Rogue

Rogue (2007)

Runtime: 99 minutes

Directed by: Greg McLean

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Caroline Brazier, John Jarratt, Sam Worthington

From: Village Roadshow

As always, whenever I participate in Spooky Season each late August through Halloween, some of the films I expect to view beforehand was not viewed. At the same time, I’m always glad for the unexpected movies that are viewed, or the ability to see something in full that I’ve only watched parts of in the past, saw but it was before Letterboxd, or have been meaning to see for years now. In 2025 especially, those unexpected moments & catching up on movies I should have reviewed long ago has been a treat. That includes Rogue, tackled soon after release and never again until now.

This is the 21st century version of Ozploitation, an Australian film from the director of Wolf Creek; personally, the plot description of Wolf Creek doesn’t sound appealing to my tastes-a giant killer crocodile picture is more appealing. The premise isn’t too terribly complex: an American travel writer is in the outback in the Northern Territory of Australia, on a boat cruise fixated on viewing crocodiles. After encountering louts Sam Worthington and Damien Richardson-the latter actor was acclaimed on screen in his native country but after retiring… well, he’s an activist far to the right--you can read his Wiki page if you’re so inclined-circumstances happen and they’re stuck on a tiny island after the croc attacks their boat.

The movie’s not filled with gore or even a numerous amount of deaths-unfortunately, one of the kills is of a dog; rather, the focus is on the disparate group of characters who are forced to work together to escape the island. There were some faces known to me… Radha Mitchell, John Jarratt, Barry Otto for a moment, child actor Mia Wasikowska, and a “favorite” of many, Sam Worthington. At least here, he was fine—and more often than not I don’t think he’s terrible. Certainly, I could nitpick some aspects, such as some characters acting like dopes for the sake of the plot.

All that said, they filmed in a scenic remote location, there are several exciting setpieces and it was an enthralling trek, if not the most original story in the genre. A bonus is that the effects-including the CG-actually look good. The presumption is that the vast majority of killer alligator/crocodile films are useless tripe, whether they be practical effects or those putrid SyFy Channel films that presented bargain-basement CG. One day I should track down 1987’s Dark Age, a crocodile film that stars Jarratt as the hero. I haven’t seen much in that category-at least Crawl, Alligator, and Rogue are good times for entirely different reasons.

Swing You Sinners!

This is a rather crazy cartoon from 1930 I saw several days ago: 

What a wild Fleischer cartoon this was. I’m not that familiar w/ Bimbo the cartoon dog, aside from its relative popularity in the 1930’s & later teaming up with Betty Boop. For awhile now I’ve known of this piece of animation, chiefly how surreal & bizarre it was. This was not an exaggeration.

The opening is Bimbo chasing a hen to a henhouse; he came across law enforcement, and runs to the cemetery. This is when the nightmare begins… the rest is full of spooky, ghoulish sights that include actual ghosts, demons, a giant skull, & more. That is all set to period jazz music. The imagery is probably far creepier than you’d expect for a cartoon 95 years old presumably made for general audiences; definitely, you wouldn’t expect those frightening elements to attempt homicide of our lead, but they do.

I’d rather not spoil much else; I will mention that those who love the game Cuphead, this was one of the inspirations. Shame on me for never giving it a shot until now.

The Devil Rides Out

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Starring: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower

From: Hammer

Both Christopher Lee and Hammer Horror seem a prerequisite for Spooky Season; plenty from the studio has been viewed through my life yet this was one that hadn’t. A copy was recently found-nevermind how-and now there are regrets that the film was never given a shot by me much sooner.

The premise sounds simple: Lee (as a hero instead of villain) and Leon Greene discover that their pal Simon-whose fathers they were compadres with-has fallen under the spell of Satanists, led by a Charles Gray I’ve never seen more terrifying. He is chilling to the bone w/o going over the top or yelling at the viewer. Rather, it’s his menacing stare and demeanor which is the source of his power for the viewer. For Lee’s Nicholas, Duc de Richleau and his pals, the powers of foe Mocata are supernatural & require much study and preparation in an attempt to counteract.

