| Kook's Tour | |
|---|---|
VHS cover art |
|
| Directed by | Norman Maurer |
| Produced by | Norman Maurer |
| Written by | Norman Maurer |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Joe DeRita Moose the Dog Norman Maurer Don Lamond Joan Howard Emil Sitka |
| Cinematography | James T. Flocker Michael Maurer |
| Editing by | Pat Somerset |
| Distributed by | Normandy Productions |
| Release date(s) | February 5, 1970 |
| Running time | 51' 22" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Kook's Tour is the title of an American short comedy film produced in late 1969 and early 1970. It was the final film to star the Three Stooges and originally intended as part of a television series. However, on January 9, 1970, before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a severe stroke, paralyzing the left side of his body. When it became clear that Fine was not expected to recover fully from the stroke, production of the series was cancelled and the Kook's Tour pilot film was shelved. The film remained unreleased for several years until its director Norman Maurer arranged for it to be released to the Super 8 home movie market in the mid-1970s.
The name is a pun on the term "Cook's Tour", which was popularized by the Thomas Cook travel company. This was also a vehicle to show off the great variety of Chrysler Corporation vehicles. All the vehicles shown in this movie were produced by Chrysler, Chrysler RV, and Chrysler Marine Division.
At the end of Kook's Tour, Moe stated that the second episode (ultimately never produced) would have taken place in Japan.
Kook's Tour was the third time the Stooges had tried to create a live-action television series, after their first attempt with Jerks of All Trades in 1949, and then The Three Stooges Scrapbook in 1960.
Following Larry's stroke and the cancellation of Kook's Tour, several attempts were made to revive the Stooges (with Emil Sitka replacing Larry), but no further films were produced before Larry's and Moe's deaths in 1975.
Kook's Tour was conceived by Moe Howard's son-in-law, frequent Three Stooges collaborator Norman Maurer, as a weekly television series that would have mixed the Stooges' brand of farce comedy with a documentary travelogue format. The concept of the series was that, after 50 years of comic mayhem, the Stooges (Moe, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita) have retired and are traveling the world with their dog, Moose, motor home, and motor boat (which is transported from place to place via a cargo plane). The 50-minute pilot film for the series saw the Stooges exploring the wilderness of the western United States, including areas of Wyoming and Idaho. In the meantime, Larry keeps getting snubbed when trying to catch a fish and getting a picture of a deer. At the end of the pilot film, Larry, in frustration, throws his hat into the water and fish bite on the fishing hooks attached to it. Larry starts to get excited about catching some fish, but Curly-Joe counts the fish and says "One for me, one for Moe, and one for....Moose!"