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Goof on the Roof (1953)

Moe, Larry and Shemp receive a telegram from their roommate/landlord Bill that he just got married and they will need to move out. Rather than be upset by this abrupt eviction, the trio decide to surprise Bill and his new bride by cleaning the residence and installing a television that Bill ordered as a wedding gift. Needless to say, the best of intentions generates the worst possible results.
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Spooks! (1953) [Halloween Horror Month]

The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry and Shemp) run the Super Slueth Detective Agency (yes, the typo is part of the company’s name) and their specialty is “Divorce Evidence Manufactured to Your Order.” They are hired to find a missing young woman and their strategy is to canvas the area where she disappeared by disguising themselves as door-to-door pie salesmen handing out free samples. When they hear her scream from a seemingly abandoned house, they gain entrance and find they are in the lair of the crazed scientist Dr. Jekyll, who with his fearsome henchman Mr. Hyde are planning to transplant the young woman’s brain into a gorilla that they are keeping in a cage.
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The Bootleg Files: Hiss and Yell

BOOTLEG FILES 844: “Hiss and Yell” (1946 Oscar-nominated comedy short starring Vera Vague and Emil Sitka).

LAST SEEN:
On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:
The rights holder will not make it available.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

In the late 1930s, comic actress Barbara Jo Allen invented the character Vera Vague for a radio show. This character was a chatterbox, featherbrained spinster who was always in pursuit of a man. Audiences quickly embraced the character, and her appeal was so strong that Allen adopted Vera Vague as her professional name.
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The Bootleg Files: King of the Pins

BOOTLEG FILES 813: “King of the Pins” (1950 short film).

LAST SEEN:
On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A true obscurity.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
Not likely.

When people are asked to identify short films made by Columbia Pictures during Hollywood’s Golden Era, it is safe to assume that the majority of responses will be rooted in comedy – The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase and Vera Vague will probably be cited most often.
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The Bootleg Files: The Seven Stooges

BOOTLEG FILES 799: “The Seven Stooges” (2014 animated short inspired by the Three Stooges).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The film did not clear the trademarks associated with the Three Stooges characters.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
Definitely not.

I was not planning to devote this week’s column to an animated fairy tale inspired by the Three Stooges, but YouTube posted “The Seven Stooges” in a list of recommended videos and my initial reaction was “Huh?”
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The Bootleg Files: The Three Stooges in Stupor Heroes

BOOTLEG FILES 796: “The Three Stooges in Stupor Heroes” (2012 fan film).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unauthorized production that borrows copyright protected material from the Three Stooges and DC Comics.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:
Nope.

There seems to be a surplus number of fan films based on “Star Wars,” superhero flicks, James Bond adventures and popular horror franchises. But how come there is a deficit of Three Stooges-inspired fan films?
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