To echo the thoughts of others, the film is like a rollercoaster ride; the first 15 or so minutes present the plot-the rest is a push-and-pull where our heroes attempt to protect both Simon and comely young lady named Tanith from the Satanists. There are several great setpieces, chiefly when they are protected in a magic circle against all sorts of wild images and effects presented by Mocata. Lee is also great as the hero who was exhausted due to the effort it took to ward off the black magic. He and Gray commanded the screen, a pair of older gentlemen who are dominant over the younger supporting characters.

The Devil Rides Out uses its rural England in the late 20’s setting expertly. Both the woods and the houses/mansions provide atmosphere on their own, buttressed by the expert direction of Terence Fisher. Longtime Hammer composer James Bernard does a swell job with his score that enhances the movie. A key for me loving the film: the story was captivating. I was locked in, loving this macabre journey. This is atypical Hammer in that it’s not overtly sexual and there’s no bloody carnage to be seen… Rides is instead darkly engrossing, another quality adaptation from Richard Matheson. Judging by reading the Wiki synopsis for the original novel by Dennis Wheatley, its finale was even more insane than the one presented in the film, which was still bonkers.

Rides was a bold examination of Satanists w/ their supernatural abilities & black magic at the forefront. Once again, a gem even better than expected was viewed recently by me.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (Banpaia Hanta D) (2000)

Runtime: 102 minutes

Directed by: Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Starring: This is a famed anime

From: Madhouse

More bittersweet than expected… and also better than expected.

Nevermind how I found a copy of this more than a year ago, but I did; last fall I viewed 1985’s Vampire Hunter D-it was a pretty good time. Even then there was the understanding that Bloodlust was seen as an improvement by most people—it was. The first D was a cool 80’s anime with a chilling story. This movie from Yoshiaki Kawajiri gave me even more spooky vibes.

D is still half-vampire, half-man, and for some reason still has a talking sentient hand w/ a face on the palm—“Japan” is my explanation for that bizarre plot point, although a brief explanation of sort was offered here. He’s hired by a rich family to find a dame named Charlotte, kidnapped by vampire Meier Link. Different is that D is forced to compete w/ badass bounty hunters. To borrow a phrase from a mutual, the film is a Gothic sci-fi horror western noir and is as much a delight as you’d hope for. There’s also a dark romantic element that played a key role.

The intoxicating story, the bounty hunters, the stoic antihero lead, the supernatural creatures that aid Link, the complex plot, the stunning animation that brought a variety of settings to life, the musical score… and that leads to a final act in a striking setting where everything is amped up even higher than what preceded it. Of course, I don’t want to spoil the journey for everyone; a great evening would be to view the two Vampire Hunter D films back-to-back. If only Bloodlust was easier to track down, at least for the purposes of streaming.

As someone who still hasn’t watched as much anime as many in the Western film community have, Bloodlust genuinely impressed me. This motion picture was more mature than expected and thankfully wasn’t as creepy sexually as Wicked City was and apparently other films from Yoshiaki Kawajiri… this doesn’t mean readers shouldn’t expect reviews of other flicks from him in the future.

Ghoulies

Ghoulies (1985)

Runtime: 81 minutes

Directed by: Luca Bercovici

Starring: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, various random actors, plus Jack Nace… for only a few scenes

From: Empire Pictures

Featuring both the best and worst breakdancing ever committed to celluloid.

This Charles Band production another film viewed years ago where only parts of it were seen. No, not almost 30 years ago like Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead, but it was before joining Letterboxd in early 2013 (!) so I am happy to discuss this now, even if the movie is low-budget poppycock. It wasn’t the plan going in to see many horror-comedies this Spooky Season but I can’t complain that’s the path I ended up on. Not all the requests for films to be seen will be fulfilled-that’ll be fulfilled next fall at the latest.

A baby is saved from a Satanic sacrifice (done by his father!) by Jack Nance; baby Jonathan grows up, inherits his late dad’s estate, and falls under the occult spell. Oh, and the titular Greml… excuse me, Ghoulies occasionally appear. The movie is utter nonsense; Jonathan and his gal Becky move into the house and they have an 80’s party where out of nowhere, Jon decides to conduct a ritual in the spooky basement.

However, what REALLY came out of nowhere the first viewing all the years ago: early on, the movie suddenly cuts to a goofball character breakdancing. Note that this party is lily-white and this dude Mike especially so; perhaps “having a seizure” is a better descriptor of his dancing! I uproariously laughed then and still did so now. The others are around him in a circle, cheering him on as if his cutting a rug was actually good. There was plenty that amused me this time, from the presence of a young Mariska Hargitay in a supporting role to a weirdo that calls himself TOAD BOY & a lead dude that looked like a Brundlefly combination of Kyle McLachlan & Harvey Keitel… or Kyle and Martin Donovan, to steal a line from a mutual.

