Soup to Nuts (1930) User Reviews

Vaudeville on film - its weaknesses are also its strengths

[bobc-5 · 5/10 · 21 August 2001]

What we appear to have here are some vaudeville comedians trying to bring their acts to the screen assisted by a story from comic strip artist Rube Goldberg. It doesn't seem likely that any of them knew much about making movies no matter how good they may have been at making people laugh in their normal venues. The result is a mostly haphazard collection of lame gags with a few totally inane scenes thrown in for "plot" development. It isn't a total loss, however, because this fundamental weakness turns out also to be the film's greatest strength. Not knowing what they were doing, they manage to create a movie with a truly unusual and unique approach to film comedy. No matter how bad it may be, there are a few moments of hilarity delivered in a style you'll not see anywhere else.

What really makes this worthwhile for most viewers, however, is it being the film debut of the 3 Stooges. Their skit near the end of the movie is basically a filmed vaudeville routine and is quite a bit different from the familiar act they eventually developed for their later shorts, but it's probably the closest we'll ever come to seeing what they originally looked like when performing on stage (and our only chance to see bizarre "fourth stooge" Fred Sanborn). No 3 Stooges fan should ever consider passing up the opportunity to see this.

Let me also say that many of the other reviews here seem very unfair to Ted Healy, the Stooges original leader. From what I've read, the Stooges always thought very highly of his talents, but eventually got tired of his drunken binges and not being given the credit (or money) they deserved. In fact, it was after an early split with Healy that Shemp refused to return to work for him, thus requiring younger brother Curly to be brought in as a replacement (although much maligned by Stooge fans, Shemp does go on to be the only one of them with a successful film career independent of being a stooge). Healy, a big vaudeville star, seemed on his way to becoming a big film star before being killed in a bar fight during one of his drunken binges. Having never had the chance to see him in vaudeville, it hardly seems fair to judge him based on a few movies he made while still learning how to make the transition.

Corny, Clever, Dopey, Charming, with Pre-Vintage Stooges

[frankebe · 7/10 · 9 August 2009]

Well, folks, I dunno' . . . maybe I'm just a little nutty myself, but I really like this film. For the record, I also like the movie "Meet the Baron" and a couple of the Fox Laurel & Hardy movies; on the other hand I think "Dancing Lady" is very BORING, and I think "Swing Parade" is BEYOND boring and a terrible waste of talent, especially in the finale. So that's where I stand...

~ ~ ~

The story moves along briskly with one colorful character popping up after another, with the jokes doggedly marching along. If you don't like one gag, you'll laugh at the next—well, smile anyway... Happily enough, there are indeed a number of Rube Goldberg's "inventions" on display throughout the film.

The Three Stooges appear suddenly in the first instant of the first live-action shot of the movie, and the whole scene is very funny. They sing and do the sand-bag routine (later reprised in the 1950s on the Ed Wynn Show. Here it is more logically framed and much better timed with a stronger ending). I find Ted Healey very charming and funny, too. His girlfriend Queenie (Frances McCoy) is perfect: darling and hilarious, and remains one of the great mysteries of film--absolutely nobody seems to know whatever happened to her!

There is actually quite a lot of Stooges, and they have as merry madcap a fire department you could please. If you think of the movie being in 3 parts, they are in two-thirds of the film.

The quality of the Fox 2005 reprinting is GREAT, both image and sound. Imagine: a 1930 movie that no one cared about, saved at the last minute and looking so good. OK, it's just not a "great" film, so 7 stars out of 10; but the restoration is 9.99 stars. (One curiosity is that the end music is quite long, but there is no picture!)

We should be so lucky to see the Laurel & Hardy movies again in such pristine condition. Hallmark should be shot.

Not Stoogerific, But Worthwhile

[frimbo · 6/10 · 18 August 2001]

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.

Dated today, but standard for 1930s.

