An Ache in Every Stake (1941) User Reviews

two in one

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 3 February 2020]

Larry, Curly, and Moe are chuckleheads delivering ice and coal. They have difficulty carrying ice up a steep hill. They get into a fight with a chef and end up taking his place in preparing for a high class birthday party.

The change from delivering ice to cooking is rather random. This is basically two different stories. They should split this into two shorts. The first half has the fun carrying ice up that staircase. It could have extended it and made it into something special. The second half's best bit is probably Curly dancing with the spring. That's been done before. The second half is a Stooges standard story.

Curly, The Chef

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 29 June 2021]

"An Ache In Every Stake" was originally released back in 1941.

Anyway - As the story goes - The heat is on for the icemen (the Stooges) as they attempt to fill in for a departed chef whom they have driven to quit just before a fancy birthday party.

Some Classic Gags, With Curly In His Best Form

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 13 October 2008]

There are some classic sight gags in this Three Stooges flick, one of better ones the boys did, even though some of jokes were familiar, like the cooking scenes. Nonetheless, who can forget that long line of stairs up to the house where Curly and his mates try to bring a woman a big block of ice? The ice truck scenes, complete with big blocks and tongs to carry them, are really a look at ancient history, as that was the way people obtained ice for their homes.

Vernon Dent is the main "victim" in this Three Stooges a short. He's a poor guy whose just trying to celebrate his birthday but every time he tries to bring home the birthday cake for himself and party guests, the Stooges give him a face full of it.

The boys wind up catering his party - don't ask how - and we get more memorable scenes, such as Curly's having a sofa spring stuck to the seat of his pants.....and what happens every time he tries to dance, or Curly pretending he's a barber shaving a block of ice - and talking to it! It was funny material decades ago, and it's still funny.

Moe and Larry also contribute in their customary entertaining fashion, but this really highlight's Curly in his prime.

Best from the best!

[maxcellus46 · 10/10 · 9 December 2005]

Just to correct one thing that was mentioned in a couple of the other reviews here. In this one, Vernon Dent is not a judge. He's merely a guy trying to get home with his birthday cake in one piece. The one where he's a judge is the remake made with Shemp where, as usual, Columbia spliced two stories in order to get one, "An Ache In Every Steak" with "A Plumbing We Will Go". With that said and done...this is without any doubt one of their very best comedies ever. It's right up there with "Men In Black" from 1934. The one thing I never hear though from other admirers of the boys is how their shorts never really seem dated or old fashioned. As much as I enjoy Abbott & Costello, they seem stuck in the 1940's and WWII. The Stooges are timeless because they hit the nerve in all of us and I've seen people who don't even understand English or some of the contemporary references laugh unceasingly at their antics. If that's not a testimonial to greatness, I don't know what is. Just watch this one and don't be drinking anything while doing so or it might come out your nose.

Steps

[lzf0 · 25 May 2009]

This comment should put to rest the controversy of the "Ache in Every Stake" steps and the "Music Box" steps. The hilly area of Silver Lake, where both films were made contains a group of these staircases all around town. All of them are publicly owned, although there are private homes that can only be accessed by the stairs. The "Ache in Every Stake" steps are located between 2257 and 2258 Fair Oak View Terrace. About a mile away on the other side of the hill are the "Music Box" stairs. They are located between 923 and 937 Vendome Street. Both houses in both films are not at the top of each respective staircase. They are both studio sets. In addition, both films have different plots. The Stooge film moves faster, while the L&H is more surreal.

Possibly their funniest short.

[thom-29 · 10/10 · 13 July 1999]

This short begins hilariously, and builds to the riotous ending. It contains several well-known scenes, including the "ice-block down the stairs" piece, and Curly shaving the ice with great patter included. These stairs were also used in a wonderful Laurel and Hardy short involving a piano, and, as usual, Vernon Dent is hilarious as a pompous judge.

The best Curly short, hands down!

[kylejmcelravy · 10/10 · 24 October 2015]

This short is considered an all-time classic and when Curly was in his prime as the Stooges are incompetent ice delivery men who are hired by a desperate housewife to cook a birthday dinner for her henpecked husband (Vernon Dent) and from there, it's disaster after disaster. One thing about this short is that it's non-stop laughter from start to finish.

Many of the gags in this short were later remade in the later Stooge short LISTEN, JUDGE that borrowed a lot of plot elements from STAKE. One could wonder what was going through their heads trying to one-up the routines.

