Numskull's Review:
Although the short film has some good Stooge material, I really have a problem with the whole "rhyming" theme used in the direction of the film. This short-film could have been so much better had it not been shot in this strange format. It's interesting that the Stooges don't play characters named "Moe, Larry & Curly" also. This gets a bit annoying after a while as well. In my opinion, we always think of Moe, Larry & Curly when we think "Stooges" so why change it? However, In defense of the Stooges, this was the first film on their own and at that point, I don't really feel that they had established a true set of defining character identities as we know them today.
On the positive side, I do like seeing Larry in a leading role. Larry was an excellent and diversified actor whose talents often went overlooked. This short and "Cuckoo on a Choo-Choo" are really the only shorts in which you see Larry as the leading Stooge. I think it's clear that the Stooges hadn't quite found themselves in this short. I don't know that it's the fault of the boys, however, as at this point in their careers, they were still looking to land a contract.
In Weekly Tidbit # 95 you can see that the Stooges were only on the brink of their stardom when Woman Haters was filmed:
Everyone knows the Three Stooges starred alongside Marjorie White in their first ever short film entitled "Woman Haters." Woman Haters, however, was not written for or around the Stooges as some may think. This film was written with the idea of showing off Marjorie Whites talents first and foremost. In fact, Woman Haters listed Marjorie White as the main star and Moe, Larry & Curly as "Howard Fine & Howard," and not The Three Stooges. They weren't really playing the roles they had envisioned themselves playing. The film was written in complete rhyme which made it difficult to focus on playing the part of the wacky Stooges we know. Instead Woman Haters had them playing the Three Ted Healys more than anything else, and that wasn't a team. As entertainers, they were still trying to find their place in the industry. Moe talked Columbia into letting them do one more short film before negotiating their annual contracts. It was to be a short film they'd write themselves to demonstrate the type of comedy they wanted to do. The short was Punch Drunks. In it, Moe and Larry discover the "Pop Goes the Weasel" sends Curly into an uncontrollable frenzy. Moe turns boxing promoter and puts Curly in the ring while Larry lurks nearby to play the magic melody on his violin. Together, they knock the boxing world on it's ear. One more matter remained, however: what was with this Howard, Fine, and Howard Business? It sounded like a music publishing house, or even worse, a law firm. They needed a name. Moe Howard finally piped up: "Hell, we're stooges, ain't we? So why not call us "The Three Stooges"? And so they did, and so they were, from that point forward.
Stooge's Review:
I can't stand this short. I know it's the Stooge's first one and they were new to this, but I think this could have been so much better AND funnier. Like Numskull, I don't like the rhyming thing. Really out of place in a Stooge short, and I hate musicals in general. I hardly found any funny moments here. The boys seem a bit out-of-character compared to their later shorts - Having different names in this one didn't help, either. A positive about this short is that Larry gets a big role and gets to show off his talents that got wasted in most of the Curly era. I also like the wild fight that the boys get into when they enter the Woman Haters club.
Garcon's Review:This first official Three Stooges short bills itself as "A Musical Novelty," and that's exactly what it is since the script is set to music throughout and all of the lines spoken by the characters in the film rhyme. It has been suggested elsewhere that this early effort by the Stooges reflects the fact that they had not yet hit their stride as a comedy team, they had not yet found the precise on-screen formula for success that would make them so popular. It's tough to argue with this and perhaps that's why I'm not so fond of this short. On the plus side it's fun to watch the relatively young Stooges work with such challenging material. Imagine trying to be funny in bits that are built around rhyming lines! This is not the usual stuff of ad libs and slapstick, but the boys nail their lines and do so with good comedic timing, and so they are still fun to watch. Train buffs will enjoy the glimpse of the New York Central's 20th Century Limited and the scenes that takes place on the rear observation platform of the train and in the Pullman. There is plenty of physical comedy including slaps and two-fingered eye pokes, especially since the latter form of abuse is part of the initiation rite of the Woman Haters club. Music buffs should pay attention to the score of this short which is quite interesting. Since there's music throughout this short it's like a musical comedy on film. On the negative side, while this short is both interesting to watch and amusing, it does not have the side-splitting laughs in it that I'm used to enjoying in the Stooges later shorts. The script is just too confining for that. Nevertheless, Woman Haters is an interesting short worth watching and re-watching.