The movie is never all that scary-that presumably wasn’t the point. Sure, it is a bit chilling to see a goofball guy easily be seduced by dark forces and for a woman to be controlled by being hypnotized but there are plenty of comedic moments… in case you couldn’t tell from hearing about a random breakdancing scene. They did find a great spooky-looking mansion in Hollywood to film at-The Wattles Mansion, famous enough to have its own Wiki page. The puppets & other effects from John Carl Buechler and others were good and helped make Ghoulies fun. Just don’t scrutinize the plot too hard.

Yes, I know this has three sequels. There’s not any desire to check those out-still, never say never.

Shelby Oaks

Shelby Oaks (2024)

58% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 90 reviews)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Chris Stuckmann

Starring: Camille Sullivan, Sarah Durn, Brendan Sexton III, Robin Bartlett, Michael Beach

From: NEON

I got Stuckmannized!

Clarification is needed concerning my opinion of Chris Stuckmann as a YouTube personality. I’ve never watched his videos regularly, although most YouTube movie review accounts are avoided by me. His early yelling and constant F-bomb phase of course wasn’t something I loved-thankfully, constant F-bombs were NOT a problem in Shelby Oaks-nor was his switch to a monotone style where he’s far more hesitant to criticize now that he’s making movies. My giving a nice rating is NOT out of a fanboy obligation. It is important to note now that the version in cinemas across the country is NOT the festival cut that played last year—there were some reshoots with the additional money they got outside of the Kickstarter fundraising a few years ago.

Going in, I only knew the premise “woman searches for her missing sister;” a trailer was never viewed by me. Turns out, Riley Brennan was part of a YouTube (write what you know, I suppose) paranormal investigative team, back early during the nascent days of the platform. The opening and conclusion are in a mockumentary format, and some found footage is seen; otherwise, it’s a traditional movie. Who or what are the threat to Riley and her sister Mia of course won’t be elaborated upon-I can say that the other YouTubers were found murdered but Riley has been missing for years.

People have noted that the movie seems derivative of certain movies made in the past 20 or so years-which ones, they won’t be spoiled either. The ingredients may be familiar—they are prepared and cooked into a tasty concoction, IMO. I dug the story for what it was instead of bemoaning certain plot points or that the focus was on Camille Sullivan’s Mia; thankfully, Sullivan delivered a solid performance. The two most famous faces in the cast (Michael Beach, Keith David) have rather small roles.

I liked the setting (rural Ohio, including the titular ghost town of Shelby Oaks), the music, some subtle moments from Stuckmann the director, the general polish, some atmospheric scenes and most importantly to me, the film NOT feeling like the elevated horror dreck which usually does not thrill me. There were some nice scares-yes, one was of the jump-scare variety but otherwise… this includes the ending that some have denounced. That isn’t protracted nor does the film have 4 acts nor does it not know when to conclude.

Clearly, I was happy that this felt like horror from the past instead of the modern variety filled w/ tropes that usually leave me cold. My opinion of Stuckmann the YouTube personality hasn’t changed; Stuckmann the filmmaker I am interested in. Whether he writes something else or is hired for a job, I’d be happy to give that a shot. As Jwoww (?!) made a found footage picture named Devon (released last year) and that by all accounts is dreadful, it’s a relief that Shelby Oaks worked for me.

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (Lo Stranzo Vizio Delloa Signora Wardh) (1971)

Runtime: 100 minutes

Directed by: Sergio Martino

Starring: Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov, Conchita Airoldi, Manuel Gil

From: Companies in Italy and Spain

An even bigger oversight than me not seeing much of any giallo films the past 2 or 3 years is that there have only been a select few movies from Edwige Fenech that have ever been tackled. I was happy to fix this mistake last night by checking out this Sergio Martino film.

The film started off hot: as the groovy score from Nora Orlandi-yes, a rare female composer, by far her most famous credit-is heard, a random woman is killed in a stylish fashion via straight razor wielded by a mysterious black-gloved killer. Fenech was a diplomat’s wife in Vienna, Austria who is unhappily married and has to deal with her S&M ex-lover Jean as that killer roams the street. Is Jean the maniac? She receives flowers and notes from someone calling themselves Jean… one note included a version of the phrase “Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key,” of course soon to become a film from Martino starring Fenech.

