‘They Stooge To Conga’ (1942) is the 67th short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Wednesday, May 6th through Saturday, May 9th 1942 and released on Friday, January 1st 1943 (the first day on the Gregorian Calendar). Generally ranked as the most violent Three Stooges short ever, ‘They Stooge To Conga’ offers two of the greatest Stooges set-pieces ever–the protracted fight for the doorbell wire inside the house which destroys all available walls, and the almost unwatchably painful telephone pole sequence featuring Curly and his spiked shoes. The title is as random as the violence–it might as well have been called ‘Dutiful But Dumb’ or ‘Monkey Businessmen’. The Conga itself figures not at all into the plot.

DVD Talk critic Stuart Galbraith writes that, in its brief 15½ minutes, the film “offers several startling moments, none more gleefully sadistic as when Curly, scaling an electrical pole, within a few seconds manages to puncture the top of Moe’s head, an eye, and an ear with a climbing spike, all with cringe-inducing ‘ker-CHUNK’ sound effects. Moe also gets pulled through lath and plaster, with a real wooden pillar unintentionally landing on his neck. Curly gets his share of abuse, via electrocution, falling off a telephone pole, severe nose twisting, and getting singed via an acetylene torch”. To complete the festivities, there is a Nazi sub-plot, a gag with Moe posing as Hitler, Dudley Dickerson doing his ‘scared-black-chef-in-kitchen’ bit that he did in ‘A Plumbing We Will Go’ and a glimpse of the young Lloyd Bridges as a dissatisfied phone customer seen 10:22. I probably have posted this one before but who cares? In anticipation of a day chock full of NFL violence tomorrow, enjoy this equally painful Stooge offering today.