Topic: Hula-La-La (1951)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/134
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043661/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OIBvwzv4X5w

Watch HULA-LA-LA in the link above




      HULA LA-LA has the distinction of being the only Three Stooges short directed by producer Hugh McCollum.  Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the look and scenery of the film looks a bit more thought out than the average early 50's Shemp short and is to my liking.  The island setting, with the dark scenery, huts, extras, and island clothing, are a stark contrast to the barren western saloon scenes in MERRY MAVERICKS. 

      This is an overall very entertaining short.  The opening scene is fantastic, Shemp looking pleasantly ridiculous in his dance outfit, wonderful how they introduce his thin, wiry frame doing those dance moves from behind.  A nice comic touch.  Emil Sitka as the pampered studio head boss is one of his great roles, surrounded by yes men, and when he's not relying on them to speak for him, puts on a very animated performance doing dance moves.  A nice job by Mr. Sitka.

      Other great supporting cast roles are Kenneth McDonald as the witch doctor.  I love the scene where he's describing the shrunken heads to the boys, his demeanor very much reminds me of Boris Karloff here.  He even has a similar lisp in his voice.  Jean Willes is also in fine form  and notice how superior her line readings are to the other two actresses who are trying to decapitate Moe and Larry.  The difference between plain physical beauty vs. beauty combined with talent.  That's why she gets actual billings.

      The great classic scene in this short is of course the four armed Vishnu like lady wrecking havoc with the boys.  The whispered call, the various ways she manages to knock the boys heads into the table, very funny stuff!  Moe's eye poke to end the scene might be one of the most well timed and appropriate eye pokes in Stooge history.  Finally, I would like to add the pleasant ending with the dancing and the island music playing is an unusual touch for a Stooge short, something tells me Hugh wanted it that way.  Just a guess.

10/10

[Paul Pain]

This short is fantastic comedy from start to finish.  It is unfortunate that we shan't see Jean Willes again until GYPPED IN THE PENTHOUSE.

There are several fantastic moments in this short, although the highlight is the battle with four-armed tribal idol.  It is fun to see Kenneth MacDonald's character get blown to pieces only for the Stooges to say "Let's start dancing!"  The ending is actually a nice touch, but I digress... another great moment is when Jean Willes does her "The witch doctor is a bad man" line.

The opening scene is entertaining with Emil Sitka and his boys.  The short is unique and well-planned out.  I applaud those who put this together.  But then again Emil Sitka and Kenneth MacDonald are always above and beyond superior even when the rest of the cast isn't.

Add in another Stooge-critter battle, and we have fantastic stuff here.

You forgot to attach the link.    Now quit the perverted daydreams of Jean Willes and get to work!   

[metaldams]

This short is fantastic comedy from start to finish.  It is unfortunate that we shan't see Jean Willes again until GYPPED IN THE PENTHOUSE.

There are several fantastic moments in this short, although the highlight is the battle with four-armed tribal idol.  It is fun to see Kenneth MacDonald's character get blown to pieces only for the Stooges to say "Let's start dancing!"  The ending is actually a nice touch, but I digress... another great moment is when Jean Willes does her "The witch doctor is a bad man" line.

The opening scene is entertaining with Emil Sitka and his boys.  The short is unique and well-planned out.  I applaud those who put this together.  But then again Emil Sitka and Kenneth MacDonald are always above and beyond superior even when the rest of the cast isn't.

Add in another Stooge-critter battle, and we have fantastic stuff here.

You forgot to attach the link.    Now quit the perverted daydreams of Jean Willes and get to work!   

The link is fixed, now back to Jean.

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

Jean Willes is also in fine form  and notice how superior her line readings are to the other two actresses who are trying to decapitate Moe and Larry.  The difference between plain physical beauty vs. beauty combined with talent.  That's why she gets actual billings.

Well observed.

Some fun dialogue:

Moe: Hey, Red Shoes!

Shemp: Yeah?

Moe: These girls have their rondelays mixed up with their pirouettes, and they've got their fortissimos tangled up with the allegrettos!

Shemp: Yeah, I know, but what's wrong with their dancing?

A nice little appearance by Emil Sitka as Mr. Baines, with his curious hint of a foreign accent ("nay-tivs").

Shemp, when caught by the native guards: "I'm only a dancer! We were lookin' for butterflies!"

Then, of course, the rhetorical question "Where's your Southern hospitality?" has to evoke from Larry and Shemp another outburst of bizarre Southernisms, though not as funny as the one in Don't Throw That Knife.

When the boys are hiding in the bushes outside the hut of the Jean Willes character, Moe says something to Shemp that sounds like "Come on, Imby!" Can anyone make out what the last bit is and explain what it means?

[JazzBill]

Another great short. I know Larry played the violin but always wondered if he played the piano. It always looks like his hands are where they are supposed to be when he is shown playing. The set cracks me up, it looks like the set they used on Gilligan's Island in later years. I keep waiting for the Skipper or someone else to pop up. The 4 armed lady smacking Moe and Larry around is a nice touch. Kenneth MacDonald and Emil Sitka are great as usual. I give this one a strong 9.   

