Did you watch the Three Stooges when you were a kid? Do you remember a very funny short? I sometimes watched. I thought

[debm55]

Curly going up the height of steps with a large chunk of ice and reaching the top was funny. Didn't like the hitting. How about you?

[MichMan]

1. Disorder in the Court

When they try and swear in Curly for the witness stand. "Take off your hat. Put your left hand here , raise your right hand. Take off your hat!"

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[debm55]

11. Thank you, MichMan.

[Sneederbunk]

49. Who added hair to Curly Joe?

[debm55]

53. HaHAHAHAHAHAHh. I didn't notice that before. Thank you Sneederbunk.

[rsdsharp]

54. Joe "Curly Joe" DeRita didn't join the Stooges until 1958.

This film featured Jerome “Curly” Howard, who died in 1952.

[EYESORE 9001]

2. I found this one hilarious as a preteen

[debm55]

12. HAHAHAHA. Thank you EYESORE 9001

[pdxflyboy]

3. A Plumbing We Will Go!

n/t

[debm55]

14. Thank you pdxflyboy.

[3catwoman3]

4. No. I found them repulsively inane even as a little girl...

...and still do.

[debm55]

15. I didn't like the hitting, Thank you 3catwoman3

[buzzycrumbhunger]

39. Me too!

The abuse mortified me. I think it's because my parents NEVER spanked or raised voices.

What was that bullying supposed to teach kids--or people in general? 😧

[debm55]

40. My family was extremely abusive to me. Physically,Emotionally and sexually . I understand if people liked them.and

watched them . but for me, I might have seen maybe 3 episodes and called it a day.

[MichMan]

47. Watched it a lot growing up

Yet we knew that it was comedy and never tried to throw bricks at each other.

[AllaN01Bear]

5. i still watch the stooges .

nyuk nyuk. slowly i turned , step by step. and yes i thought they were funny.

[debm55]

16. nyuk nyuk, nyuk to you Bear.

[GreenWave]

6. I usually watched You Bet Your Life.

[debm55]

17. Thank you GreenWave for sharing.

[MiHale]

7. Yes, I did...but we had to sneak watching...

My Mom hated the Stooges.

[debm55]

18. HAHAHAHAH. Thank you MiHale. I wonder why?

[CurtEastPoint]

8. LOVE them! "Maha?" "Aha!"

?si=3MwiWA2PY0M1mbty

[debm55]

20. Thank you CurtEastPoint. It sounds how my grandparents talked.

[CurtEastPoint]

42. They were creative with their language as well as with slaps!

[debm55]

43. Thanks.

[pandr32]

9. My brother loved it, but not me.

I thought they were not-funny and abusive.
There certainly is a lot worse now.

[debm55]

21. Thank you pandr32. I only watched the one short.and 2 episodes I thought they were abusive too. Is that slapstick?

Last edited Sun Nov 30, 2025, 12:21 PM - Edit history (1)

[pandr32]

27. I guess it is on the slapstick spectrum.

The punches, pokes, slaps, and shoves were all deliberate, though, and not accidental (like hitting people with the ends of the ladder, or a board when you turn).

[debm55]

55. Thank you. pandr32.

[Mike Nelson]

10. Watching them as an adult...

... plus Shemp, Laurel & Hardy... I'm surprised at how violent they are. Laurel and Hardy did a piano like the ice block you mentioned. They would be dead after almost every segment. The Stooges would be dead, or badly bruised. Both teams are played for a couple hours every Saturday, on ME TV in Los Angeles. The old cartoons were even more violent. It's shocking to me, now.

[debm55]

23. Thank you for sharing , Mike Nelson.

[MichMan]

13. I think if you are a male from a certain age group, it is a requirement

Love the Stooges.

[debm55]

24. Thank you MichMan. I was wondering about that. My male friends and relatives loved them.

[SheltieLover]

19. I watched them, but can't recall any specific episodes

Just a lot of slap stick comedy. Lol

[debm55]

25. Thank you SheltieLover. Yes, I think it was slap stick.

[gab13by13]

22. My cousin and I were just little kids,

My uncle decided to take us to the movies. It was the 3 Stooges who were hunting a bear.

Suffice it to say when the bear was getting the better of the Stooges my cousin and I started screaming, our uncle had to extricate us from the movie theater before it was over.

