Two More Shemp Shorts

Hokus Pokus: 

(Short # 115 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Insurance fraud occurs, but thankfully it wasn’t “the three saps;” rather, a blonde named Mary is faking wheelchair use for a payout. After this deception is revealed, the viewer discovers that the Stooges are neighbors downstairs-what irony that this happens when the trio attempt to do the right thing and help someone in need.

There are routines both old and new—both Moe and Shemp act like their baby brother Curly; there’s amusing routines revolving around both Shemp’s failed attempt to set up a wooden table and the boys shaving each other—their faces, I mean. Then, the second half occurs; eventually, the two shall meet, but only in the final minute. 

We now see that they have the blue-collar job of “hanging posters.” They meet Svengarlic, a hypnotist. It is alright to use the term Svengali in general in terms of describing a master manipulator, especially for a hypnotist. That said, if you didn’t know, its origin is from the 1894 novel Trilby, where Svengali was… an obvious and negative Jewish caricature. Let’s quickly move on!

He hypnotizes them to walk on a flagpole-it’s a horizontal pole, many stories up a building. Of course that goes askew. While not even the funniest effort released in 1949, Hokus Pokus is still a pretty good time. After all, there are such novelties as Vernon Dent getting to do a slapstick routine w/ Shemp where plenty of slapping occurs.

Fuelin' Around: 

(Short # 116 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges enter the Cold War. I say this as there's drama with another country after World War II, even if that country is fictional--the Communism is implied. In this instance, their blue-collar job this time is “carpet installers;” this job is performed at the quaint suburban home of a Professor Sneed, working on “super rocket fuel” for the federal government. Spies w/ foreign accents (from the country known as “Anemia”) believe that Larry is Sneed & Moe/Shemp are his assistants.

Understandably, to save themselves plus Sneed & his daughter, they play along, which at least was explained to the audience. They Stooge around, both in the house and in Anemia’s laboratory. There are funny puns and routines, whether new or modified. A task as simple as “the trio pace around a room” was turned into a funny bit; so was Shemp being pulled in two different directions; a dummy was used to wonderful effect. 

If you ever wanted to know what a Lynch-directed Stooge short would have been like… I realize how bizarre it will sound to mention the late David Lynch in the world of these performers. However, others have done so and once I describe the plot, not only will you understand why this is like no other that the Stooges did, but its polarizing nature will be obvious. Mix in Emil Sitka, Christine McIntyre, & Vernon Dent—no wonder I felt lifted by Fuelin’ Around.