[yarborough · 6 November 2001]

I first caught this movie at four a.m. one night and found it to be insane, pure insanity. The first half hour or so is pretty slow and not very funny, but full of shouting and sight gags. But things get going when the Stooges (with Shemp, of course) go to a restaurant and annoy the waiter. Then their peformance at a firemen's ball is a lot of fun and starts the movie with some good laughs that continue as the Stooges try to fight a blazing fire. A lot of the Stooge elements of later shorts can be found here (the fixed coin tosses, the slapping, the big fat lady) but the movie doesn't focus enough on the Stooges' personalities to create the hard laughs that the shorts have, and the lackluster performances by the supporting cast cause this movie to lag at times. But the slap fight between Shemp and Moe is hilarious.

Not especially funny but still well worth seeing.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 29 April 2021]

"Soup to Nuts" is far from a brilliant comedy and I only scored it a mediocre 6. So why do I STILL recommend you see it? Well, it's because it is important historically, as it's the first Three Stooges film...of sorts. I say 'of sorts' because it's not exactly the Stooges you might expect. While many will remember Curly as one of the original Stooges, this really isn't the case. His older brother, Shemp, was originally one of the Four Stooges. Four? Well, I'll get to that in a second. As for Curly, he replaced Shemp as Shemp had film offers on his own and only returned to the Stooges after Curly had a stroke in 1946. Now about the four....for a brief time, Fred Sanborn played a mute Stooge...sort of like a Harpo Marx character. But after making "From Soup to Nuts" he, like Shemp, went out on his own...in this case to pursue his musical career. Additionally, through their stage act to about 1933, the Stooges were billed as Ted Healy and His Stooges. After completing this film for Fox, the group went to MGM, briefly, and Moe, Larry and Curly soon left to go to Columbia and their careers took off. As for Healy, he stayed with MGM and was beaten to death outside a nightclub only a few years later.

So, if you want to see the earliest incarnation of the Stooges on film, "Soup to Nuts" is it....though the style sure isn't what you'd expect from the boys. Ted Healy is THE act and Moe, Larry and Shemp really have little to do and Moe isn't the boss...so they all slap each other or get slapped by Healy. As for Sanborn, despite soon leaving the group, he received much more screen time than Moe, Larry and Shemp...much more. He was occasionally funny.

The plot seems only ancillary to all the weirdness and high energy. Otto owns a costume shop and it's a financial mess...so much so that the company is being taken over by creditors. The man's daughter is angry and hates the man who has come to run things....though he's actually a nice guy and helps the family tremendously...though it took the entire film for her to realize it. In the interim, there's a lot of silliness, some Rube Goldberg style inventions and a bit of music. All in all, reasonably pleasant but a bit incoherent when it comes to plot.

By the way, if you do watch, note a couple other actors in the film. In the restaurant scene, note the rotund guy. He's Mack Swain, the foil for Chaplin in many of his films, including "The Gold Rush". Also, the 'baby' doing summersaults is actually 6 year-old Billy Barty.

Ted Healy & the Three Stooges Debut

[cheesecrop · 7/10 · 1 November 2013]

"Soup To Nuts" marks the debut of the legendary comedy team the Three Stooges. Here, the Stooges are comprised of Larry, Moe, and Shemp. Along for the ride is a fourth comic, a gentleman named Fred Sanborn, who's silent character is reminiscent of Harpo Marx. It suggests some Marxian thought may have gone into this, though I have no proof of this.

The plot is a bit of nonsense involving a costume shop that is swimming in red ink, and how Ted & the Stooges will save it. The Stooges are nominal firemen, while Healy works at the store. Everyone else, save for actor Charles Winniger, have been lost to time. Considering the year this is being done (1930), they're not too, too bad. Still, if you're looking for "Citizen Kane"-style performances, you've come to the wrong place.

Allow me to say something about Ted Healy. Most people have the impression that Healy was some kind of monster figure who the Stooges had to break free of. Yet something is wrong here. On one hand, the Stooges never spoke negatively of Healy after his passing, and they all worked in Hollywood for 40 more years. In addition, one can see little spots in their work with Healy that indicate some of the Stooges later routines were already in use during their Healy days. This seems to indicate that Healy had some sort of talent for at least devising comic material, if not for delivering it. This film may do little to redeem him as a comic, though you may see it different. However, if you are to believe some of the plaudits handed down to the man by others, then it is clear that we may be missing something regarding this man.

Hope you enjoy the film!

