"Soup to Nuts" is a special treat for Three Stooges fans everywhere. It marks the very first film appearance of Ted Healy and His Stooges, several years before the act was known simply as the Three Stooges. It seems that this film was thought to be lost forever for decades, until the Three Stooges Fan Club, Inc. (of which I am a proud member) was somehow able to locate a print of the film through detective work. Boy, we Stooge fans never knew what we were missing! The plot is nonessential, particularly the sappy romance, but the smart-alecky Healy and his ruffian Stooges (Shemp Howard, Harry "Moe" Howard, and Larry Fine, not counting bushy-eyed Fred Sanborn) get a chance to shine after years of vaudeville experience. Also to be admired is the fantastic Charles Winninger as Otto Schmidt, a fun-loving costume shop owner and an inventor of a handful of wacky gadgets to boot. That's not surprising, since cartoonist Rube Goldberg wrote the screenplay.Here are my favorite scenes from "Soup to Nuts" (and if you haven't yet seen this little gem of a movie, don't read any further). At the film's opening, the Stooges sing a wonderful three-part harmony of "You'll Never Know Just What Tears Are" while Ted and Whispering Willie (Fred Sanborn) try to drop sandbags on top of the trio. (In later years, when the Stooges sang this song in a few of their famous Columbia shorts, they never got past the first couple of lines.) At the climactic firemen's ball, Ted sings "You Can Only Wear One Pair of Pants at a Time", after which the Stooges join him for a complete vaudeville sketch, featuring more three-part harmony and a lot of jokes. The xylophone playing of Whispering Willie is probably Fred Sanborn's only good contribution to the film. Otto Schmidt gets caught in his own unique burglar alarm. And finally, we have a plethora of funny gags when Ted and the Stooges attempt to fight a fire at the end of the picture.The delightfully screwy "Soup to Nuts" may be a little slow at times, particularly when the Stooges are not featured, but that's okay. This film is well worth seeing, in my opinion, and it has fortunately been released to DVD. Do yourself a big favor and watch this movie!

048: Soup to Nuts (1930) - released 9/28/1930; viewed 5/8/06.The National Socialists win 107 seats in the German parliament.BIRTHS: Warren Buffett, Ray Charles, Shel Silverstein.DOUG: And I thought the Marx Brothers' act was rough and unrefined in 1930. Okay, we watched Another Fine Mess with Laurel & Hardy, and I started reading about them and the other comedy teams from the 30s and 40s, like the Three Stooges. I soon found that their first movie, the Rube Goldberg-penned Soup to Nuts was released in 1930, and was out on DVD. Thus, this eleventh-hour addition squeezes its way in just before we close out 1930 for good. I found this movie to be mostly sub-par with the exception of a couple scenes near the end where Moe, Larry (looking a lot like Ringo Starr here), and Shemp really get to cut loose ("It's the Elevator Dance! It has no steps!"). Although it's advertised these days as a Stooges movie, they're just part of an ensemble, and mostly function as a foil for Ted Healy (as they would do for several more movies before ditching Ted and striking out on their own). I found most of the humor to be derivative of the Marx Brothers: Healy is Groucho, the Stooges are all Chico, Fred Sanborn (eyebrows!) is Harpo, and Stan Smith is Zeppo, complete with romantic subplot. It seems in these old slapstick comedies, the two characters who fall in love invariably turn out to be the most boring characters in the movie. I thought most of the gags to be decent at best and predictable most of the time. Much of the supporting cast is lackluster, although Frances McCoy steals the show as the chatterbox phone secretary Queenie.KEVIN: Before we wrap up 1930, we first have this little Rube Goldberg-penned comedy featuring Ted Healy and the Three Stooges. As one would expect, the Stooges were not even close to hitting their stride here in their first full-length feature, back when it was Moe, Larry, and Shemp, who are credited as nameless Firemen. They're not even the main players, as they're primarily a three-man foil for lead Ted Healy. Mostly, it felt as though they were ripping off the Marx brothers, with Ted as Groucho, all the Stooges as Chico, and silent Fred Sanborn as Harpo. There were a few very funny moments, mostly when the story stops and Ted and the Stooges take center stage, and when Otto explains his Rube Goldberg anti-burglar system (the explanation was funnier than the execution). I also enjoyed the scene-stealing loudmouth Frances McCoy, who was a special treat considering we'll never see her again. And Goldberg should stick to his day job (which is cartooning, not inventing. That's his night job).Last film viewed: The Jazz Singer (1927). Last film chronologically: Animal Crackers (1930). Next film viewed: Little Caesar (1931). Next film chronologically: The Big Trail (1930).

Probably the only reason anyone watches this today is to see the first film appearance of The Three Stooges; and any viewer looking for Stoogic brilliance will necessarily be disappointed. But taken on its own terms, there's a good deal to appreciate in this bizarre little number. The attempt to translate Rube Goldberg's comics to a cinematic format results in some hilarious moments. There are also some big laughs from a comedian named Freddy Sanborne, who ludicrously overplays his role as a gay slapstick fireman (this movie was made prior to the Hayes Code, when the character's obvious homosexuality was permissible comedy fodder). The Stooges themselves are disappointing. Their number included Shemp at this time (this was PRE-Curly), and Larry gets more dialog than Moe. They generate a few nyuks, but if you're after great Stooge viewing, you've come to the wrong place. I give this one 6 stars out of 10.

Sure, there are some things about Soup To Nuts that aren't really great, but the fact that the Stooges are in it...THAT's great. It's not necessarily based on them, but their appearance every now and then is always funny. And it's worth sitting through the rest of the movie to get to the end. Moe, Larry and Shemp put on a classic Stooge performance. They're firefighters trying to save people, put out the fire, and smack each other around all at the same time. It's excellent. All Three Stooges fans should see it. I could care less about Ted Healy and the other cast members. I just want to see the Stooges!