Vice also has plenty of sleaze: blackmail, an onslaught of nude women, women being beat up, etc. However, that’s to be expected with giallo. This was quite the engrossing tale, well-shot and not horribly convoluted like some genre examples are. It was nice seeing other Italian favorites like George Hilton (as dangerously seductive as ever) and Ivan Rassimov; they and the ravishing Fenech all played memorable characters-so did Conchita Airoldi as the titular character’s flighty friend. 

The backdrop of Vienna (then Spain) are further assets to making this Martino picture a must for genre fans. They are nice scenery as Fenech slowly lost her mind due to this torment. Don’t be a fool like me and wait to see Wardh if you even have a smidge of an interest due to plot description.

Lisa and the Devil

Lisa and the Devil (1973)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Mario Bava

Starring: Elke Sommer, Telly Savalas, Sylva Koscina, Alessio Orano, Alida Valli

From: Several different European companies

A Mario Bava film that was designed to be a nightmare; for years this is what I’ve heard about Lisa and the Devil. As I am a regular subscriber to Shudder and Arrow’s streaming platform, they should especially be used around this time of year; this is on the former. Justifiably, not everyone is a fan of a dream logic film in general-they aren’t always for me. Yet, I was intoxicated by this journey.

Elke Sommer is with a tour group visiting Toledo, Spain; it’s a town filled w/ ancient buildings. They look at a large fresco painting where Satan looks like Telly Savalas; she wanders off, and sees Telly Savalas in a store. She is lost, hitches a ride with a couple & their chauffeur, and ends up stuck at a villa where Telly is the butler for Alida Valli and her son Alain Delon… excuse me, I mean Alessio Orano, although it’s not a giant leap to suggest the origin of his infrequent acting career.

I won’t reveal much more concerning the plot, except that mistaken identity occurs more than once, including a life-sized dummy that Savalas carries around which bears a resemblance to a mysterious dude wandering about. Of course it’s a weird film not to all tastes; me, I was transfixed by this bizarre, ghoulish tale. The sets and the setting: both great. They give off plenty of spooky vibes. There’s also the novelty of seeing Telly sucking on a lollipop and he’s not playing Kojak; it was a real-life solution to his stopping smoking.

To clarify, of course I am reviewing the original cut of the movie as directed by Mario Bava; the distinction has to be made as at a later time, producer Alfredo Leone (no relation to Sergio) wanted a new cut of the movie to capitalize on a certain movie… Bava acquiesced and allowed the creation of The House of Exorcism, to the point that his son Lamberto assisted w/ the task of filming new scenes where Sommer is possessed by Satan and Robert Alda is among those attempting to assist them. From my understanding, those new moments do not fit in w/ the original footage whatsoever so “not even bothering” seems to be the most logical choice.

This is one of those Bava joints that does not include the bold lighting choices. That is never a deal-breaker for me anyhow, but especially not so when this unique story was so captivating.

An Onslaught of Joe Besser

Space Ship Sappy: 

(Short # 178 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges) 

The Stooges go to outer space! UFO sightings and sci-fi B-movies were the rage in the 50’s; about time that our favorite trio jumped on that trend.

They are in the woods; despite Moe reading the results of the stock market, they are poor and living in the woods. They reply to a want ad, for sailors—it is actually to join a mad scientist and his attractive daughter on a rocket to the planet Sunev. The ship and effects are as cheesy as found in legit genre fare for the time. Unfortunately for them, “the planet is inhabited by cannibalistic Amazons!” That isn’t too wild compared to something like Cat Women from the Moon.

There’s some chuckles along the way but only a bit of slapstick and at least judging from memories of something viewed last in 2017, their 1959 feature film Have Rocket, Will Travel was more exciting, if not necessarily “better” on a rating scale. Larry references Elvis; far more obscure now was Joe mentioning 1956’s The Eddy Duchin Story; even I hadn’t heard of that film or Mr. Duchin, a pianist in the first half of the 20th century. Also amusing was briefly seeing a giant Gila Monster on Sunev, before The Giant Gila Monster was ever made.

