MartinHafer Before the Three Stooges entered into their super-successful careers with Columbia Studios, the trio were signed by MGM. However, MGM had no idea what to do with them or their front man (they were originally billed as Ted Healy and His Stooges). Often the trio appeared with Healy but the chemistry never really gelled. They also appeared all separately (such as in "Dancing Lady") as well as in a few shorts. However, the Three Stooges that we are familiar with today never really showed up in any of their MGM work--which could be why they spent so little time with this studio. Here with their first film for Columbia, "Women Haters", it's obvious that the Stooge formula STILL wasn't established. Instead of the usual antics, this is an all-singing/rhyming short (they did at least one other like this) and they didn't go by their usual names! They are Tom, Jim and Jack!!The plot is a bizarre thing and begins with the trio joining a club of guys who hate women. However, soon Jim (Larry) announces he's met a great lady and he's planning on getting married. Naturally, this wouldn't sit well with the club nor his friends--and to try to get past them, he asks his new bride to keep their marriage a secret! Later, he tells Tom and Jack that she ISN'T his wife--just some lady who fainted and he was helping her! What's next? Give it a try to find out what's next for the boys.For those who hate the Stooges (and there are MANY out there in this group), the film might be a welcome change of pace. While there is some slapping and the usual violence, it's a bit more restrained and the film is a genuine oddity! I think it's mostly of value for its novelty more than anything else. Far from brilliant, it IS memorable. Occasionally over-acted (even by Stooge standards) and perhaps it might have worked better with a few songs instead of having them sing everything.

ccthemovieman-1 We begin with a meeting of the Women Haters Club, dedicated to the idea that "romance is a crime!"What's unusual about this short movie is that all the dialog is done in rhyme. I thought it would be kind of stupid but, to be honest, a lot of it is very clever - for about five minutes. Whoever wrote this did a pretty good job. The music is nice, too, but five minutes was enough. It's cool at first but wears thin in a hurry.The emphasis on poetry and song drastically diminished the slapstick humor, the normal wisecracks and the atmosphere that made The Three Stooges what they were. I can see why this early experiment was just that: an experiment, and thankfully a one-time experience.Just give me back the Stooges as they are - crude, violent, stupid and funny - with Curly and his squeaky voice, not singing poets, for cryin' out loud. This turned out to be one of the longest 20 minutes I've ever endured.

gary olszewski While I've known this one for many years, only today I watched an MGM Busby Berkeley musical from '33 titled "FOOTLIGHT PARADE" staring among others James Cagney, Dick Powell, and a bevy of others. What captured my attention was the big main production number: The rhythm and melody, and even the lyrics could well be the source of the rhyming sing-song of WOMAN HATERS! Just listen to Dick Powell & Joan Blondell crooning "You-hoo-hoo-hoo" to each other, and you'll see where Larry Fine & Marjorie White got theirs from! While maybe not EXACTLY a duplicate, but so close, it's almost scary! While watching and listening, WOMAN HATERS was the first thing that came to mind! But altogether, WH is the better of the two by leaps and bounds!

slymusic For the first time on the silver screen, it's the Three Stooges! "Woman Haters," their first two-reeler for Columbia Pictures, is a lively, fast-paced musical with most of the dialogue spoken in rhymed verse. Larry takes the lead as Jim, a member of the Woman Haters' Club who secretly gets married. It only gets worse from there, since Jim performs a constant balancing act between concealing his club affiliation from his wife Mary (Marjorie White) and convincing his partners Tommy (Moe) and Jackie (Curly) that Mary is a complete stranger.The following are a few highlights from "Woman Haters." Familiar Stooges foil Bud Jamison, playing the Woman Haters' Club chairman, performs the Stooges' eye-poking initiation into the club, thus becoming the first person to poke someone in the eyes in a Three Stooges short; Tommy later performs the same unique initiation for the train conductor, played by the one and only Walter Brennan. Jim and Jackie quarrel on the train exterior, and the Stooges later fall out of their berths, both scenes greatly enhanced by the music score. And here's another interesting thing to watch for: at one point in the film, Larry slaps Moe, who does nothing to Larry in return. (At this stage in the Stooges' career, they had not yet fully developed their comic personalities, but that problem would soon be solved with the advent of director Del Lord.) For a unique approach to Stoogedom, give "Woman Haters" a try. It is a very entertaining & enjoyable Three Stooges musical comedy. After this short, there would be no more Stooge musicals at Columbia, although music would still become an integral part of several of the boys' later shorts such as "Micro-Phonies" (1945), "Violent Is the Word for Curly" (1938), and "Rhythm and Weep" (1946).