Spooks! (1953)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

"Spooks!" is a 16-minute black-and-white short film from 1953, so this one will have its 65th anniversary next year. If the names White and Adler don't tell you already what to expect here, then the names Howard² and Fine definitely should. This is another Three Stooges short movie, but despite the age it is far from one of their early ones. The days of War were long over already, so no anti-German propaganda in here and at that time Curly was also dead already and Shemp was his permanent replacement after his own untimely death. The story here with slight not too creepy horror elements was nothing too usual for the gang, but it worked very well I must say and had a bit of a cartoon touch to it. Moe, Larry and Shemp need to save a damsel in distress from a mad scientist, his assistant brute and a hairy gorilla. Lots of mayhem ensues, but also a funny scene here and there next to the usual overthetopness. I am generally not a huge Stooges fan, but I somewhat liked this one here. One of my favorites from the gang and looking at how many of their works I have seen, this means quite something. Oh yeah and I also realized how much Moe and Shemp resemble each other physically. All in all, I enjoyed the watch and I give this quarter of an hour a thumbs-up. Worth checking out.

The Stooges play detectives hired by a rich man to find his missing daughter. They go to a run down (read haunted) house dressed as pie salesmen (I don't know) and search the house. In the basement a mad doctor, his assistant and a gorilla are holding the young woman captive. Its a thread bare plot which purely an excuse for haunted house mayhem and for things to be thrust at the camera. As with all 3-D films some of the effects work better than others with things like Moe's fingers, his foot or a thrown pen not working well, while pies (They are pie salesmen) and other objects fare better. For the most part this is the better of the two 3D shorts since there is at least some attempt at a plot. In all fairness this probably would have been better longer since the film never amounts to more than an excuse for mayhem. I've only seen this as a 3D film (I had this as an old 8MM high light reel) and I doubt this would work as anything other than a 3-D film. Worth a look for 3-D fans.

Directed by Jules White, "Spooks!" is a pretty good Three Stooges short starring Larry, Moe, and Shemp. As the title suggests, this film takes place in a haunted house full of spooks! The Stooges are amateur sleuths posing as pie salesmen in order to recover a pretty lady (Norma Randall) from the clutches of a mad scientist (Philip Van Zandt) and his assistant (Tom Kennedy), who abduct her for a brain transplant experiment. The Stooges decide to use their most common weapon against the two fiends: pie-throwing!Highlights from "Spooks!" include the following. The Stooges encounter a bat with Shemp's face! At the end, the scientist's gorilla throws pies at the Stooges and the girl. When Shemp describes the gorilla to Moe and Larry, he calls it a "chimney-panzee" and says, "He looked just like my mother-in-law!" As the Stooges try to escape through a window, Moe gets bashed in the head twice."Spooks!" was the first of two Stooge shorts in 3-D! The only real problem with this format is that the slapstick, when directed toward the camera, is quite exaggerated when you watch the films in 2-D. On the other hand, the one shot of the scientist approaching the camera (representing the gorilla) and holding up his hypodermic needle directly in front of the lens is quite frightening indeed!

Stooges at their spookiest. Funny short has the boys trying to rescue a girl from the evil clutches of Dr. Jekyll. "Dr. Jekyll. We must hide." Says Shemp in a funny line. This episode has all the elements of a stooge classic. It has absolutely everything. Their is an ape. A pie fight between an ape. A mad doctor. A spooky location. Witty writing. 3-D action, pitchforks and fingers fly right towards your eyes. And a bat that does an impression of Curly.This episode has to be seen to be believed. A Stooge gem that has always been overlooked. Catch this one if you can, or I'll gouge your eyes out! Whoo whooh whooh whooh whooh whooh!