I found this colorized version of "Pop Goes the Easel" on YouTube. While colorizing stuff was very popular back in the 90s, this one was colorized more recently and you can tell as the process is better than usual...though the skin tones could have been better and more realistic. Unfortunately, the short itself if pretty limp...and it seems odd that they'd colorize this one and not one of the better shorts by this trio.When the story begins, the boys are trying to do a good deed but are accused of being thieves. A cop chases them through the city and they end up taking refuge in an art school. There they pretend to be art students and all sorts of unfunny mayhem ensues. Ultimately, there is a clay fight that ends the picture.The problem with this one is that I never once found myself laughing. It seems that the team could have used better writers than they got in this one.

This short is important in stooge history for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's the first to establish the basic character personae that would follow them through their entire careers.It begins with the stooges as beggars, trying to find food or work on the street. This is the first time where we see them as common men, trying to make sense of the real world--a recurring theme in most of their movies. Chased by cops, they end up in an art school and soon create chaos with a clay-throwing fight, a precursor to the pie-throwing spectacles which became their trademark throughout their careers. We see the boys mixing with high society and dragging it down to their level, another common theme.This short also shows the beginning of how their characters evolved in relation to each other. We clearly see Moe and Curly (or Curley) as adversaries, with Larry as the man in the middle, for the first time. We also see Moe adding his familiar--and painful--slapstick reaction each time Larry or Curly makes a wisecrack. We hear Curly saying "I'm a victim of coicumstance!" and Moe's trademark windmill bonk on the top of the head for the first time. And it's the first time we hear Larry say "Sorry, Moe, it was an accident!", a line that was repeated throughout his entire career. It also lets us know that Moe is the team's leader--and the one to be afraid of.About the only thing that tips us off that this is still an early short is that Curly is not yet using his manic, high-pitched voice. And some of the direction is slow, as when the boys are smearing clay in each other's faces.Overall, it's a fun short and a good introduction to the 3 Stooges' brand of humor.

"Pop Goes the Easel" was the first Three Stooges film that was directed by Del Lord, who was solely responsible for shaping & molding the screen characters of Curly, Larry, and Moe. The most memorable highlight of this wonderful short is the wild clay fight instigated by the Stooges at an art school. (In later Stooge shorts, cream puffs and pies would replace clay.) Other highlights: As the Stooges initially run away from the cop, they come across two little girls playing hopscotch; these two girls are played by none other than Moe's daughter Joan and Larry's daughter Phyllis. Curly utters his famous catchphrase "Look at the grouse!" A small ray of sunshine through a hole in a window shade causes dismay for an aspiring French painter (Leo White) trying to rub out a "spot" on his finished painting; the Stooges try to help him out, but.....you know the rest. And Moe & Larry are quite amusing in their respective French & Arab disguises in order to elude the cop.Without question, "Pop Goes the Easel" is a classic Three Stooges comedy. Enough said. Enjoy!

Pop Goes the Easel (1935) *** (out of 4) The Three stooges are chased by a cop into an art school where they try their hand at painting. This is a pretty good short that features some nice dialogue as well as plenty of laughs through the fighting. The film ends with a big clay fight but for some reason these type of fights have never made me laugh. The Keystone brand of pie fights never worked for me either.Now available on Columbia's 2-disc set, which includes over 20 shorts. The picture quality is outstanding.