I was a big fan of the three stooges back then and this was the first feature movie I saw, and it was at a drive in. I think I was in my pyjamas when I at the drive in. The most memorable part of the movie was when the three stooge were in a jail cell and cut through a bar to escape. The bar was attached to a small table on the above floor where Hercules was eating grapes or something. In their attempt to escape the jail cell the three stooges push the bar up and hence push the plate of grapes into Hercules face which infuriates him. There begins a game push and tug with the table and the jail bar. I don't know why I remember this through all these years but I do. I was young at the time and impressionable. Now all these people I watched are now dead.

The Three Stooges -- hot-tempered Moe Howard, bumbling Larry Fine, and doltish Curly Joe De Rita -- are sent back in time to ancient Greece along with meek nerdy inventor Schuyler Davis (a likable performance by Quinn Redeker) and the sweet Diane Quigley (winningly played with spunky aplomb by the lovely Vicki Trickett). The evil King Odius (a perfectly slimy portrayal by George N. Neise) takes Diane as his wife and makes Schuyler and the Stooges his slaves. The Stooges manage to escape and travel the country passing Schuyler off as Hercules. Naturally, they all return to Rome to save Diane from King Odius and confront the real Hercules (brawny behemoth Samson Burke). Director Edward Bernds, working from a blithely silly script by Elwood Ullman, relates the enjoyably inane story at a constant brisk pace and does a good job of maintaining a properly good-natured and lighthearted tone throughout. The Stooges are all in fine wacky and spirited form, with the definite comic highlight occurring when our nutty trio dress up in drag and pass themselves off as slave girls. Another funny bit has Hercules cracking nuts with his biceps. Hal Smith is simply delightful as the jolly King of Rhodes. Moreover, this film even delivers a few thrills like a lively fight between Schuyler and Hercules and an exciting climactic chariot chase. The surprisingly lavish sets and costumes give this picture an impressive sense of scope. Paul Dunlap's robust and rousing score hits the madcap spot. Scotty Welbourne's sumptuous black and white cinematography likewise does the trick. A total hoot.

All the Stooges films set in past historical eras intentionally spoof historical genres with anachronisms (ancient Egyptians comment on baseball, a Civil War general makes a reference to a radio show, Medieval knights worry whether Lady Godiva might offend the censors, etc.). But anachronisms are tossed about so gleefully here, you begin to realize that this is what the film is really all about - how movies set in the past pull the wool over the eyes of their innocently romantic audiences with a few spangles, a bit of flash, the inevitable tear-jerk scene, and a good dose of beefcake/cheesecake. In fact, the recipe for this film could make for pretty heavy satire if the Stooges weren't so clearly making a light-hearted (and light-headed) romp of it all.Those who complain that the boys are looking pretty old in the film pretty much miss the point. An aging clown looks bad when he tries to play it young; but by working one's whiskers into the act, the clown regenerates himself as a new personality. These are not the old Stooges who bounced their way through the madcap shorts of the '30s; but they are a heck of a lot more fun than the Stooges of the '50s, trying to pretend that age had never happened. True, in their later features, they were very dependent on their scripts, which frequently let them down. But here the script is really not bad at all, and the Stooges are having a grand time, and we should, too. Just set your critical mind at rest and enjoy the show.

"The stooges meet hercules" is a great movie. Its great for all ages. Young and old. I wish the stooges made more movies. Its a real funny movie, the stooges go back in time and meet Hercules, who eles... alls going well till the stooges along with their friend end up in jail, on a slave ship. What seems like years, goes by and the stooges' friend gains more power than 50 men put together. (What a great work out!) In the end they go back to fright Hercules and win the girl. I know what I just said seems like a bad movie, but it really is a great movie. And real funny too.