The Best Three Stooges Shorts
by kevandasc | created - 16 Apr 2023 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicSome are better than others and here are some gems. I like them ALL so this is a more concise list for beginners to start with.
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1. Three Little Beers (1935)
Approved | 17 min | Short, Comedy, Sport
The stooges are inept deliverymen at a brewery. When they learn about a company golf tournament, they sneak onto a golf course to get some practice. They quickly proceed to bother the other... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bud Jamison
Votes: 928
my favorite
2. Men in Black (1934)
G | 19 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges become doctors at a large hospital where they disrupt patients and staff alike.
Director: Ray McCarey | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Carmen Andre
Votes: 1,472
3. Hoi Polloi (1935)
Approved | 19 min | Comedy, Short
A professor plays Pygmalion to three bumbling garbagemen and tries to turn them into gentlemen.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Gail Arnold
Votes: 944
4. A Plumbing We Will Go (1940)
TV-G | 18 min | Comedy, Short
To escape the police, the Stooges pose as plumbers contracted to fix a mansion's plumbing, which inevitably causes destructive chaos.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Wilson Benge
Votes: 1,200
5. Gents Without Cents (1944)
Approved | 19 min | Short, Comedy, Music
The stooges are three small time actors looking for a job. They meet three girl dancers in the situation and get a small part in a big producers show at the shipyard. When the rest of the ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lindsay Bourquin
Votes: 646
Niagara Falls
6. An Ache in Every Stake (1941)
Approved | 18 min | Short, Comedy
The three stooges employed as icemen attempt to deliver ice to a mountaintop house and are forced to cater for a birthday dinner there.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Wilson Benge
Votes: 657
7. Goof on the Roof (1953)
16 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges take care of a house while their friend is getting married. Their friend wants them to get a TV and have an antenna installed on the house. The Stooges have a great idea. They ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Frank Mitchell
Votes: 383
some Shemps will mix in
8. Heavenly Daze (1948)
Approved | 16 min | Comedy, Short
Shemp dies but cannot get into heaven until he reforms Moe and Larry. He returns to earth as an invisible spirit and sets out to prevent the other two stooges from selling a phony invention... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent
Votes: 453
9. Idiots Deluxe (1945)
Approved | 18 min | Comedy, Short
Moe is on trial for assaulting Curly and Larry with an ax. Moe relates how Curly and Larry took him on a hunting trip for his nerves. Out in the woods they confronted a bear which Curly and... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Vernon Dent
Votes: 560
10. Woman Haters (1934)
G | 19 min | Comedy, Musical, Short
The stooges join the "Women Haters" club and vow to have nothing to do with the fair sex. Larry marries a girl anyway and attempts to hide the fact from Moe and Curly as they take a train trip.
Director: Archie Gottler | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Marjorie White
Votes: 1,177
the first Columbia short
11. G.I. Wanna Home (1946)
15 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are discharged from the army and go to see their fiancées, but find they have been dispossessed and the weddings are off until they find a home. The boys have trouble finding a ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Doris Houck
Votes: 417
12. 3 Dumb Clucks (1937)
Not Rated | 17 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges escape from jail in order to save their father from gangsters and a beautiful gold-digger.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Frank Austin
Votes: 635
13. The Sitter Downers (1937)
G | 16 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are suitors who go on a sit down strike when their prospective father-in-law refuses to consent the marriages. The strike wins them fame and they receive numerous gifts ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Charles Dorety
Votes: 594
14. Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb (1938)
Not Rated | 16 min | Comedy, Short
Curly wins $50,000 in a radio contest and the stooges move into the Hotel Costa Plente. Their suite is furnished with many expensive items which they systematically wreck, running up quite ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bobby Burns
Votes: 587
15. No Census, No Feeling (1940)
TV-G | 17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges get jobs as census takers and wind up in a fancy mansion looking for people to survey. Moe and Larry are recruited to join a bridge game, while Curly adds Alum to the lemonade. ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 644
16. Three Sappy People (1939)
18 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are phone repairmen who are mistaken for the psychiatrists in whose office they are working. A rich man hires them to treat his impetuous young wife who is always running of for... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lorna Gray
Votes: 640
17. You Nazty Spy! (1940)
Approved | 18 min | Short, Comedy, War
In a country, munitions manufacturers maneuver a wallpaper hanger to become dictator with his compatriots as his personal staff.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Don Beddoe
Votes: 1,134
18. Blunder Boys (1955)
Passed | 16 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
The stooges go to criminology school and graduate with the lowest possible honors. The boys join the police force and are assigned to track down a crook called the "Eel", who disguises ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Benny Rubin
Votes: 400
19. Tricky Dicks (1953)
16 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
The stooges are policemen on the trail of a murderer. They unsuccessfully interrogate an Italian organ grinder, among other suspects, and then catch the bad guy after a gun fight that nearly destroys the police station.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Benny Rubin
Votes: 371
20. Violent Is the Word for Curly (1938)
Not Rated | 18 min | Comedy, Short
Three bumbling gas station attendants are mistaken for college professors arriving from Germany to teach at a prestigious women's college.
