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 | psychotronic film | columbia tristar | columbia tristar home video | hercules | 

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Taglines:

Full-Length Muscle-Headed Feature Film!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was made as a parody of the Italian-made mythological "muscle man" movies that were box-office hits at that time. Canadian bodybuilder Sam Burke (billed as Samson Burke), who played the real Hercules, had already played Ursus in one of the European productions.

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Goofs

In the dungeon, actors' shadows are cast on the matte painting of the corridor.

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Quotes

Larry: Hey, Moe's got pretty good rhythm, eh?

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Crazy Credits

Filmed in glorious black and white

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Connections

Spoofs Ben-Hur (1959)

User Reviews

It still makes me laugh

Most comedy is subjective. Whether one enjoys the comedy of the Stooges, like the Marx Brothers, WC Fields, Martin & Lewis, A&C, etc., is up to the individual. BTW, the Ritz Brothers were seldom funny, and the Dead End Kids really wore thin.

This individual loves them. I did when I was a kid - and still do now that I'm pushing 50. I'm primarily referring to their 20-minute shorts (1932-1959).

Personally, I feel that this is far and away their best feature. Most of their features are rather long in the tooth and geared towards kids.

This one makes me laugh. I hope you enjoy it as much as I.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Three Stooges Meet Hercules

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Normandy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1