The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)

Three goofy druggists travel back to Ancient Greece on a milquetoast inventor's time machine.

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writers:

Elwood Ullman (screenplay), Norman Maurer (based on a story by)

Stars:

Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Joe DeRita

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Moe Howard	...	Moe
Larry Fine	...	Larry
Joe DeRita	...	Curly Joe
Vicki Trickett	...	Diane Quigley
Quinn K. Redeker	...	Schuyler Davis (as Quinn Redeker)
George N. Neise	...	Ralph Dimsal / King Odius
Samson Burke	...	Hercules
Marlin McKeever	...	Ajax and Argo, The Siamese Cyclops (as The McKeever Twins)
Mike McKeever	...	Ajax and Argo, The Siamese Cyclops (as The McKeever Twins)
Emil Sitka	...	Shepherd / Refreshment Man
Hal Smith	...	King Theseus Of Rhodes
John Cliff	...	Ulysses
Lewis Charles	...	Achilles The Heel
Barbara Hines	...	Anita
Terry Huntingdon	...	Hecuba

Storyline

Three druggists travel with a Milquetoast inventor, Schuyler, and his girlfriend, Diane, to ancient Greece on a newly invented time machine. There, the evil tyrant, Odius, takes a shine to the woman and has the guys enslaved as galley rowers using the excuse of the three druggists helping a rebel leader, Ulysses, escape. The rigors of the rowing pump Schuyler up into a muscleman with strength comparable to Hercules himself, who is in the employ of Odius. The threesome get the idea of raising money by promoting Schuyler as Hercules for a series of physical contests. Using a combination of his great strength and, a judicious use of a large supply of potent tranquilizers Curly-Joe brought with him, Schuyler is a success. However, this leads to trouble when the real McCoy learns about the imposter.

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Plot Keywords:

greece | hercules | time machine | ancient greece | galley | 

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Taglines:

See Hercules - Man of Steel meet the maniacs of mayhem!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

De tre træmænd møder Herkules

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,360,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Normandy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia production #8617.

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Goofs

The amount of pie on King Odius's face changes drastically as the chase progresses.

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Quotes

Schuyler Davis: You know, these old Greek things certainly have lovely curves, haven't they?
Moe: These young Greek things ain't bad, either!

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Crazy Credits

Filmed in glorious black and white

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Connections

Featured in Cheezy Fantasy Trailers (2006)

User Reviews

Stooges for the Ages

1) Note the Title. (2) You know the cast. (3) Since Hercules is mentioned, we know the story occurs in ancient Greece. And since we are now in ancient times, the focus will be on galleys, slaves, kings, and wild beasts. There will even be a mythical creature, a two-headed, four-legged Cyclops!

For the first time since 1945 (Rockin' in the Rockies), The Three Stooges came back to features in 1959. About midway into their renaissance came this feature, which has both a plot and decent script. The sets are most acceptable, although some may complain that the budget was not high. The story involves three pharmacy workers who are accidentally transported back in time to the early period of ancient Greece, nearly three millennia ago. They will tangle with the evil usurper Odius and his henchman, Hercules (don't worry, the strongman will later see the right way). Of course there will be the slapstick and obligatory anachronisms, but pay no heed. We will see head-smacks and food in faces. The Greeks will speak and understand English (although Moe will utter something like "… I'll clobber anyone who says it's all Greek to me" when the Stooges encounter a Greek language sign.). As the guys are aging and somewhat subdued, one cannot expect them to sustain their old zaniness of the 1930s. Nevertheless, it is great to see the old comedy act extend into the 1960s, with two of the three original Stooges still around to pick up some royalty checks. Around 1965 there was a Tonight Show episode with Johnny Carson, who had the Three Stooges as guests. He asked about their LAST movie feature. Curly Joe quipped, "You mean our LATEST one." The audience, of course, was delighted. Joe DeRita as Curly Joe assumed the Curly/Shemp/Besser role. While Curly Joe looked like the old Curly, some folks complained that he was not as funny. The criticism is rather gratuitous, as no one else could have been Curly either. And Curly Joe certainly was an improvement over Joe Besser. In all, he fit in pretty well as the third Stooge.

It is a positive thing that the Stooges could finally make movies and receive the financially rewarding royalties, something denied them during their long tenure at Columbia (1934-1959). This movie is a must for Stooges' fans, and is an improvement over their post-Shemp short films of the latter half of the 1950s. People wanted to laugh at the Stooges during their revival, and they were indeed kept happy by some good gags (for one, see Hercules disrupt the king's speech by cracking nuts with his biceps). By the way, this movie made money. It deserved to do so.