Director: Charley Chase | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Samuel Adams
Votes: 941
21. Ants in the Pantry (1936)
Approved | 17 min | Short, Comedy
The Stooges are pest exterminators who drum up business by planting vermin in a ritzy mansion where a party is going on. They are hired, but must pose as guests to work unobserved. They ... See full summary »
Director: Jack White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Clara Kimball Young
Votes: 787
22. A Pain in the Pullman (1936)
Approved | 20 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges are small-time actors traveling by train to an engagement. Along with their pet monkey, they manage to spoil the trip for quite a few of the other passengers, including the ... See full summary »
Director: Jack White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Loretta Andrews
Votes: 667
23. False Alarms (1936)
18 min | Comedy, Short
Three inept firemen try to avoid being fired by their increasingly exasperated chief.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Beatrice Blinn
Votes: 684
24. Slippery Silks (1936)
Approved | 18 min | Short, Comedy
The Stooges are carpenters who inherit a fancy dress boutique. They put on a fashion show with dresses they've designed based on furniture. During the show, the owner of an antique box the ... See full summary »
Director: Jack White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Loretta Andrews
Votes: 574
25. Movie Maniacs (1936)
18 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges arrive in Hollywood hoping to make it in the movie business ("There must be a couple a hundred guys in Hollywood who don't know anything about making movies, three more ain't ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Mildred Harris
Votes: 701
26. Disorder in the Court (1936)
Unrated | 16 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
The stooges are witnesses at a trial where their friend, a dancer at a nightclub where they are musicians, is accused of murder. The stooges manage to disrupt the proceedings but save the ... See full summary »
Director: Jack White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Nick Baskovitch
Votes: 2,304
27. Pop Goes the Easel (1935)
TV-PG | 20 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are down and out. With a cop chasing them, they flee into an artists studio where they are mistaken for students. The cop continues to hunt for them and they use a variety of ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bobby Burns
Votes: 885
28. Micro-Phonies (1945)
Passed | 17 min | Short, Comedy, Music
The stooges are working in a radio station where a pretty girl has just made a recording of "Voices of Spring" under an assumed name. She wants to hide her singing career from her ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 745
29. Dopey Dicks (1950)
Approved | 16 min | Short, Comedy, Horror
The stooges become detectives and go to the aid of girl in the clutches of a mad scientist. The boys arrive at a spooky mansion where the madman is building a mechanical man that needs a ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 453
30. Hold That Lion! (1947)
17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are tricked out of their inheritance by Icabod Slipp, a crooked lawyer. The boys follow Slipp onto a passenger train and corner him, but not before they accidentally let a lion loose on the train.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald
Votes: 573
31. I'll Never Heil Again (1941)
Approved | 18 min | Short, Comedy, War
A follow up to "You Nazty Spy", the stooges have taken over the country of Moronica. Moe is Hailstone the Dictator, Curly is a Field Marshal and Larry is Minister of Propaganda. The stooges... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Mary Ainslee
Votes: 721
32. Three Little Pigskins (1934)
Approved | 20 min | Short, Comedy, Sport
The stooges are mistaken by a gangster for the "Three Horsemen of Boulder Dam", famous football players. Hired to play for his team, they blow the big game and get it in the end. Lucille Ball has a nice part as a gun moll.
