Three Little Pigskins [VHS]
"Three Little Pigskins" (1934, short number 4 in the Columbia series) is notable for the presence of (1) a very blond Lucille Ball, who (it is said) left her own studio because she wanted to advance her career by appearing with Curley (as it was spelled then), Larry, and Moe, and of (2) Walter Long, the bad guy who threatens Laurel & Hardy inSaps at Sea. The sight of the boys begging for dimes on the streets might be timely but it is hard to laugh at it. Sending Curley down in a dumbwaiter is used here for the first of many times in the series."Dizzy Detectives" (1943, number 68) has them first as totally inept carpenters and suddenly as equally useless policemen in search of an ape-like burglar that turns out to be a real gorilla. The only really new aspects in this short are Curly's trying to act grown up and unafraid and his sudden courage in the face of danger. Otherwise it is business as usual as they run from room to room to escape the beast."Sock-a-Bye Baby" (1942, number 66) has a premise that had been and would be used by many other comedians, notably Jerry Lewis inRock-a-Bye Baby: the introduction of an infant into the household. While we might spend a good deal of the film fearing for the child's health and safety at the hands of the Stooges, the infant (Baby Joyce Gardner) manages to upstage the stars at every close-up. The police chasing them in the final sequence is well handled, with Dudley Dickerson wasted in an all-too-brief appearance. There are anti-Nazi and -Japanese references, and one praising by inference airplane workers, all of which easily date this film.--Frank Behrens