Punch Drunks (1934)
9/10
'Pop" Goes Curly!
4 December 2006
This very early Three Stooges effort starts off differently than almost all their others in that the three don't know each other. Moe is a fight manager looking for boxer; Curly is a waiter and Larry a violinist. They all meet at this restaurant and when Larry starts playing "Pop Goes The Weasel," Curly goes nuts and punches everyone's lights out. Moe hires the two so he can get back into the fight game.

One day during some roadside training, they meet up with a pretty dame whose car is stuck in the mud. By playing the "Weasel" song, Curly lifts the car and solves the problem. She drives off as he jumps in the back seat!

The next scenes show newspaper headlines as "K.O. Stradivarius" (our hero Curly) beats all opponents and is now scheduled to fight for the championship.

The last bout is something to see: probably the goofiest fight scenes I've ever seen on film, which includes the great silent comics. Larry Howard ("Curly") was an underrated comic genius and shows it here early on in his career. It's the subtle things he does in this fight that had me laughing out loud.
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