Director: Ray McCarey | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lucille Ball
Votes: 1,079
33. Punch Drunks (1934)
G | 17 min | Short, Comedy, Sport
The stooges discover Curly's hidden talent for boxing, which appears only when he hears the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel". With the help of Larry's violin, Moe attempts to turn him into a champion.
Director: Lou Breslow | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dorothy Granger
Votes: 1,503
34. Tassels in the Air (1938)
Not Rated | 17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are janitors in an office building. They stencil the wrong names on all the offices, causing a rich lady to mistakes Moe for "Omay", a famous decorator (the real Omay gets "... See full summary »
Director: Charley Chase | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Gertrude Astor
Votes: 576
35. Flat Foot Stooges (1938)
Approved | 16 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are firemen at a station that still uses horses to pull the engines. A salesman who wants to sell the chief some modern equipment plants gun powder in one of the engines. The ... See full summary »
Director: Charley Chase | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dick Curtis
Votes: 531
36. Termites of 1938 (1938)
Not Rated | 18 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are pest exterminators, mistakenly hired by a rich lady looking for an escort to a fancy society party. The stooges wreck the fancy mansion where the party is taking place and befuddle the guest of honor, an English Lord.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Beatrice Blinn
Votes: 555
37. Brideless Groom (1947)
Approved | 17 min | Short, Comedy, Romance
To inherit a fortune, Shemp must get married by 6 o'clock that very day, but finding a willing bride proves a challenge.
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Dee Green
Votes: 1,233
38. Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947)
TV-G | 17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are tailors, and are heavily in debt to the Skin & Flint finance company. When the boys read about the big reward for a fugitive robber, they think it could be the answer to ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Virginia Hunter
Votes: 1,005
39. Crime on Their Hands (1948)
18 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
The stooges are janitors working in a newspaper office. When an anonymous caller phones in a tip about the theft a famous diamond, the boys decide to become reporters and go after the ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald
Votes: 464
40. Restless Knights (1935)
Approved | 17 min | Short, Comedy
In Medieval times, the Stooges learn they are of royal blood and vow to save the kingdom. They become the Queen's royal guards but are sentenced to die when the Queen is abducted on the ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Lamont | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Geneva Mitchell
Votes: 700
41. Who Done It? (1949)
16 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
The stooges are private detectives looking for a missing millionaire. They wander around the millionaire's spooky mansion confronting various crooks and a dangerous dame. The stooges ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 528
42. Malice in the Palace (1949)
16 min | Comedy, Short
Set in a desert land where the stooges run a restaurant, the boys set out to recover the stolen Rootin Tootin diamond after they learn from the thieves that the Emir of Shmo has absconded ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent
Votes: 1,100
43. Dizzy Doctors (1937)
Not Rated | 19 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges get a job selling "Brighto", what they think is cleaning fluid. After ruining a cop's uniform and a new car, they discover that Brighto is actually medicine. Taking their sales ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Eva Murray
Votes: 712
44. A Ducking They Did Go (1939)
G | 17 min | Comedy, Short
Con men hire the Stooges to sell memberships to a phony duck hunting club.
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lynton Brent
Votes: 618
45. Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939)
Approved | 18 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are tramps looking for handouts. Although the boys are down and out, Curly seems to get everything he wishes for. After some trouble with a farmer, the boys come across an ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dorothy Comingore
Votes: 658
46. What's the Matador? (1942)
17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are actors traveling to perform at a fiesta in Mexico. After they accidentally switch suitcases with that of Dolores, a lovely senorita they met on trip down, they must sneak ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Suzanne Kaaren
Votes: 448
47. In the Sweet Pie and Pie (1941)
18 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are convicts about to be executed for some murders they didn't commit. The day before the execution they are tricked into marrying three rich girls who need husbands to collect ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dorothy Appleby
Votes: 589
48. Out West (1947)
Approved | 17 min | Comedy, Western, Short
The stooges go out west for Shemp's health and get mixed up with some bad guys. The villains have locked up the Arizona Kid and their leader plans to marry his girl, Nell. The boys help the... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 430
49. I Can Hardly Wait (1943)
19 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are defense workers who have trouble getting to sleep when Curly gets a toothache. Moe and Larry try various ways to remove the offending tooth, but nothing works so they take ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lew Davis
Votes: 527
50. Beer Barrel Polecats (1946)
Approved | 17 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges make a whole batch of homemade beer, but get tossed in jail when Curly sells some to a policeman. Their minor indiscretion turns into a forty year sentence when a barrel of beer... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Robert B. Williams
Votes: 518
51. Phony Express (1943)
Approved | 17 min | Comedy, Western, Short
Set in the old west, the stooges are three tramps wanted for vagrancy. After ruining a medicine peddlers show, they arrive in Peaceful Gulch where a picture has been printed declaring them ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Shirley Patterson
Votes: 442
52. Horses' Collars (1935)
Approved | 17 min | Comedy, Western, Short
The Stooges are private detectives in the Old West trying to help a girl recover an IOU from a bad guy. Their attempts to steal the IOU from the villain's wallet, then from a safe, meet ... See full summary »
Director: Clyde Bruckman | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dorothea Kent
Votes: 760
53. He Cooked His Goose (1952)
Approved | 16 min | Comedy, Short
Larry is seeing Moe's wife while at the same time trying to steal Shemp's fiance. Moe becomes suspicious so Larry attempts to frame Shemp by getting him a job as a door to door pajama salesman and sending him to Moe's apartment.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Mary Ainslee
Votes: 346
I think more Shemps would be on the list if there won't so many remakes.