Just to see the Stooges

[jaynashvil · 4/10 · 30 May 2001]

The only appeal of this film is to see the Stooges in their earliest film appearance--and to get a glimpse of the now-reviled Ted Healey. I can see why the Boys parted ways with Healey. His treatment of them comes off as brutal and mean-spirited (even by Stooge standards!) A curiosity piece.

3 stooges and so many vaudeville bits

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 14 July 2019]

Has ya eva seen so much corn in one bit? so many old vaudeville bits stapled together in one collection. The three stooges, led by Fred Sanborn's eyebrows. he dressed funny and acted even odder. Charles Winninger is "Schmidt", who runs a shop, but its going under, because he spends all his time on his inventions. They call on the three stooges in an early bit. Lucille Browne is Schmidt's niece Louise. This is clearly a Rube Goldberg film, and we see some of his crazy, complicated inventions, like the machine that throws the sugar cube into the cup of coffee. Goldberg not only wrote this, but he's also an uncredited actor in the film! This one is from 1930, so they can get away with a couple jokes that are a little more risqué.... just a couple years later, they wouldn't be able to say some of these gags! all the women in the film talk in the high pitched baby voices. so annoying. did the men really fall for that? it IS a comedy, so lots of pratfalls, sight gags, one and two liners. an hour and ten minutes of silliness. entertaining fun, but the story plot is really beside the point. Directed by Benjamin Stoloff. started in silents, moved into talkies. not a lot of info on him.

Don't even bother!!

[pytkoj1 · 1/10 · 16 March 2001]

As an avid fan of silent and early talking films, I saw no harm in wanting to watch this film. I had enjoyed the Three Stooges growing up, and the opportunity to watch a film from 1930 was always welcoming to me.

Never before have I been so disappointed in a film from this era. It was absolutely atrocious, and a waste of seventy minutes' time. As for what happened to the actors, I couldn't care less, not that they were doing anything anyway. Somebody should have given some care to this film. The film was not even enjoyably stupid- it was just plain foolish. To think that this 'masterpiece' was preserved makes me question whether someone really didn't just throw money away. To return to the film- do you want to be sickened, made uneasy? Then watch this awful thing! Also, Fred Sanborn- ha! what can one say save that he turns the stomach! To be somewhat fair, there was one good five minute sequence with Healy and the Stooges at a party. As for the rest, it should have rotted away.

Stooges screen debut: Excellent!

[Nokkar · 7/10 · 28 April 2001]

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!

Early TWO Stooges Film - Soup to Nuts

[arthur_tafero · 4/10 · 4 October 2022]

Two of the three THREE STOOGES are in this film, which makes is a debut piece, an oddity. And pretty much a mess. A silly subplot of romance is added just to please the women in the audience. We all know where the film is headed, but the oddball characters make the trip a bit interesting. The two stooges don't perform any of their renowned bits, but they entertaining, nevertheless. The rest of the cast is pretty much a group of forgotten actors and actresses. Recommended for Three Stooges fans. In particular, so they can see the origins of two of the three stooges. As a film by itself, well.....it's pretty much just a mess.

Sound was everything in these earliest "Talkie" days and this was certainly no different! That's for sure, Schultz!".

[redryan64 · 9/10 · 29 January 2008]

We well remember hearing about this film and seeing one particular still from it; but for years, that was about it. It was found in lists of stooge filmography; where it provided us with yet another puzzling fact. It was listed as SOUP TO NUTS (FOX, 1930). FOX was a film company that was bought by Darryl F. Zanuck's upstart 20th Century Film Corporation, forming, oddly enough, the 20th CENTURY-FOX Film Corporation! But, being loyal 3 Stooges fans, we knew that their Home Studio was, is and forever be Harry Cohn's Columbia Pictures Corporation. We had been conditioned by the famous Lady Columbia's opening all their films; as well as the tack-on TV openings of "Screen Gems, Television Subsidiary of Columbia Pictures Corporation." And then, just who is this Ted Healy guy, where'd he come from? Why does he seem to boss Shemp, Larry, "Harry" and this Fred Sandborn character? And just who or what is a Fred Sandborn, anyway? Our family was lucky, as our parents, Clem Ryan (1914-1974) and his Bride, Bertha (nee Fuerst, 1917-Still going strong at 91!) were great believers in sharing all knowledge, no matter how seemingly insignificant as this. They clued us in that it originally had been "Ted Healy and His Stooges", although the Stooges broke away from the ego maniacal, tyrannical and alcoholic Healy and were fairly successful, too!