[debm55]

26. Oh my. thank you very much for sharing that with us. gab13by13.

[Ocelot II]

28. I have to say that I never thought the Three Stooges were all that funny.

Some of the old Laurel and Hardy films absolutely cracked me up, and Abbott and Costello were hilarious (I still laugh at the classic "Who's on first?" bit), but the Stooges just seemed kind of dumb. About all they did was yell and hit each other.

[debm55]

29. Agree. Thank you Ocelot II, But back in the day they were very popular among kids.

[70sEraVet]

30. Same here!

Later in life I realized that the reason I didn't 'get' the Stooges, was because I didn't grow up with brothers. The Stooges were just exaggerating the antics of young boisterous and out-of-control brothers.
Also, my grandparents wouldn't let me watch them -- they were DANGEROUS!

[debm55]

31. Thank you, 70sEraVet. Agree.

[markodochartaigh]

32. I can't remember ever watching an episode all the way through.

There wasn't enough plot to interest me and the hallmark petty violence seemed unrealistic, what idiot would stay around someone who constantly physically attacked them.
I really loved, and still love, the Marx Brothers. Abbot and Costello are good too. As for cartoons, Jonny Quest was my favorite.

[debm55]

35. Thank you for sharing. markodochartaigh

[MuseRider]

33. I watched them with my little brothers.

They rarely made me laugh hard but I would get stuck in their craziness. For some reason the "Slowly I turn, step by step......" used to just crack me up.

[debm55]

36. I did enjoy that joke line. It is classic. Thank you MuseRider for sharing.

[Raastan]

34. "Sing a song if six pants"

Moe making pancakes on the steam press, Shemp laughing while reading comics, broom antics... My favorite!

[debm55]

37. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Raastan.

[Golden Raisin]

38. Even as a kid I didn' t think

they were that funny. Just wildly violent, glorifying bullying and putting the slap in slapstick.

[debm55]

41. Thank you for your opinion ,Golden Raisin. I agree.

[JoseBalow]

44. Niagra Falls! Slowly I turned...

Step by step, inch by inch...

[debm55]

45. HAHAHAHAHahhah. I liked that one. It is a classic. Thank you, JoseBalow.

[Silent Type]

46. A DUer posted an episode called "You Nazty Spy" the other day, that is interesting.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1198&pid=17862

[debm55]

56. Thank you very much, I stay in the Lounge. I will go over to the link and watch. TY. Silent Type.

[MichMan]

48. I wonder if they tried some of those stunts growing up

Moe, Shemp, and Curly were all brothers. Can you imagine their poor mother?

[malthaussen]

50. Anyone who watched Paul Shannon in Pittsburgh in a certain era knew the Stooges...

... since he was instrumental in their renaissance.

I thought the Ice Man short you cite was particularly interesting because my great-uncle was an ice man. He probably humped countless chunks of ice up Pittsburgh's stairs in his time.

-- Mal

[debm55]

51. Thank you malthaussen. I remember Paul Shannon and Adventure Time. Thank you for the memories.

[Walleye]

52. I didn't like it, even even when I was a child, I didn't think getting hit in the head was very very funny

[debm55]

57. Thank you Walleye. for sharing your thoughts.

[LoisB]

58. Only the ones with Curly.

[Jughead]

59. Yoo Hoo Oh Iceman....

?si=D3RlJxsf3UYSb3rX

[Aristus]

60. Never understood what all the shouting (and slapping) was about.

Even as a kid, I thought the act was stupid and pointless. My Dad used to watch the shorts on TV. I asked him why the Stooges were always hitting each other. He said: “It’s called slapstick humor”.

I didn’t see the humor then and don’t now. My Dad was a puns-and-practical-jokes kind of guy. That was his level of humor. This may sound snotty, but I’m more of an aficionado of wit. Oscar Wilde, that sort of thing.

[doc03]

61. Moe was a ---ing bully. I remember the Ice man. There was one when they were in

the army and sank a ship. They had a dog wash business one time.

[ificandream]

62. Oh yes.... he was on from 6-9 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays in Boston when I was a wee lad.

That's when I became a big fan.

As far as my favorite Stooges short, it's this one.

&pp=ygUUbm8gY2Vuc3VzIG5vIGZlZWxpbmc%3D

[ProfessorGAC]

63. Yes I Watched

No the hitting didn't bother me.
Even as a kid, I knew they were faking it.
It was just brain candy.

[LogDog75]

64. The Three Stooges were about slapstick humor

During the 30s and 40s, slapstick humor was popular and the Three Stooges were great at it. With the advent of TV, their movies appealed to teenagers and younger kids. Even today, you can sometimes see comical references to The Three Stooges in movies and on TV.