From Normandy Productions comes a very good Three Stooges feature film: "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze." Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe are devoted servants (major-domo, chauffeur, and cook, respectively) to the handsome young Phileas Fogg III (Jay Sheffield) of England. A brilliant confidence man named Vickers Cavendish (Peter Forster) arrogantly suckers Fogg into wagering twenty thousand pounds that he can go around the world in eighty days, just like his great-great grandfather did, under the stipulation that he shall neither spend one single farthing nor do any kind of work to pay for his transportation. Needless to say, the Stooges decide they must help him along on this exciting journey. Even better yet, Fogg meets the beautiful Amelia Carter (Joan Freeman) in his travels.
My favorite highlights from "Around the World in a Daze" include the following (don't read any further until after you have seen this film). The Stooges encounter three Chinese "psychiatrists" who behave just like the Stooges (this scene features a clever inside joke about the Stooges' elimination of the poke-in-the-eyes from their repertoire). The four large trunks that Fogg & the Stooges use for their luggage cause some mild amusement, as when Larry drops them down a staircase, when Curly-Joe drops them on Moe's head, and when Fogg & the boys hide inside them and move around; Moe even utilizes a periscope! The "Maha-Aha" routine, brilliantly executed by the Stooges in disguise, is an old gag the boys originally did with Curly (in the Columbia feature "Time Out for Rhythm" [1941] and the Columbia short "Three Little Pirates" [1946]). Curly-Joe goes fighting mad whenever Larry plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" on a snake charmer's wind instrument (also reminiscent of Curly from the Columbia Stooge short "Punch Drunks" [1934]); the best examples of this are when Joe literally breaks through the jail cell and when he fights the Japanese sumo wrestler Itchy Kitchy (Iau Kea). There is a bit of suspense mixed with hilarity during the climactic fight in the dark, which the Stooges had also done in some of their earlier shorts. And finally, while travelling by train, Fogg claims that there might be trouble crossing a certain bridge, but Curly-Joe feels there's nothing to worry about: "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" may not have been the most successful feature film for the boys, but it is still a winner. Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer produced and directed it, and Elwood Ullman, who wrote some of the Stooges' best shorts, contributed the screenplay for this feature film. In addition, watch for Moe's grandson Jeffrey Maurer as the boy who steals Larry's wind instrument at the wrestling match. To top it off, "Around the World in a Daze" was Curly-Joe's favorite Stooge film.
My favorite highlights from "Around the World in a Daze" include the following (don't read any further until after you have seen this film). The Stooges encounter three Chinese "psychiatrists" who behave just like the Stooges (this scene features a clever inside joke about the Stooges' elimination of the poke-in-the-eyes from their repertoire). The four large trunks that Fogg & the Stooges use for their luggage cause some mild amusement, as when Larry drops them down a staircase, when Curly-Joe drops them on Moe's head, and when Fogg & the boys hide inside them and move around; Moe even utilizes a periscope! The "Maha-Aha" routine, brilliantly executed by the Stooges in disguise, is an old gag the boys originally did with Curly (in the Columbia feature "Time Out for Rhythm" [1941] and the Columbia short "Three Little Pirates" [1946]). Curly-Joe goes fighting mad whenever Larry plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" on a snake charmer's wind instrument (also reminiscent of Curly from the Columbia Stooge short "Punch Drunks" [1934]); the best examples of this are when Joe literally breaks through the jail cell and when he fights the Japanese sumo wrestler Itchy Kitchy (Iau Kea). There is a bit of suspense mixed with hilarity during the climactic fight in the dark, which the Stooges had also done in some of their earlier shorts. And finally, while travelling by train, Fogg claims that there might be trouble crossing a certain bridge, but Curly-Joe feels there's nothing to worry about: "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" may not have been the most successful feature film for the boys, but it is still a winner. Moe's son-in-law Norman Maurer produced and directed it, and Elwood Ullman, who wrote some of the Stooges' best shorts, contributed the screenplay for this feature film. In addition, watch for Moe's grandson Jeffrey Maurer as the boy who steals Larry's wind instrument at the wrestling match. To top it off, "Around the World in a Daze" was Curly-Joe's favorite Stooge film.