SOUP TO NUTS was not only the Stooges first movie, but was an adaptation of a Rube Goldberg novel. Mr. Goldberg was arguably America's pre-eminent cartoonist; becoming famous world-wide for his intricately designed, yet singularly functioned "inventions". As cartoonists of this day were highly regarded as celebs, they often appeared in films; such as this one, in which Mr. Goldberg made an appearance as Rube Goldberg, himself!

The film uses the back drop of the old Fire House. Long a favourite in literature, the movies and comic strips, the job of the Fireman has long had status as both the Heroic for what they do when applying their trade and humorous for those down time, between fires stretches (if your referring to a House located in a quiet area). Films such as LIFE OF AN American FIREMAN (Edison Co., 1903), A TITLE UNK. And believed lost Sound Serial (Universal, ca. 1931), FIREHOUSE (TV movie, Metromedia Prod./ABC, 1973), "FIREHOUSE" TV Series (Metromedia/ABC, 1974) and more recently screened projects like BACKDRAFT! (Image Films/Trilogy Entertainment/Universal Pictures, 1991) and John Travolta's LADDER 49 (Touchstone/Beacon/Casey Silver/Fantail/Buena Vista, 2004), all are good examples.

On the humorous front, we had the comic strip SMOKEY STOVER by Bill Holman (Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate, 1935-1973). It featured Smokey, the Fire Chief Cash U. Nutt, Smokey's Cat, Spooky and the bizarre 2 wheeled Fireengine, the "Foomobile". In addition, Mr. Holman injected all manner of puns and 'unusual' occurrences such a little hitch-hiker character inquiring, "Nov shmooz kapop?"and framed wall 'licenses' reading 'Notary Sojac'! And Now, Back To SOUP TO NUTS, presented without any commercial interruptions! As for the humor of the film, which at times seems rather scarce to modern viewers, it is episodic, even so very brief and unconnected to other events in the film. In that sense there is a strong resemblance to a 3 or 4 panel comic strip. (Gee, I wonder why!) And one thing we, perhaps, forget that every picture constantly tests the waters for what is funny. It is our perspective of hind-sight, we sometime forget that even standard bits such as Stan Laurel's opposite extremes of Laughing and Crying routines, Oliver Hardy's recurring plunging head deep into the deepest puddle and Buster Keaton's "Great Stone Face" on screen, were all the results of trial & error.

Though not hardly a typical Stooges film, there were embryonic signs of what would be later considered to be "Stooges' Standards". As an example of such a routine seen in this movie is their rendition of "You'll never know….", in the format of a Barber Shop Quartet. This was heard so many times in future Producer Jules White's Columbia shorts.

Yeah, there's really not a lot here; and it was at one time thought to be lost. But, thanks to UCLA's Motion Picture Archives' preservation program and the formerly great American Film Classics, the world got to see it once again. And, please, Schultz, correct me if this "Old Redhead" is wrong; but I believe that AMC's telecast of ca. 1994-96, during their film preservation week, was the picture's TV Premier.

Get it, if for no other reason, as an Historical Curio of both the early "Talkies", as well as the Stooges Historical movie launching pad.

For the thoroughgoing Stooge fan

[pcisom · 6/10 · 16 October 2006]

The film is tedious and clunky. (Howard J. Green, credited as continuity director, should never have worked in film again.) But one single scene redeems everything else (on the DVD, No. 18, Three Charming Boys). Here the film's storyline (thankfully) comes to a complete halt. In a stationary, medium shot filmed in one take, Ted Healy, Moe, Larry and Shemp recreate a vaudeville routine that is as close to seeing the Stooges live on stage as exists anywhere (unless there's still a 100-year-old audience member still alive and kicking somewhere). When Healy calls his Stoooges into the shot, he takes an instinctive step to his right, as he undoubtedly had done night after night on the live stage. The routine is more rehearsed than anything else in the film (for obvious reasons), illustrated best when Healy reads a letter Shemp has written and Shemp mouths the contents of the letter along with Healy. Stooge aficionados will be particularly interested to note that Shemp, not Moe functions as the boss Stooge.

