappiness and cutesiness of said film.