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The Stooges work at Dimsel's Drug Store where they befriend Schuyler Davis, the owner of the shop next door, who is attempting to build a time machine. With the boys "help," the machine transports the boys, Schuyler and his girlfriend Diane back in time to ancient Greece during the reign of the lecherous King Oedious, an ancestor of Dimsel. The King has a yearning for Diane, and banishes Schuyler and the boys to the galleys after they free the rightful King Ulysses from Oedious' jail. Schuyler builds impressive muscles from constant rowing, and after escaping following a shipwreck, the Stooges start billing Schuyler as Hercules at a local gladiator arena. The real Hercules, Odious' henchman, gets wind of their game and confronts them, but the Stooges convince Hercules to join the "good guys" and help them rescue Diane.


Quinn Redeker ('Schuyler') was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979 for the original story of THE DEER HUNTER.

Samson Burke's ('Hercules') career includes several years in Hawaii as Tom Selleck's stand-in and stunt double on MAGNUM P.I.

Samson Burke was a guest of the 2002 Three Stooges Fan Club Meeting in Bensalem PA; see The Three Stooges Journal # 102 (Summer 2002). Quinn Redeker and Samson Burke were guests of honor at the 2009 Fan Club Meeting in Ft. Washington PA, and The Stoogeum; see The Three Stooges Journal # 130 (Summer 2009) for story and photos.

Costar Vicki Trickett was interviewed by Steve Cox in The Three Stooges Journal # 108 (Winter 2003). Steve also interviewed Marlin McKeever ('Cyclops') in Journal # 117 (Spring 2006).

View the original theatrical trailer at TCM.com
Featuring
Moe, Larry and Curly Joe
Release Date
January 26, 1962
Studio
Columbia
Production Type
Feature Film
Duration
89 min.
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Production Notes   (2)
Prod. No.:   8617
Shooting Days:   13 days   From: 1961-06-06   To: 1961-06-22

Stooge Mayhem   (Avg. 0.00)

Stooge Mayhem is not available for this episode.


Stooge Quotes   (7)
  • "Uh-oh, a bald-headed screw. I wish I had a bald-headed screwdriver!"
    (Moe)

  • "I'll take the right flank." "I'll take the left flank." "I'll take a tranquilizer!"
    (Moe, Larry & Curly Joe)

  • "A super tranquilizer. It's good for headaches?" "Yeah." "Well, here's a super headache!" [bonk!!]
    (Moe & Curly Joe)

  • "You were never a success at anything - except stupidity!"
    (Moe)

  • "He has got it hooked up all wrong - any idiot can see that." "Well, you oughta know."
    (Moe & Larry)

  • "You know, these old Greek things certainly have lovely curves, haven't they?" "These young Greek things ain't bad, either!"
    (Quinn Redeker & Moe)

  • "But we're outnumbered." "You're outbrained too, but we have to try anyhow."
    (Curly Joe & Moe)

Stooge Goofs   (13)
  • Ancient Geography Lessons   Edit this Goof
    After the time machine lands, Quinn Redeker comments that they must be in the mountains of Eastern Greece. However, if they were supposed to have landed in Ithaca, as the plot implies, Ithaca is nearly the westernmost point in Greece - at least 200 miles west of the mountains of Eastern Greece. Also, shepherd Emil Sitka, told the travelers that he was on the island of Rhodes, & to get back to Ithaca, they have to go 1,200 miles east. However, since Rhodes is just off the coast of Turkey, it would be 1,200 miles west to Ithaca.

  • Ancient Pies   Edit this Goof
    At the end, during the chariot chase, there are two different pie-throwing sequences while moving at high speed. In the first, George Neise is hit with 4 pies & is covered pretty well with goop. But in the next cut immediately after, the first pie of the second sequence hits George with a nearly clean face.

  • Change in position   Edit this Goof
    When Curly Joe and Larry begin pulling the wires off of Moe, Moe has his head tilted up, but in the next shot, his head is suddenly facing straight.

  • Forgetting what to say next   Edit this Goof
    When a lady is supposed to say to the Stooges (who are dressed in drag) "Well, get busy! You know what to do!", she just says "Well...", then there's a long pause as if she forgets the rest of her line, then there's a jump cut in the film and she repeats her line the correct way.

  • Larry Spills the Beans   Edit this Goof
    As soon as the time-travelers arrive in ancient Greece, Larry lets the black-and-white audience know what color the "bad-guys" are wearing when he says, "The war's over, the guys in the green shirts chickened out!"

  • Missed hit   Edit this Goof
    When Odius is supposed to throw wine in Ulysses' face, it's obvious that he misses Ulysses' face.