Soup to Nuts is an interesting early look at The Three Stooges (with Shemp instead of Curly)

[tavm · 4/10 · 23 July 2007]

Having taped this movie from AMC's Third Annual Film Preservation Festival when the subject was comedy, I was very anxious to see the film debut of The Three Stooges with Ted Healy as their original leader and Shemp Howard in the original group before quitting, allowing younger brother Curly to take his place. Written by cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who makes a cameo here, the story-about an elderly costume store owner (Charles Winninger) about to lose his place-is nothing special but has some amusing visual humor when we see some of Winninger's inventions like the complicated ways to wake up and stop a robber involving a cat and a giant boot. This and other weird gadgets are what Goldberg is famous for drawing. As for the Stooges, they play firemen who Ted hangs around with when he's not constantly arguing with his girlfriend (Frances McCoy). Legend has it that Fox studio head Winfred Sheehan wanted the Stooges without Ted, who was angered and stormed off taking the boys with him, signed to a long-term contract and that's why Shemp went out on his own after a brief split soon afterwards. So this is the only time on film he's with Healy who performs along with his brother Moe (credited as Harry) and Larry Fine, none of whom have the wild hair they became known for. The reason Sheehan may have only wanted Howard, Fine, and Howard might have been the scene where they order such bizarre things like a "ham and corn beef sandwich on white on rye" or a "baloney with whipped cream"! That and a later routine with Ted in which the boys perform "The Elevator Dance" (in which Larry stands still while Moe hand pops his mouth and Shemp rubs sandpaper together) which has "no steps to it" are the funniest parts of the movie. Nearly everything else is "eh" though there's also some entertaining xylophone playing by another comic foil named Fred Sanborn and a little kid named Billy Barty amusingly attempts to pop a balloon as he keeps somersaulting. Worth a look for Three Stooges fans and anyone interested in the early talkies.

WAIT a minute!

[esstee55 · 10 January 2002]

Everybody commenting here seems to forget about the fine character actor Charles Winninger, who unfortunately is one of the best things about this mediocre picture. Yeah, we Stooges fans only watched this to see our favorite slapstick guys in their very first exposure to film, and most of us already knew that Healy's semi-popularity as a comedian was a mystery. But there are indeed other things going on here, most notably the aforementioned Winninger, who's the funniest person in this film, most assuredly. Watch out for that gigantic boot!

A dopey Winninger character is the nut who makes this soupy mess worth watching

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 19 January 2022]

If ever a Hollywood movie title was right on the nose, this is it. "Soup to Nuts" is a line in the film, and this film is really a mixed "soup" of oddities and oddballs. And, the characters are almost all nuts. I vaguely remember an old saying (mid-20th century) that when something was so odd, unusual or hard to qualify, it was referred to as a "Rube Goldberg." Well, Goldberg, the sculptor of strange ("modern art"?) works, cartoonist, inventor and writer, wrote the original screenplay for this hodgepodge. So, what would one expect? He's also in a short scene, opening a pile of "fan" mail while sitting at a table in the Yodel Inn.

There's no real plot in this so-called comedy. The dialog in the screenplay is mostly humorless. It doesn't have any clever or witty lines, and the few lines that Ted Healy has that were probably intended for comedy are of the type that a century ago may have - I say, may have elicited some chuckles or laughter. There are also a couple of half-funny song attempts, but they hardly qualify this as a musical. And, there are no other acts or skits to liken it vaudeville

The DVD I obtained of this film has the original Three Stooges featured on the cover. But, they're just a small part of the film, and not funny at that. My reason for getting the DVD was because it's touted somewhat as screwball comedy. I'm willing to give most such films a showing. Well, I can see the screwball attempt, even though it doesn't have the main elements of such. It is a wacky conglomeration of scenes that are mostly very dumb - even outlandishly stupid. And that's what made me laugh heartily a couple of times - the sheer dumbness or stupidity of the plotless screenplay.