Best Short from The Three Stooges

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 24 October 2023]

"An Ache in Every Stake" is from 1941 and runs 18 minutes. Starring Moe, Larry, and Curly as Ice Men, Cooks, and Waiters, this delightful romp features 56 year old Vernon Dent as Poindexter Lawrence, Bess Flowers as Mrs Lawrence, Gino Currado as the Cook, Bud Jamison as the Baker, Blanche Payson as the Maid, and Wilson Benge as the Butler. Located in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, the steps we see The Stooges trying to traverse are located between 2257 and 2258 Fairoak View Terrace, whereas, The Music Box, the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Comedy Short in 1932, was located between 923 and 937 Vendome Street, at the intersection of Vendome and Del Monte Street in the Silverlake area of LA. I won't give away the ending, but if you're a Fan of the Three Stooges, you certainly deserve to watch this classic masterpiece!

Great Three Stooges short!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 28 July 2004]

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

This is one of My favorite Three Stooges shorts. Its very funny. Vernon Dent is very good in this one. There are two other Three Stooges shorts similar like this one called They Stooge to Conga with Curly and Listen, Judge with Shemp and they are arguably funnier than this! Symona Boniface, Gino Corrado, Bess Flowers, Bud Jamison, Blanche Payson, and Victor Travers are all in this short! This is a very funny one and I strongly recommended it!

Mostly over-the-top and unfunny

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 28 November 2017]

"An Ache in Every Stake" or "All This and Bedlam Too" is a Three Stooges short film from 1941, so this one had its 75th anniversary already last year and this one is from the days of World War II. And unless some of their other stuff from that time, it is not a political film this time, no anti-Nazi propaganda. It runs for 18 minutes like many other Stooges shorts and it is very obvious if you look at the scenes that they wanted to turn Curly into the big star here, especially if you compare his material to Larry's. These two were still in their 30s at that point, while Moe was comfortably in his 40s already. This one has the trio work as icemen, a profession not common today anymore at all, at least not here. Director Del Lord has worked with the gang on many occasions and same is true for some of the supporting cast. Writer Lloyd French is mostly known for his works with Stan and Ollie. The best moment is Curly in the kitchen struggling with dice and eggs and that could have been me too given my cooking skills. Oh yeah, this one includes some pie humor like several other times for the Stooges, even if no pie fight here, and it was remade too later on (about a decade), also like so many other Stooges short films. I guess that is all for now. Sadly, I did not enjoy the watch too much as the comedy is too absurd and over-the-top for my taste, but that's a common problem I have with the Stooges. As a consequence, I think it is way overrated here on IMDb and I give it a thumbs-down, even if I must admit that the comedy and general approach are somewhat typical for the Stooges, so chances are good you will like this one if you like some of their other stuff. And if that's true, then this is the only scenario where I would recommend seeing it.

the best short

[movifan1785 · 1 August 2002]

This is the funniest stooge short, Moe, Larry and curly deliver ice to a woman then she is upset because she doesn't have a cake for her husband so the stooges bake a cake and also make a turkey. The funniest part is when curly shaves the ice and he's talking to it and everything its great.

"How do you like that. We forgot to allow for shrinkage."

[slymusic · 29 September 2006]

"An Ache in Every Stake" is a classic Three Stooges comedy directed by Del Lord. As icemen for the Zero Ice & Coal Co., and eventually as chefs/servers at a birthday party, the Stooges cause nothing but a lot of havoc. And that's exactly what we Stooge fans all love to see!

Here are my favorite highlights from "An Ache in Every Stake" (don't read any further until after you have seen this comedy). First of all, who could forget the classic mishaps the Stooges create when trying to deliver blocks of ice up a lengthy outdoor staircase? Curly has absolutely no culinary skill, as proved when he stuffs a turkey and shaves a block of ice. Curly winds up with a spring on the back of his trousers as he dances with a party guest (Symona Boniface). When Larry deflates the birthday cake, Moe decides to fill it up with gas; when the man of the house (Vernon Dent) blows out the candles, the cake explodes!

With a supporting cast that includes Vernon Dent, Symona Boniface, Bess Flowers, Gino Corrado, and Bud Jamison, "An Ache in Every Stake" is a great Three Stooges short. To my knowledge, it may be the only Stooge film in which Larry comments on Moe's ingenuity twice by saying, "What a brain."

Nice Stooges Short

[Michael_Elliott · 20 June 2012]

An Ache in Every Stake (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Nice short has The Three Stooges working as ice delivery men but they can't seem to get a block up a large flight of stairs so they must come up with a new plan. After finally reaches the top of the steps they end up filling in for a cook at a birthday part and sure enough everything goes wrong. This isn't a classic from the trio but I think there are enough laughs to make it worth viewing. As with many of their shorts, this one here isn't the most original thing out there as many elements were borrowed from Laurel and Hardy's THE MUSIC BOX but these elements are mainly kept to the first half. The impact isn't nearly as good as that film but I think we get some pretty good violence early on and especially the scenes with Curly's head stuck in a block of ice and Moe and Larry have to get it out. The cooking scenes aren't all that original either but the three really sell it and get some nice laughs.