  • Mr. Dimsel's Scribblings   Edit this Goof
    Mr. Dimsel adds some electrical/mechanical items to Skyler's drawing early in the movie, which later he confesses that he is a "graduate engineer" .. WHY??? WHY would he become a pharmacist after having a graduate degree in engineering???

  • Not-in-Sync Pounding   Edit this Goof
    During the slave-boat rowing sequences, the person in charge of "rhythm-keeping" pounds the drums at times when everyone is NOT stroking ...

  • Precision-Guided Munition or Time-Space Paradox?   Edit this Goof
    On the way back to Ithaca, New York, from Ithaca, Greece, the time machine detoured over the Los Angeles area first. At the end of the film, when Larry drops the bomb from the time machine, the time clock must've shown them passing overhead at around noon, March 18-21, 1936. The bomb Larry dropped in 1962 destroyed the same smokestack as the boys destroyed in 1936 with canon fire, during filming of 'Half-Shot Shooters'.

  • Visible Boom   Edit this Goof
    Larry & Curly Joe come out of the store room with new plates after George Neise yells at everyone to clean up, & Curly Joe drops the plates. When Moe walks over to where Larry & Curly Joe are standing next to each other, you can see the moving shadow of a boom in the upper left corner of the screen, behind Larry, during the entire scene.

  • Visible padding   Edit this Goof
    When Hercules pushes the cell bar back down, causing it to hit Larry in the eye, you can see padding on the bottom of the bar that was used so Larry wouldn't get hurt.

  • Wrong side   Edit this Goof
    When Achilles the Heel and his assistant open a side of their jackets to show their knives, the actor playing the assistant accidentally opens up the wrong side at first.

  • Wrongly Placed Sound Effect   Edit this Goof
    Early in the movie, the boys are working in Mr. Dimsel's drug store. Larry decides to throw a pharmaceutical substance over to Curly-Joe past Moe's head. The scene includes a "head-bonk" sound-effect that clearly is filmed missing Moe's head altogether!

Stooge Routines   (8)

Stooge Trivia   (0)

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Audio Files   (0)

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Transcript   (N)

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Videography   (2)

Fan Reviews   (10)
Re: THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE
Posted 2011-02-09 15:41:24 by diddymuck
No idea the reason for the negative reviews. A lively, hilarious satire of the then-current sword and sandal cult with the boys lending as much extemporaneous materials as they do rehearsed. The galley slave moments were first class, and such noteworthy guest stars as George N. Neise (McKeever and the Colonel), Hal Smith, and stooge alumni Emil Sitka and Gene Roth. "moe's got good rhythm, don't he?"
Re: THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE
Posted 2011-01-20 14:51:30 by cpp

Awful! Capitalizing on resurgent Stooges is one thing, but this was little more than a weak hodge-podge of Homer's Odyssey & the Twelve Labors of Hercules, jammed into 89 minutes. The subtext of the Stooges becoming instant gods, if planned, was clever, to cement their image as comedy gods. If not planned, it was a brilliant stroke of luck.

The Stooges were subdued throughout, & that's a shame, except for a bright spark - a little more life in the nearly comatose Joe DeRita when he became the whip master on the galley. Also, oddly, could Samson Burke have been made to appear any weaker as Hercules – the greatest of Greek heroes – than in this feature?

Emil Sitka deserved better. Perhaps it was a conflicting contract issue, or favors paid to others, butSitka, who had long-since paid his dues, was screwed again with a bit part not worthy of his talents. The silly Cyclops twins had more screen time thanSitka.

Mythology isn't always easy to follow. But, in my opinion, research & production values were shoddy - almost as if the thought was audiences would be too stupid to notice errors. At 900 BC, they appeared to land 300 years too late to hang around with Hercules. Although neither the City, nor Battle, of Troy were mentioned (except shown on a map), this feature seemed disjointed from the time, people, & events, it sought to portray, even considering mythology is a little nebulous. That made it tough to follow. Also, see the 'Goofs'.

The battle sequence as the time machine lands is lame. A few of the extras put some effort into what they were doing, but not many. Even extras in other segments looked lethargic. Weak dialog was painful to hear. Sony's Internet outlet, Crackle, also contributes to the mess. They compare this feature as 'The Three Stooges Meet Back to the Future'. Huh?

This feature may've turned a profit, & may've been liked by some Stooge fans, but it was as badly overrated as it was a poor representation of Elwood Ullman's writing skills. The narrator, arguably, turned in the best performance. Thankfully, this wasn't intended as a historical documentary. Even if it had been, it wasn't worthy of the Stooges.