One can forget the Three Stooges input for comedy, and Ted Healy is just a little funny, but he's otherwise sort of a figure around whom the various disparate parts seem to coalesce. He has one early scene with Queenie (Frances McCoy) in which they yell at one another over the telephone, and tell others listening that this is their sweetheart whom they are mad about. The comedy is all in the antics and goofiness of just a few scenes - and the heart of all of these is Charles Winninger as Otto Schmidt. Remove him or his character, and this film would be an abysmal thing to watch. He accounts for four of the six stars I give this film.

But, unless one can laugh at things that aren't funny, just because they are so unbelievably bad or dumb, I wouldn't recommend this film. Here's the only line of dialog that might get a chuckle from some fans. Teddy, on the phone with Queenie, says, "Hey, you can't talk to me like that. We're not married yet." See what I mean?

Imagine the Stooges with a really bad leader...

[rmeredith · 3/10 · 10 March 2001]

AMC has been showing this stinker for the month of March,2001. Ted Healy gets my vote as worst actor ever on screen. He does a second-rate Jolson impersonation- and that may be an insult to second-rate! In the scenes with the Stooges(of the 3 Stooges fame) Shemp comes across as the leader of the three, but Healy tries and fails miserably at doing slapstick comedy better than the Kings of the art form- The Three Stooges. I understand Healy was eventually murdered. Too bad for him, but great for the world of comedy.

Nuts to Soup!!!

[zardoz-13 · 1/10 · 13 April 2012]

The only thing memorable about director Benjamin Stoloff's otherwise forgettable comedy "Soup to Nuts" is that it offered audiences their first glimpse of the Three Stooges. Unfortunately, this tepid laffer about a down-on-his-luck costume store owner who goes bankrupt provides the Stooges with only modest exposure. Wisecracking, know-it-all, Schmidt Costume Shop salesman Ted (vaudeville comic Ted Healy of "Bombshell") prefers to hang out with his low wattage pals at the local fire station. They are Shemp, Moe, and Larry who formed the Three Stooges. They don't get a chance to indulge in their slapstick as they would in their later shorts and feature films. Basically, they are fireman who cavort on their ladder fire truck. Cartoonist Rube Goldberg penned the plot for this absurd adventure. It appears that Otto Schmidt (Charles Winninger of "Ziegfeld Girl")lavishes too much time on idle projects, like self-tipping hat, a burglar alarm that involves several gadgets, and complicated device that sweetens coffee. He goes bankrupt and has to turn his costume shop over to creditors. Richard Carlson (Stanley Smith) takes over the store, while Otto takes a job as a waiter at Gus's restaurant. Under no circumstances does Otto want his niece Louise (Lucile Browne) to get wind of his misfortune. Naturally, Louise learns about it at about the same time that Richard lays eyes on her and knows that she is the gal for him. Predictably, Louise wants nothing to do with the dastardly Richard who spends the bulk of this 71-minute epic struggling to win her approval. "Soup to Nuts" contains a rather thin plot with a romantic subplot. Recommended only for die-hard Three Stooges fans because the humor here is creaky.

This is the original debut of "The Three Stooges", does this film manage to do them justice? Well.....

[TheHonestCritic · 2/10 · 24 April 2021]

