Watch THE STOOGE-A-POLITAN OPERA - Below is an element one among the primary official "Three Stooges" Columbia short film, the one and solely "Women Haters". It conjointly remains my favorite for a spread of strange reasons (not the smallest amount of that being that it's it's own Wikipedia page. My God, do the opposite 189 Columbia Stooge shorts have them as well? i am scared to seem..)
First of all, the damn factor may be a complete miniature musical--the dialogue is sung, not spoken, entirely in rhyme. The Stooges never created another one among these--the vogue for the "musical novelty" format died down, I guess, as quickly because it sprang up--and so "Woman Haters" remains a singular feat in Stoogeonomy--their solely musical (though the shape is basically additional sung-through operetta).
Secondly, the movie is, for me, a time capsule of my very own youth--circa 1972. You see, as a child I got a tape recorder for my seventh or eighth birthday and quickly began tape-recording everything in sight--my oldsters conversations, music off the radio (KJOI was a light-weight "pops" station that includes Andre Kostolanitz vogue arrangements that for a few reason I became hooked in to taping--complete with announcer bumpers) and, naturally, music off of films on tv. I created an oversized assortment of the gap music themes from Warner Brothers cartoons--those marvelous very little Carl Stalling (or Milt Franklin) novelty arrangements. however the sole movie that I bear in mind taping in its entirety is "Woman Haters." I loved performing it--I would lip-sync all the parts--for my friends, my oldsters friends, anyone who would provide me the time. Jesus, i need to are strange...
Another factor that long fascinated me was the very fact that there have been apparently a half-dozen or therefore shorts with an equivalent sung-through premise, though just one alternative has, to my knowlege, surfaced--think it's known as "Um-Pa, Um-Pa, Um-Pa" (at least that was the driving lyrical motif throughout the film. I saw it at a Vitaphone Project screening some years ago in the big apple at the Film Forum.) "Woman Haters" was directed and written by a father-son team, Archie Gottler (the father--he was a songwriter who dabbled in filmmaking) and Jerome Gottler (the son). I met Jerome quite unintentionally some times in Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills when he was in his eighties--about fifteen years ago. He was astounded that I knew who he was and told me this nugget of fascinating data concerning "Woman Haters"--the singing was all recorded go on the set, no lip-syncing. They used a piano track behind the boys voices and kept the degree of the piano down as low as potential. Then, when shooting was done, the orchestration was merely laid on high on the second track (presumbaly the sound effects were a part of the orchestration) and also the piano backing disappaered.
Finally, the lady within the film is that the delectable Marjorie White--I was awfully taken by her as a child and as an adult I see I had wonderful style. She was pretty, sexy, a fine singer and an excellent commedienne. She was a real Hotsy-Totsy of the Bootleg Era, turning out on Broadway within the twenties and "going Hollywood" within the early thirties--she's turns up during a few early talkie/musicals, co-starring with the good and totally forgotten Wheeler and Woolsey in "Diplomaniacs." (We'll need to get into W&W shortly. Bert Wheeler was a real comedy angel of his time.) Alas, Marjorie White died shortly once creating this film during a automobile accident--her IMDB entry states that she was, actually consididered the star of the film and got billing over the Stooges however her death caused the Studio to bump her all the way down to supporting player standing. Ah, Hollywood--how usually sensitive! will this sound to you somewhat like Miramax quickly erasing the globe Trade Center from it's brand once 9/11?
Tomorrow, part two...and additional Stoogiana...