54. All Gummed Up (1947)
TV-G | 18 min | Comedy, Short
The Stooges run a local drug store and are about to have their lease taken away by Amos Flint, the mean old man who owns the place. When Flint kicks his wife out for being old, The Stooges ... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 437
55. A Merry Mix-up (1957)
16 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges appear in triplicate as three sets of triplets who were separated a long time ago. Their reunion causes confusion and troubles for various wives and sweethearts, but it all works out in the end.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Nanette Bordeaux
Votes: 268
One Joe Besser short . One is generous.
56. Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)
Not Rated | 19 min | Short, Comedy, Sport
Although circumstances force an over-matched Curly into a wrestling ring against a superior opponent, a spectator's perfume proves to be his secret weapon.
Director: Jack White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bob Callahan
Votes: 720
57. Bride and Gloom (1947)
Approved | 16 min | Comedy, Short
In this Columbia All-Star Comedy (production number 8439), Shemp Howard finds himself in a love nest with the wrong woman, while his bride-to-be is waiting, none too happy, at the church.
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Dick Curtis, Jean Willes
Votes: 62
i want to include a shemp solo short to draw attention as they are very good.
58. Calling All Curs (1939)
G | 18 min | Short, Comedy
The stooges run a pet hospital and get an important patient, Garcon, a rich ladies poodle. When dognappers posing as reporters steal the poodle, the boys are in a tough spot. First they try... See full summary »
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Beatrice Blinn
Votes: 563
59. Mummy's Dummies (1948)
Approved | 16 min | Short, Comedy
Set in ancient Egypt, the Stooges run a used chariot lot where they unload defective chariots on unsuspecting customers. When they gyp the head of the palace guard, they're brought to the ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent
Votes: 426
60. Yes, We Have No Bonanza (1939)
Approved | 16 min | Comedy, Western, Short
Set in a western town, the stooges are working as waiters in a saloon with the three girls they hope to marry. The proprietor of the saloon is a crook who, with his partner, has buried ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dick Curtis
Votes: 584
60 is less than 1/3 their total so these are the tops imo then.
61. Slappily Married (1946)
Approved | 17 min | Short, Comedy
Joe's wife, who thinks he's been carrying on with another woman, moves out.
Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Joe DeRita, Christine McIntyre, Dorothy Granger, Dick Wessel
Votes: 51
Joe DeRita didn't make any shorts as a Stooge just features so a solo short here.
62. Three Smart Saps (1942)
Approved | 17 min | Comedy, Short
Weddings are paused for the stooges who are engaged to the daughters of a prison warden. He has been framed by criminals and convicted. They make entry to the prison and find the crooks running a casino. They need photos to expose them.
Director: Jules White | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Julie Gibson
Votes: 477
63. Three Pests in a Mess (1945)
15 min | Comedy, Short
The stooges are three inventors trying to a get a patent on their preposterous fly catching invention. When they learn they'll have to catch 100,000 flies to earn enough to get a patent, ... See full summary »
Director: Del Lord | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Christine McIntyre
Votes: 455
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