"Soup to Nuts" (1930), the only reason I watched this "movie", was because The Three Stooges were in it, and also the fact that this was their debut. I watched it, and unfortunately, all I got was a massive disappointment. Unbelievable! Not even The Three Stooges themselves could save it. This "film" has a very boring and cliched story, dull sets/locations, the acting is dreadful, and the soundtrack is predictable and generic. The only good element in this "movie" are it's special effects. For 1930, the special effects were revolutionary and still hold up to this day! Maybe because they use very few of them, but the special effects that they do use work perfectly and have aged well. Sadly, good special effects are no excuse for mediocre script writing and acting. Now, what do you say we get into the real meat of my review? The storyline itself is about as basic a plot as you can get. Ordinarily, for a comedy film, that would be a good thing. As you all know, simple stories help comedic moments to shine. There's only one problem though, the writer forgot to make it entertaining. Seriously, this is without a doubt, one of the most boring and unfunny movies I have ever seen! I didn't smile, let alone laugh one time. Not one time! One of the biggest issues is, The Three Stooges are not the main characters, even though they were prominently shown on the "movie" poster. No, it's mostly about this dull and uninteresting man named Ted, played by Ted Healy. We'll get more into him in a minute! Also, all of the side characters add nothing to the minuscule plot. None of the jokes are funny, and for the majority of these 70 minutes, nothing happens. For a 70 minute "film", it felt like an eternity! This was one of the longest short movies I have ever seen. Normally, for a movie to qualify as a motion picture, it has to be a minimum of 70 minutes to count. However, every second just felt completely meaningless, and they just dragged slower as they ticked by. If you take away the opening and end titles, then it's easily less than 70 minutes in length. So, for that one of many different reasons, it shouldn't even qualify as a feature film! Now for the acting, oh boy, do I have a bone to pick with this element of the "movie". The only decent performances come from The Three Stooges, even though they were reduced to side characters. What an insult! The worst acting in this "film", comes from the mistaken for talented, Ted Healy. He is one of the worst comedy actors in the history of movies and television. Honestly, he is on my top ten worst comedians of all-time list! He literally can't make me laugh to save his life. Fun fact, he helped The Three Stooges get their start in film. They started out as foils to whatever character he played. Thankfully, they separated from him and formed their own series of shorts, known as "The Three Stooges". I, in all of the heavenly blessings, thank God that they left him and made their own shows, because if they stuck with Ted Healy any longer, then they would have crashed and burned. Because, that's what Ted Healy does, he kills comedy! However, when it comes to serious moments, Ted Healy honestly doesn't do too bad. Maybe if he did more serious roles, or dramas, he would've had some sort of worthiness in the acting industry. An actor who is currently going a through similar circumstance is Adam Sandler. Most of his comedy films suck. But, his dramas and serious movies are so much better. Any way, let's get back to this review. The rest of the acting in "Soup to Nuts" is just as big a waste as the plot itself. All of the sets/locations are nothing short of dull and give the "movie" a boring atmosphere. Finally, the soundtrack composed by Cliff Friend and James Monaco is generic and predictable. It adds nothing to the story overall, and is not memorable in the least. I'm starting to see a trend, boring movies equal boring film scores! "Soup to Nuts" is such a waste of cinema and one of the worst comedies I've ever seen in my life. What a terrible excuse for a "movie" this is. I give it only 1 out of 5 stars on my scale, which equates to 2 out of 10 IMDB stars. Bottom line, if you're a fan of "The Three Stooges", do not see this "film". You'll be completely disappointed! One of the biggest jokes is how the poster lies to you. It says that there are two laughs every minute with a total of 176 throughout the "film". I just kept watching and thinking: "okay, the comedy should be happening anytime now. Where are the funny parts? Hello? This is labeled as a comedy, right?" Really, I kept asking that question the whole time, then all of a sudden it ended and I didn't care. It's one of the top ten worst comedy films I have ever seen in my life. I genuinely would have laughed if something funny happened! But, I just sat there and shook my head with despair the whole time. For those who may not know already, there are a actually few different movies with The Three Stooges, most of them aren't really that good. But, this is easily the worst one. If you ever have the desire to watch any one of their feature films, I suggest that you hold the soup!

Moe, Larry and Shemp's First Collective Feature Film Debut

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 15 August 2022]

Ted Healy was one of vaudeville's most popular performer. His talents were so great in the 1920s he became the highest paid act in vaudeville, pulling down an astronomical $9,000 a week on the stage. A childhood friend, Moses Horwitz (a.k.a. Moe Howard), had briefly joined Healy, born Ernest Nash, on the stage in the mid-1910s when both were just teenagers before they split. Healy developed a revue with a cast including his wife, acrobats and singers. When the tumblers left his act, Healy thought of a comedy routine where hecklers in the audience were invited on the stage. Moe answered an ad Healy placed in the local paper, and the pair's working relationship was renewed. Moe's older brother, Shemp, later joined Healy's act in 1924 after he too proved to be a great heckler. The trio's on and off schtick eventually brought a fourth comedian to the team, Larry Fine, the lead performer at a popular Chicago nightclub. Called "Ted Healy & the Southern Gentlemen," they were hired by Fox Films to star in September 1930's "Soup to Nuts." The movie was the film debut for Healy and the soon-to-be-named 'The Three Stooges.'

