Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

A Disappointing Continuation

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

After the king of a far-off land dies, his second wife, the Evil Queen, locks up his beautiful daughter, Snow White, because she fears that Snow White will become more beautiful than her, and become Queen. A huntsman is then ordered to take her into the forest and cut out her heart as proof that she is dead. But the huntsman cannot bring himself to kill her, and orders her to run far into the forest and never come back. She eventually happens upon a small cottage. Also taking up residence in the cottage is a team of strolling players, the Three Stooges, in addition to Quatro, the ventriloquist. The team is borrowing the cottage from the Seven Dwarfs, who are off mining gold. Quatro and Snow White slowly start to fall in love; unfortunately, the Queen finds out about Snow White's whereabouts, and orders her men to search the kingdom and find her. It is revealed that Quatro is Prince Charming, who was ordered killed several years earlier, as he posed a threat to the Queen's reign. Quatro is kidnapped, and it's up to the Three Stooges to save the day and bring Snow White and the Prince back together.This film has been unfairly panned by critics over the years, which is a shame. It is a charming little film. True, the Stooges' trademark comedy is played down in this film. However, they do manage to sneak in a few funny moments (they ARE the Stooges, after all), and they prove themselves to be fine dramatic actors as well, such as when they find Snow White poisoned by the Queen. What makes this SNOW WHITE unique is that Snow White is played by Olympic ice skater Carol Heiss, whose skills are put on display in several lovely fantasy sequences. She is a pleasant fairy-tale heroine, and is fine in the role. Edson Stroll, as Prince Charming, is clearly having the time of his life and also turns in a fine performance. Patricia Medina and Guy Rolfe, as the Queen and her henchman, are fun to watch, as they chew up the scenery. The sets and costumes are quite lavish and add the appropriate fantasy to the film. Leon Shamroy provides excellent CinemaScope cinematography, which is put to good use in the skating scenes. The fight scenes are exciting, and surprisingly grisly (for 1961); Rolfe dies when he falls in a pot of hot oil, and Stroll almost dies when he is hit by an arrow. The songs help get the job done, and the script is co-written by Noel Langley, who helped bring THE WIZARD OF OZ to the screen. All in all, the film is not bad as some might think. Just give it a shot. Recommended for the whole family. 10/10.

For the most part this was a reasonably watchable and suspenseful telling of the Snow White story. It didn't seem to derive much of anything from the classic Disney version, and that was pretty much a good thing. The acting was a little stiff at times, which was forgivable. But I had to turn the sound down during the singing numbers -- blah! And I could have done very well without the skating scenes that were shoehorned in. (Note the fake Stooges -- with "Curly Joe" being VERY obviously fake -- in the second skating scene.) Also, the plot started getting weaker toward the end, when it most needed not to.As for the Stooges -- well, the reviewer who said this was an "odd vehicle" for them hit it on the head. They deserved something better tailored to their talents than this. They're not the main focus of the story, and we see little of them during the first 40 minutes. But, as usual when they're handed lemons, they make the best lemonade they can. Their comedy is toned down, leaving them with relatively serious parts (particularly toward the end). But, to their credit, they're convincing in their roles as bumbling but kindly old entertainers.As for Curly Joe -- well, he was arguably the least funny "third" Stooge. But, as with the much maligned Joe, he may have done quite well if the Stooges were given better material during his tenure. As it was, his dotty, good-natured persona was appropriate for this era of the kinder, gentler "kiddie" Stooges.

I suppose The Three Stooges were getting a little fatigued by the time they did their work in SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES because they're less exuberant than usual, in fact you might even say their slapstick is much more restrained. But this is good because Fox never intended this to be a showcase for them--rather, it introduces Olympic Skating Champion Carol Heiss and features Edson Stroll doing a nice job as Prince Charming.Walter Lang did the directing and he's given an A budget on which a lot was obviously spent on costumes and settings, so from a strictly pictorial viewpoint the film is pleasant to look at in stunning technicolor. Gorgeous PATRICIA MEDINA has fun with her role as the wicked Queen who disguises herself as an old hag.Just to make sure Miss Heiss' ice-skating is not totally ignored, they've given her two big production numbers and both of them are skillfully filmed and performed in winter wonderland type of settings.Fans of The Stooges may be disappointed, but actually this is not a bad re-telling of the fantasy using a totally different approach. The four songs are rather unmemorable but this is merely a pleasant enough diversion for young folks.

Snow White and the Three Stooges is a very good film that has a good cast which includes Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Joe DeRita, Carol Heiss, Edson Stroll, Patricia Medina, Guy Rolfe, Michael David, Buddy Baer, Edgar Barrier, Peter Coe, Marie Blake, Mark Bailey, Bill Blackburn, and Mel Blanc! The acting by all of these actors is very good. The Stooges are once again great! The comedy is really good and some of it is surprising. The movie is filmed very good. The music is good. The film is quite interesting and the movie really keeps you going until the end. This is a very good and hilarious film. If you like The Three Stooges, the rest of the cast in the film, Comedy, Classic, Fantasy, Dramas, and interesting films then I strongly recommend you to see this film today!