Shemp was actually a Stooge before Curly. The Stooges were originally part of an act called Ted Healy and his Stooges. This act originally consisted of Ted Healy, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard. The act had appeared on vaudeville, and in supporting roles in various films. Shemp got angry over Healy's drinking, and so he left. For this reason Shemp and Moe's younger brother Curly Howard took his place. After parting with Healy, The Stooges got their own series of short films. Because of parting with Healy, they were renamed The Three Stooges. After Curly suffered from a stroke he was replaced by Shemp, who because they had left Ted Healy was happy to join them again.
William A. Seiter who directed what is considered to be Laurel and Hardy's best film, Sons of the Dessert, also directed what is considered to be one of the Marx Brothers' weakest films, Room Service.'
Duck Soup was a flop when it was first released. In fact it almost ended The Marx Brothers' career. This is hard to believe now because not only is it an extremely popular film, but it is an extremely funny one as well. Duck Soup was the most zany, and least story ordinated film to star the Marx Brothers. This is why after Duck Soup, they went to MGM, where producer Irving Thalhgberg, told them at MGM they could get a much bigger audience by being in films with much more story. This included having a side-story about young lovers, and more musical numbers. Even if later Marx films would slip in quality, the first two of these films (the two in which Thalhgberg was still alive to work on (he died during the making of A Day At The Races) worked especially beautifully. Those two films (A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races) were not only huge financial successes, but great artistic successes as well, and remain some of the great comedy movies to this day.
Boris Karloff refused to be in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, because he loved the carter of the creature a lot, and felt appearing as the creature in a farce would be an insult. Of course those of us fans of the movie know that it was not an insult to the character at all. However Karloff later appeared in both Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was originally going to be named The Brian of Frankenstein, however the name was thought to sound too much like a serious horror movie.
Character actor James Finnlayson (who appeared often with Laurel and Hardy) made an annoyed exclamation whenever his character was hit. That annoyed exclamation would serve as the inspiration for Homer Simpson's "D'oh".
The 1940 short, You Nazty Spy!, directed by Jules White, written by Felix Alder, and Clyde Bruckman, and staring The Three Stooges was the first American film in which an American actor played Hitler (that actor was Moe Howard). Both director Jules White and actor Moe Howard considered this the best film they worked on.
Laurel and Hardy were the only one of the classic American comedy teams to first appear together on film. Marx Brothers had come from Broadway, Abbott and Costello from vaudeville and radio, The Three Stooges from vaudeville. They first appeared together in 1921's The Lucky Dog. Although in this short they weren't yet a team, and had yet to have their characters defined, it is historic for being the first time they appeared together. You can watch it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cImmhCo3jDg
-Michael J. Ruhland
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