Healy is a costume attire salesman who likes to hang out at the local fire station, where the stooges work. A love triangle develops between Healy and businessman Carlson (Stanley Smith), vying for the interests of a bankrupt inventor's niece, Louise (Lucile Browne). Wedged amongst a number of comic sketches at the fire house with the stooges and the finale where they respond to a fire in which Louise is trapped in, Healy and Carlson battle one another for her loving cup.

Fox Films loved the Howards' and Fine's repertoire in "Soup to Nuts" so much the studio offered them a contract. Healy, left out of the offer, argued with the studio the three comics were under his employ. And he refused to release them. The trio split from Healy and went on their own way. Performing as 'The Three Lost Soles' and 'Howard, Fine, and Howard,' they joined the RKO vaudeville circuit, taking on Jack Walsh as their straight man. Meanwhile, Healy hired three replacements, which weren't nearly as talented as the Howards/Fine package.

Two years later, with Moe as the act's business manager, Healy, not happy with the stooges' replacements, ate crow and approached them to appear in a Jacob Shubert's theatre revue. Moe, crunching the numbers, saw Healy's financial position was strong with the Shubert contact. The three joined Healy in July 1932, only to see Shemp walk out after several rehearsals. Moe's older brother was tired of Healy's temper, drinking and abusive behavior and accepted an offer with Vitaphone Studios. Moe and Larry stuck with Healy, and convinced Moe's younger brother, Jerry, to join them. In the next year, Healy inked a movie contract with MGM, where he and the three sidekicks, including newbie Jerry, who took the stage name Curly, began to really gain the attention of a nationwide audience.

A strange movie - and Fred Sanborn is the strangest ever!

[Scheffer · 3/10 · 6 February 2000]

This was an unusual movie. That Fred Sanborn has got to be as strange a comedian as there ever was in a movie. It's really bizarre. The stooges are fireman and do their thing with Ted Healy batting them around. Probably wouldn't seem so bad if you did not know what they would do later.

"There's something funny in everything."

[slymusic · 22 March 2010]

"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!

Antique film features the Stooges, little else

[mrb1980 · 2/10 · 25 March 2006]

This early talkie's plot deals with--more or less--the unrelated adventures of Ted Healy and some local firemen (Moe, Larry, Shemp and Fred Sanborn). There's very little coherence until the climactic fire, when the Stooges save the day.

Two performances stand out, both for the wrong reasons. Ted Healy was a major star in vaudeville and film when this movie was made. If you watch this film, it's hard to understand why, because his routine was just not funny. His offhandedly mean treatment of the Stooges also alienates the viewer. Fred Sanborn provides one of the most bizarre and irritating performances ever captured on film as a mute fireman. He's just so indescribably bad, you have to watch this to believe it.

Within a few short years, the Three Stooges were big stars in short subjects and Ted Healy was dead due to a bar fight. This film's worth catching for fans of the Stooges, since it's their feature film debut and historically interesting. Otherwise, stay away.

One star for each laugh

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 19 March 2010]

If this is what vaudeville was, it must have been rotting by the time this film came out! It was difficult not to give it a bomb, but for historical value and the actual quality of the film's print, it wasn't impossible to watch. Charles Winninger, usually wonderful in films, plays an inventor who creates the most inane burglar alarm in film history. It's obvious that he's going to get caught in it. Frances McCoy, as the secretary, is probably the most annoying character in early talkie history. She would drive El Brendel back to Sweden! The Three Stooges play the most insipid group of firemen ever on the screen, and it is rather insulting to the profession to even see this presented on screen. A six year old Billy Barty is probably the only one to come out good in this film; His cameo is actually a bit amusing, and probably rates the two laughs I discovered in it.

Movie Odyssey Review #048: Soup to Nuts

[Cyke · 5/10 · 12 January 2007]

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).