Numskull's Review:
Although it has been hailed as one of the greatest shorts created, Men in Black is not one of my favorite shorts. I thought this short was way too bizarre in it's style. The humor is definitely scripted and does not feature the Stooges being themselves as much as I feel they'd like to be. One of the few short films directed by Raymond McCarey and his unique style definitely shows in this zany display of utter stupidity. If the Stooges weren't in it, I'd never understand why it was nominated for an Academy Award. Personally, I feel that this was one of the weaker shorts in the way of humor, wittiness and Stoogism of the early thirties time era. My favorite era the trio performed in was from 1934 to 1939, but this short was a rare exception in that timeframe.
Stooge's Review:
I'm not too big on this episode like most Stooge fans are. This is also the only Stooge short to be nominated for an Academy Award. I can think of dozens of other Stooge shorts that not only were more deserving to be nominted, but also deserved to WIN. This is more of a "gag"-driven short, and doesn't use a lot of plot. Those types of shorts could be excellent for The Three Stooges, but I found nearly all of the gags in this particular short to be more strange than strange-funny. The only 'strange' scene I liked was Billy Gilbert as the insane patient with rats that jump out of his button-hole. It's too bad Gilbert was in only 1 other Stooge short than this, because I think he would have made a great regular supporting cast member for the Stooges, along with Bud, Vernon, Emil, Christine, Dudley, etc. I do like that this is the first Stooge short where the boys work together as a team for the entire short. Why they still did a few shorts later on where the boys' work as separate characters for the entire film (HE COOKED HIS GOOSE, SWEET AND HOT...) is beyond me.
Garcon's Review:
I like this short a lot even though it is a little different stylistically than most of the others. I like the zaniness of it. Granted, some of the bits could be considered overly scripted or somewhat canned, but for me the laugh factor is still very high because the pacing is fast. The opening musical theme is not the one we're used to. The supporting cast is wonderful, including Bud Jamison, who we know from so many of the later shorts. The bit with the crazy patient is hilarious: Moe says to the patient "you're still crazy, there's another rat coming out of your button hole." The patient says, "you can have it, I've got plenty." Then a canary flies into the window and lands on Moe's shoulder. Larry and Curly quickly exit and Moe jumps into bed with the patient. The madness just keeps on happening. The entire bit with the boys vs. intercom "Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard" which continues through the whole short is a brilliant running commentary on the battle between advancing 20th century technology and the status quo. Our boys finally destroy the intercom, and shoot the offending talking capacitor with sidearms, ending the threat posed by modern technology to all Stooges, wherever they may be. Men In Black is unusual, but surely one of the great Stooge shorts.