For a premise rich w/ promise, Space Ship Sappy could and should have been better than just OK.

Guns A Poppin! 

(Short # 179 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Sadly, even in this brief Joe Besser run, some of the shorts fall into the remake/stock footage category. That includes Guns, which is an inferior version of 1945’s Idiots Deluxe. That featured a trial where Moe beat up his pals; Moe has frayed nerves and it was exasperated due to Larry & Curly having “a two-man quartet.” The suggestion is made that they go to the country, where they engage in routines w/ a bear.

That is the same here. The first 2/3 is little-changed; Moe’s stress is now due to financial issues. They still go out to the country and have that run-in with the canis ursus. The last third randomly involves a sheriff in a shootout w/ a bandit. Like I’ve said often, there are some chuckles although the original is better. The new subplot is juvenile yet I didn’t hate it. 

However, it just feels tired next to Idiots Deluxe. I can’t get too mad at Moe, Larry, or even Joe; Columbia was the last studio doing these short subjects before feature films, the budgets constantly went down and they likely knew this was the beginning of the end. There’s only 11 more after Guns, after all. There are worse ones after this, believe me.

Horsing Around:  

(Short # 180 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

One of the worst Three Stooges shorts ever! The other candidate often mentioned by fans of the trio hasn’t been reviewed by me yet but that’ll be coming later in the month and it’s one I’m not looking forward to as it's unseen as of now. This is a rare sequel in this universe; somehow, despite the ending of Hoofs and Goofs, they thought it a good idea to continue that story of the boys having a sister reincarnated as a horse, and with a foal.

Aside from a chuckle or two, this was just dreadful. Turns out, Birdie the horse has a mate named Schnapps… a circus horse who is injured and about to be destroyed! If that isn’t morbid enough, they don’t have a car yet they are able to rent a wagon so the boys have their sister literally drag them around. The biggest sin aside from the comedy being as lame as Schnapps is that there’s a leisurely pace to them attempting to prevent the horse’s death. I wouldn’t think there would be time for a lunch break, but what do I know?

Emil Sitka is present but when he can barely make me smile in a role… there are lesser versions of gags from the past. Gone is the mayhem from the glory days. There’s no need to ever give this (or Hoofs and Goofs, for that matter) a shot unless you’re a completionist like myself.

Rusty Romeos: 

(Short # 181 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges are in love… unknown to them, to the same woman. This is a remake featuring stock footage-of 1952’s Corny Casanovas. After Larry makes pancakes & they fix a Davenport sofa-both as bungled as you’d expect-they all go to their girlfriends to propose marriage. What misery for them when they discover it’s the same gal… a gold-digger named Mabel who wants their engagement rings. 

Of course, Casanovas is better, yet—despite this not rating high even in the category of “Joe Besser Stooge Shorts” this was one I liked. The new footage seemed to match the old stuff alright-only belied by the different film grain… and oh yeah, the one old bit where Shemp’s photo is on a stand instead of Joe’s as the director didn’t want to film the bit again and thought that viewers wouldn’t notice. I won’t get too mad about it.

More importantly for me, the new moments are funny-from the opening where Moe and Larry are dreaming while sleeping in the same bed w/ Joe to the ending that is a callback to an earlier gag-and several Letterboxd reviewers have noted-to Joe uttering some funny puns. Maybe he’s not as bad in this brief era as many people have proclaimed through the decades… this is an acceptable four-hander, with Connie Cezan providing chuckles herself, both in new and old footage.

Outer Space Jitters: 

(Short # 182 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges go to the planet Sunev again… they just reused that name as “Venus spelled backwards” joke from Space Ship Sappy was “so good” it had to be used again. This time, Emil Sitka willingly takes the trio to Sunev to meet the residents of the planet; what great ambassadors to represent Earth!

The sets and costumes look straight out of a cheap 50’s sci-fi picture; sadly, this was just lame… not exciting, not that funny, weird nonsensical gags, old bits that aren’t as funny here, and the continuation of an unfortunate trend where there’s already been more than one Besser short that’s had a groan-worthy ending. 

The only other noteworthy detail is that the human-looking aliens of the planet have a giant scary-looking creature; that is played by Dan Blocker, identified as “Don Blocker” in the opening credits. He was a big dude best known for portraying Hoss Cartwright in the popular Western TV show Bonanza, on from ’59 through ’73. Both my parents watched it in their youth. If you must see Besser in outer space, even Sappy was better than this tired effort which had a few smirk-worthy moments that saved this from being totally worthless.