[Paul Pain]

I have mentioned the part where Moe asks about the three empty spots, and Kenneth MacDonald replies nonchalantly "Yours."

It is amazing how many actors are absolutely fantastic without ever getting a shot at being a big-time star.  I know Kenneth MacDonald had some pretty impressive roles, but he really could have been a star in B pictures.

[GreenCanaries]

Jean Willes is also in fine form  and notice how superior her line readings are to the other two actresses who are trying to decapitate Moe and Larry.  The difference between plain physical beauty vs. beauty combined with talent.  That's why she gets actual billings.

To be fair, one of the other two ladies (Joy Windsor) gets billing as well. But I see what you mean.

I love Emil Sitka's reaction to when Mr. Laughingwell says "About six months ago, Mr. Baines had a brilliant idea."

On the poor side, poor Heinie Conklin is unfortunately quite wasted and basically a prop in his role as "The King." While these types of non-speaking roles weren't uncommon for him, you would think that, as the King, he would get a bit more. It seems to me like his roles decreased to this level, though, in the Shemp era.

[Lefty]

This is a definitely a great short.  A lot of good scenes, and the Stooges were victorious over the bad guys.  I think the funniest moment was when Emil Sitka fell on his tuchis because his lackey failed to put the chair in its proper place because he was distracted by a cute gal.  Then there was when Moe told Larry to get the box, but to take his hat off first because of the "lady".

Kenneth McDonald, the greatest of the Stooges' villains, would never have made it in WWE being so soft-spoken as he was in this episode, at least until his "Why, you impertinent swine" line. 

Jean Willes looked "fab-a-mundo".  Of course, the same cannot be said for the four-armed Hawaiian.  "To be forewarned, is to have four arms."  -- Kelly Bundy.

When the boys are hiding in the bushes outside the hut of the Jean Willes character, Moe says something to Shemp that sounds like "Come on, Imby!" Can anyone make out what the last bit is and explain what it means?

"Imby" is short for "Imbecile" in this case.

[GreenCanaries]

Oh, dunno how, but I forgot: Jean Willes. Indeed lookin' fantabulous.

[Kopfy2013]

Very enjoyable and unique. To me one of the best Shemp shorts. I will give it a 9

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Two quickies I like about this: Shemp stomping around like an idiot then saying " How do you like that, I'm dancing to a trombone part...."  And whoever thought of casting Kenneth MacDonald as an aborigine, with no change of voice, moustache, or syntax, deserved the rest of the day off.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

And yes, Larry played some piano, about as much as you see him play in Brideless Groom.  Many good instumentalists, which Larry was of course on violin, manage to pick up some piano instruction along the way, nothing fancy.  Chico Marx would have been another example, though Chico, of course, had a better piano act than Larry.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Yes, it's an interesting nugget about Hugh McCollum directing his only stooge episode--I guess I could chew over what might have happened if Hugh and Ed Bernds were not fired not too long after this one. I'm guessing Jules White might have still started turning out the "remakes" in 1953, but maybe it would have been limited to his own shorts that Jules directed.

At any rate, this is a solid episode--I'm not as high on it as previous commenters, but it's good all the same. "So why don't you run away with this Coca-Cola guy? Scram, vamoose, beat it."

7 out of 10...

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of my favorite Shemps from the early 1950s before the Columbia stock footage took over. "Hula-La-La" makes you wish that McCollum directed more often.  A refreshing change of pace, with some underscoring to boot.

8/10

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

I give this short a strong 8/10, the outdoor scenes were a welcome change of pace, Jean Willes, Emil Sitka and Kenneth MacDonald put on great performances with their roles and the scene where Moe gives the 4 armed woman an eyepoke was hilarious, this stooge short is the only one directed by producer Hugh McCollum and does a great job with it (I wish he'd gotten to direct more stooge shorts), also is it just me or does Moe seem calmer than usual in this short?

[Shemp_Diesel]

I just watched this one again & although I won't change my original rating, I will say I got some very good laughs from the 4-armed idol scene & a few of the other oft-mentioned scenes in this short, like Kenneth MacDonald--The Axe Man--unwittingly chopping a box of grenades.

There's a very laid back approach to this short & I'm not sure if this would've been Hugh McCollum's style going forward had he directed more, but it may have served as a good change of pace from the normal Jules White mayhem or even the shorts Ed Bernds himself directed...

[Dr. Mabuse]

There's a very laid back approach to this short & I'm not sure if this would've been Hugh McCollum's style going forward had he directed more, but it may have served as a good change of pace from the normal Jules White mayhem or even the shorts Ed Bernds himself directed...

McCollum directed only two Columbia shorts (the other being Hugh Herbert's "Trouble In-Laws"). Judging by his work on "Hula-La-La," I found his style quite pleasing.

[Daddy Dewdrop]

Once again, I'm not feeling the love that others have for this one.  Shemp's dancing is always fun and the four-armed lady dishing out the punishment is certainly the highlight, but overall the laughs just aren't there for me.  I haven't seen this one much and perhaps it will grow on me with repeated viewings.  But as of now it ranks where it does.

#138. Hula-La-La