I've been watching the episodes on the new Three Stooges collection, Volume 2 of their Columbia shorts. I've seen a lot of the Three Stooges films, but I've never seen them all, and I've never seen them presented in such a good way -- consecutive, digitally-remastered, all that.Since I've never seen them all, today I saw one I hadn't seen before -- you know, not that I remember. We used to sit around watching them with Grandpa ages ago, but as far as keeping track at the time, I wasn't.
This episode, then, was a fresh one to me, one that ends up with the Three Stooges in President Roosevelt's office!
It was Number 25 on their list of Columbia shorts, called "Cash and Carry." Getting some info here from The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Released Sept. 3, 1937. Getting very specific there. A guy named Al Richardson played FDR, seen only from the back.
This was a cool looking episode coming on. The Stooges are junkmen and they have a shack in the city dump. I love the setting, the scene. Because, to tell you the truth, I'm a sucker for old time city dumps, love them! They arrive at their house and some kid is there, a boy. He figured no one lived there, so he's going to live there. Jimmy. They nearly throw him out, but they're softhearted, especially when they see he has a brace on his leg.
Then they're out at their heap of cans and they find some money in a can. It turns out this was put there for safe keeping by their mother, who is trying to save money to get Jimmy an operation. It's $62 and they need $500. The Stooges take the money to the bank, but they're swindled out of it by some con men, who give them a worthless treasure map relating to an old house, supposedly where Captain Kidd put his treasure.
They're digging for the treasure and, as luck has it, the U.S. Treasury has an office right next door, vaults. A little more effort and they're in one of the vaults, with all the gold and money sacks. But they get caught and are charged.
This leads us to FDR's office, in which they tell him the whole story, who sees to it that Jimmy gets his operation and the Stooges receive clemency, they salute the president, and that's it.
When I saw the boy with the leg brace, I thought, "ohhh no," I don't want any "touching" Three Stooges episodes. I want nyuks, slaps, shovels to the face, all that, no do-gooding. So, leaving all that out of my consideration, the episode doesn't focus too much on Jimmy. The Stooges are as hilarious as ever when they're digging, when they're in the mansion.
The part with FDR was a complete surprise to me, but a nice surprise.