Quiz Whizz: 

(Short # 183 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Despite the title, this short is not solely devoted to the wackiness of Joe Besser somehow winning a prize on one of those TV quiz shows popular in the 50’s… and also infamous—see Robert Redford’s 1994 film Quiz Show for an explanation. Rather, Joe is ripped off right after winning. Long story short, this is mostly about the trio pretending to be children for an eccentric millionaire. That’s just like 1941’s All the World’s a Stooge. That was bizarrely funny; here, three old men pretending to be children is just absurd.

This is not as good as All the World’s a Stooge; yet, it is OK which means I can’t carp too hard about it when in the midst of the Joe Besser era. Montgomery M. Montgomery is the rich dude’s name, and his secretary is Greta Thyssen, Miss Denmark 1952 who was a shapely blonde so of course Hollywood attempted to make her the next Marilyn Monroe. Didn’t quite work out, but at least she has the notoriety of appearing w/ the Stooges on three occasions, including their last-ever short at Columbia.

This does have the Montgomery & his secretary attempting to kill the trio for the insurance money and Joe eating cigars before his face turns white w/ sickness (don’t ask) so that plus some chuckles means I can’t get too terribly upset at Whizz. Plus, this was the only time Harold Brauer appeared w/ Besser. He and Emil Sitka-also here, briefly-are the only two that worked alongside Curly, Shemp, Joe, and Curly Joe.

Fifi Blows Her Top: 

(Short # 184 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

It’s the return of stock footage/remake time. This uses clips from 1950’s Love at First Bite; that concerned Moe, Larry, & Shemp reminiscing about long-lost loves while in the military. Then, Shemp got blotto drunk and chaos occurred. In Fifi, the setup is the same; Joe’s gal was the titular Fifi. She was portrayed by Vanda Dupre, i.e. Wanda Ottoni. She only has a few acting credits total and probably is best known for being married to character actor Jack Warden for decades. 

Perhaps this is generous on my part and perhaps I’m comparing it to the rest of the Joe era. However, I found this to be fine. The stock footage from Moe and Larry is acceptable while the new material has enough wacky moments and puns to make me chuckle at least a few times. Unlike in Bite, Fifi just happens to move across the hall from their apartment. It’s not a happy reunion, though, as she’s married to an abusive lout named Mort, played by Philip Van Zandt.

Van Zandt was in more than a dozen Shemp & Joe shorts. Regrettably, he took his own life between the filming of Fifi Blows Her Top & its release. As it’s too sad a postscript, I’ll instead mention that Fifi does blow her top at hearing Mort’s hateful comments he made when he doesn’t know when she’s within earshot. That is a nice ending.

Pies and Guys: 

(Short # 185 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

A review had to be posted today; October 22 is the birthday of Jerome Horwitz, a.k.a. Curly Howard. Sometime during the day I’ll have to see a few shorts of his to pay tribute; in the past I’ve waxed poetic over what a great performer he was and what a treat it was to talk about him earlier this year when I started this long journey that only has a few left before its completion.

This is a remake of 1947’s Half-Wits Holiday, which ironically was Curly’s last effort before his poor health forced a retirement. There’s also stock footage used in the conclusion-yes, another pie fight. At least it’s the last one I’ll see. The plot’s another Pygmalion scenario: a pair of professors wager a bet… one believes he can transform the uncouth handymen Stooges into gentlemen. That goes as well as you’d expect.

Neither this nor Holiday compare to Hoi Polloi, the first attempt in this universe to tell that tale. That said, both the old and new moments still made me chuckle. Joe Besser drinks milk from a saucer, pushing kittens out of the way to do so! Yes, he did amuse me; while he’s hit or miss, Besser’s reputation and what I saw before this year expected me to dislike him far more once I finally saw all he did in this universe. It can be argued that the pacing here sometimes was better than in Holiday.

By the by, the professor attempting to civilize the Stooges: Milton Frome. Some will know him either for his time on the Milton Berle show in the 50’s, The Beverly Hillbillies in the 60’s, or many different Jerry Lewis films.

If you have to see something w/ Besser, this is not the worst choice. Meanwhile, Happy Birthday, Curly Howard.