A Trio of Stooge Shorts

Three Hams on Rye:  

(Short # 125 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges: Theater Kids? In this instance, yes. They are stagehands who have minor roles in a stage production of a play entitled The Bride Wore Spurs. Producer Emil Sitka demands that they prevent a prominent critic from entering the building, he is so petrified of a bad review that will sink the entire production. The trio are all in disguises (so the critic doesn’t know which bit players tossed them out) as they are on the hunt for a critic that dons disguises himself; the expected calamity results from this scenario.

The boys also screwed up in purchasing a salad & cake for the performance; an old gag used before where a potholder accidentally becomes a layer of the cake is once again used to hilarious effect here. This feathery performance became an accidental win for what was presumably an otherwise stodgy drama to include “satire.” There’s the thrill of Moe & Shemp quoting several lines of dialogue from Shakespeare, along with the father of a famous face performing in a bit part—both the short and the play.

It took looking at his son’s Wiki page to learn this, but the father of Jerry Lewis (Danny) was in vaudeville-and according to this IMDb page, was a comedian in the Borscht Belt region, back when the Catskills were a safe area for Jewish people to vacation. Yet another source says that this casting was done because the Martin and Lewis duo just experienced film success-it was deliberate. Father certainly resembled son. Those different elements helped make Three Hams on Rye not feel stodgy.

(Short # 126 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

So, my schedule is currently back to normal. My sister and her family were supposed to be flying back now but are still in the airport due to a flight delay; not a surprise considering the airline is Allegiant. A feature-length picture will be reviewed tomorrow, where I’ll also say a few things about their time down in Florida; there was at least time after dropping them off at the airport to discuss some more Moe, Larry, & Shemp.

At B.O. Pictures Corp., the blue-collar job they have this time is “termite exterminators.” They were out of uniform in the publicity department office when the head of the studio came in w/ new up-and-coming star Christine McIntyre, as Dolly Devore. Moe conjures up the idea of a faux disappearance for the starlet; actually, a pretty decent idea for press coverage… except that some gangsters led by Kenneth MacDonald actually kidnap Devore. The cops refuse to believe the faux turned real crime is legit.

There is an old routine or two but there’s plenty of new material in this fast-paced effort as even before all the mayhem that occurs at the apartment lair of the heels (the highlight of which was Shemp spending a few minutes hanging outside of the building, a few stories up) there is calamity involving typewriters and throughout there is plenty of puns, one-liners, absurdities, and the usual horseplay involving the boys. Thus, a nice way to announce my return to normalcy now.

(Short # 127 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

A short both new and familiar. That is usually the case w/ Stooge efforts but I was reminded of that in particular w/ Slaphappy Sleuths. They played sleuths on several occasions in the past; they also worked at a gas station, although here they do it undercover. There are bits used that were slightly modified from ones used a decade and a half previously, along with ones new to me that I’ll assume were ones that they or others used way back in the vaudeville days.

They were hired by the Onion Oil Co., with president I.M. Greecy and general manager Fuller Grime; the company wanted “brainy but stupid-looking private detectives to pose as gas station attendants” as hold-ups are done at too many of their properties. Unique moments include Shemp breaking off part of a wooden table to use as a toothpick, or Shemp having a plate covering his butt to prevent a knife stabbing (long story) and that plate is then used to spontaneously hold a sandwich, olives, and potato chips that he randomly had on his person. That’s why I presumed “vaudeville” for those moments.

There are visual puns galore that increase once they go undercover at the gas station. There’s even wackiness when Shemp-yeah, he was a highlight here-grabs “Quick Action Popping Corn (Kernels)” instead of “Radiator Stop Leak,” leading to a particular madcap moment. This may not be anyone’s favorite yet many Stooge-a-holics probably find it to be charmingly amusing. The presence of many familiar names whether or not I’ve ever mentioned them before (Stanley Blystone, Nanette Bordeaux, Gene Roth, Emil Sitka, Blackie Whiteford, Joe Palma) was an additional asset.

A mutual leaving a positive comment concerning this series does give me more motivation to do these a little more often, despite how off-kilter my schedule’s been as of late. Already I am 2/3 through these shorts; I’ll miss it once that is finally completed.