Re: THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE
Posted 2010-08-21 01:53:29 by Stoogephilia
Like another Bernds' directing Stooges' films, this film has full of story and compared the story with some great Stooges' routines, like "Breaking out of prison" routine and some funny moments, like "Drug Store" scene. In this film, Edward Bernds created Curly-Joe character as a dimwit fat buddy boy, not just Curly immitator like he created Shemp character previously in 1946-1948.
Re: THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES, THE
Posted 2008-08-13 20:20:36 by DocWatson

A more tolerable DeRita feature. There are some funny moments and a pretty girl to look at and that makes up for it's obvious shortcomings. Still tolerable.

3 out of 4 from me.


Reviewer's Rating: (8)
RE: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES (1962)
Posted 2003-12-30 20:02:00 by shemps#1
Edited 2006-03-23 15:23:06 by shemps#1

Yet another example of how lame the Stooges became after Shemp bit the dust. "Hercules" continues the tradition of Derita features having no redeeming values. Every time that scenery-regurgitating blob is on the screen his stomach appears to have expanded even further. As for Moe and Larry (the redeeming value for many Stooge fans when watching the Derita features or Besser shorts) they come off as a couple of tired old comedians going through the paces for the payday. In fact, that is what they are! I'm still on the hunt for a good Derita feature, but I'm not overly optimistic.

[bomb]


Reviewer's Rating: (8)
Re: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES
Posted 2001-07-18 20:36:00 by Stooge
Edited 2003-07-01 19:17:00 by Stooge
A great movie, although Moe and Larry's old age is very noticeable (they do a good job anyway). The rhumba bit in the ship is my favorite part.

Reviewer's Rating: (8)
Re: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES
Posted 2001-10-22 01:49:00 by Mike Holme
A great Ed Bernds feature, probably one of their best, the only small complaint I have is that Moe's wrath seems to be quite shortened after the galley ship sinks. Another strange thing I noticed is that Larry has become the 3rd stooge and Curly-Joe the second stooge because Curly-Joe doesn't take as much of Moe's wrath as Larry does and in one scene Curly-Joe hits Larry in the stomach which seemed a little awkward.In Bernds other feature Larry also seems like the 3rd stooge instead of the second but it actually is an improvement since we all know that Larry is a better stooge. But this was overall a very funny feature and even the second half is quite funny in which both Odeius and Dimsel get their just desserts. Overall, this one is a classic despite the lack of stooge slapping toward the end of the film.4 pokesSlaps: 8 Punishment with Objects: 8 Stomach Hits: 3 Hair-pulls: 1 Edited by - Mike Holme on 1/1/2002 12:55:12 AMEdited by - Mike Holme on 1/6/2002 5:22:57 AM

Reviewer's Rating: (9)
Re: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES
Posted 2001-09-17 15:00:00 by Shemp_Diesel
One major stickler I've had about a lot of Edward Bernds short films is that he seemed to get caught up in making epic little movies in which the slapstick would suffer. In this film its really evident after a hilarious scene on the slave boat when the stooges rumba & the storm which sends the boys bailing out. After that you get a whole lot of talking & little to no slapstick which really hampers the film. Even the pie throwing at the end seems like a passive attempt to remind you this is still a stooge film but overall this movie isn't too shabby.2 1/2 pokes

Reviewer's Rating: (6)
Re: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES
Posted 2001-04-24 01:07:00 by Ichabod Slipp
Just watched this. The absolute best you can say for Joe DeRita is that he isn't Joe Besser. He'll get hit and he'll participate in slapstick, but he has no personality of his own, although I did catch at least two Curly imitations (you have to watch for them). Now on to the film. The Stooges give decent performances, and do have a few good moments of pure Stoogery (After DeRita drops a stack of dishes, he proudly holds up a cup which survived, and Moe hits him over the head with it) but all in all this film is just an entertaining piece of fluff. It's fun to watch, but the story overwhelms the Stooges a little too much and doesn't let them be as broad or as abusive as they should be. Of course, they were getting older and perhaps were willing to settle for letting personalities sell the act instead of comedically-timed violence. The irony is that Curly Joe didn't HAVE a personality, whereas Curly had it to spare. More complaints: some of the foley effects were *too* cartoony and didn't really match some of the action... and whimsical cartoon music doesn't work with the Stooges at *all*. This was the beginning of the age when the Stooges were a hot kids' commodity. To me it's peculiar to think of them as being targeted solely to kids when I think of some of the slightly risque jokes they would pull in the older shorts. ("Don't mind me, I'm only the plumber!")
Re: THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES
Posted 2001-02-16 17:07:00 by sickdrjoe
Haven't seen this in years, but it was pretty bad the last time I did. De Ritais 300 lbs of nothin'...he's not as teeth-gratingly annoying as Besser, but at least Besser was trying (albeit failing miserably). The ONLY silver lining is that, finally, after years of toiling in Harry Cohn's gulag, they were finally getting paid decent money.

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