(Short # 35 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)
This felt like a silent short in ways. It’s probably because Charley Chase had full control behind the scenes. It feeling different wasn’t bad on its own; in terms of laughs and entertainment, Flat Foot Stooges was just fine. Once again they were firemen; in their company, the fire chief still believes in horses powering their equipment rather than fire engines; now there’s a detail which sounds straight out of 1915, but alright then.
The heel is upset he can’t sell them a fire engine, so he… attempts to blow their place up w/ gunpowder! He might as well have been named Snidely Whiplash. The chief’s daughter attempts to stop him but due to a duck eating gunpowder then laying an egg (!) the station is set a-blaze, and the daughter is knocked unconscious. I’ve seen others proclaim that the trio seem like supporting players in their own short—to a degree I get their point.
Be that as it may, there are still laughs present and some amusing gags involving such animals as a pair of stunning white horses (who go to a Turkish bath!) and a bulldog vs. mouse. It’s not top-tier yet the atypical style of Flat Foot Stooges is not a detriment and there’s still fun to be had. What wasn’t ideal: at least in this instance, Chase wanted to shoot this rapidly, to the point that two flubbed lines were left in. That was unusual in this series, although that mattered little in my rating.
No comments:
Post a Comment