The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion
by Jon Solomon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jon SolomonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-01-01
ISBN: 0971186804
Number of pages: 562
Publisher: Comedy III Productions Inc
Book Reviews of The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion
Book Review: Could they have done a better job? Soitainly!
Summary: 3 Stars
For years I've been looking for that perfect guide to Stoogedom. Did I find it? Well, kind of. Solomon's book does have its merits. It covers and analyzes ever single one of their films and cameos appearances (it is a filmography after all) in excessive detail. In some ways, that is also one of its faults, however. Much of the book's wopping size is taken up with Solomon's listing of their verbal and visual gags. A few succinct summaries or examples would've worked perfectly here - such as the first appearance of certain jokes and gags, etc. - but instead, he goes on for pages, listing much of the dialogue and which of their 190 shorts they'd previously appeared in. Unfortunately, this tendency towards "list writing" made for a very tedious read at times.
What was more effective was Solomon's "Perspective" and "Other Notes" sections where he offered up more analysis on Stooge themes and included some production details of the talent involved. But despite all Solomon's research, what his writing lacked was a strong sense of the Stooges themselves and what went on behind the scenes. Many times I found myself frustrated when Solomon would start into a brief anecdote or personal detail and drop it very quickly. (The death of Curly during the Shemp's years comes to mind - mentioned in a couple of sentences. Or Joe Besser's decision to give up the group over his sick wife. Or a brief mention that Shemp had a stroke a few years before his death.) He also tends to refer the reader to other sources rather than including them (ie. read Moe's autobiography here to find out more about his feelings on Curly, etc.)
Admittedly, Solomon isn't writing a biography here. And doing both a filmography and biography would make for an even more massive tome! But I found other comedy team books like Randy Skretvedt's "Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies" or Bob Furmanek's "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" much more successful in this regard. Yes, they summarized the films - but also delved into the lives of the comedians themselves and how they merged with the making of the films. Did the Stooges have a lot of input into their scripts? How did Larry and Moe feel about the death of Shemp or the years of cost-cutting and rehashing of "Shemp" material before and after his death? What kind of injuries did the Stooges suffer while filming? How did the complaints of violence by the PTA effect their films? Solomon doesn't give us much insight or info here. With this book coming from the Stooge's company, I really expected more of an "insider's take" on their films - and here, you don't get it.
Perhaps the biggest drawback here is the book's layout and construction. Despite all the obvious research, it "looks" like a rush job in many respects and certainly could've used some more editing and proofing - there are countless misspellings, careless mistakes like boldings and a title missed in the table of contents, etc. At times, the san serif font makes reading a little difficult. Solomon often repeats himself, telling the reader the same details on subsequent pages, or even in the photo captions on the same page. The pictures also tend to be dark and sometimes resemble screen captures that should've been of much higher quality. The cover indicates this book was for the 75th anniversary of the Stooges so that could explain the rush to get it finished in time. However, since this book was authorized and published by The Three Stooges company itself (maybe an additional problem here because Solomon hardly says anything critical of the Stooges) you'd think they should've produced something with more care and higher quality, given their vested interest in the product.
Don't get me wrong - it's great to have info on all the Stooge films in one place with a guide of this kind. But coming from "the Stooges" themselves, the bar just should've been set so much higher.
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