Two More Shemp Shorts

Dopey Dicks: 

(Short # 122 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

“Detectives” is the usage of “dicks” in this case; that explanation is needed ¾ of a century after the fact. The first few minutes, this appeared to be a takeoff of a film noir detective picture. The Stooges are janitors at the building where Sam Shovel does business. Moe and Shemp are out of uniform so when Christine McIntyre runs into Sam’s room, she believes they are detectives. She leaves an address for a mansion (on Mortuary Lane) before being kidnapped by a mad scientist.

The rest is horror-flavored as the scientist and his butler are looking for a human head for his “mechanical men.” That’s right, robots. They are soon on the run from the duo as the house is full of secret passageways so there’s plenty of entertainment, the Stooges frightened out of their wits & puns as they attempt to avoid Professor Potter and his trick table which features a hole in the middle and a giant cleaver.

There are gags later used in The Addams Family, other amusing props, and quite the villainous turn from Phil Van Zandt as Potter. As there’s a great gag for a conclusion, Dopey Dicks is a very good time.

Love at First Bite: 

(Short # 123 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Featuring bubblegum, spaghetti, marriage, and a Weeble Wobble sort of effect. Aside from flashbacks where the soldier Stooges met their brides-to-be in Italy, Austria, and France, the setting is one large room. The future wives are all traveling over on a boat from Europe; there are struggles decorating that include a horseshoe over the door falling on Larry, Shemp leaving chewed bubblegum all over the place, and the usual buffoonery where they slap each other.

There are plenty of new gags and laughs to be had; that includes the trio chugging an entire mug of… Old Panther Whiskey! They are appropriately sloshed; like most drunks, they are argumentative w/ each other. Moe and Shemp have a beef, and the former believes he killed the latter! Via the logic of heavily intoxicated men, Moe & Larry put Shemp’s feet in a cauldron and fill it w/ cement.

This creates the Weeble Wobble effect once they all woke up. While not the best from this trio, Love at First Bite was still sufficiently amusing.