A PEACH OF A PAIR (1934) -- ThreeStooges.net

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Released December 29, 1934
Featuring Shemp Howard (Solo)

Vitaphone
20.5 min. (Short Subject)

Vaudevillans Emmy Cook and Shemp Butler have been thrown out of yet another theatre. The Woodburys have fired their cook and butler. So naturally, Shemp and Emmy mistake an employment agency ad as a booking for their act, and arrive at the Woodbury mansion in time to prepare and serve an elegant dinner party. Disaster looms as they cook their first turkey dinner, confuse alum for sugar, get drunk in the wine cellar, and accidentally baste the plum pudding with gasoline instead of brandy.

A PEACH OF A PAIR's turkey-stuffing gags were borrowed by director Lloyd French seven years later, and scripted for Curly Howard in French's screenplay of AN ACHE IN EVERY STAKE.

The closing blackface gag was edited from this film's presentation on the TNT cable network in the early 1990s. The Warner Archive DVD release is complete and unedited.

Avg. Rating:

[8.55/10]

Cast List

Shemp Howard
Shemp Butler

Daphne Pollard
Emmy Cook

Harry Shannon
Theatre manager

John Brown
John Brown

Cora Witherspoon
Suzie Woodbury

Charles Howard
Mr. Woodbury

Donald MacBride
The Baron

Jessie Busley
Mrs. Potter

Herschel Mayall
Dinner party guest

Elmer Brown
Dinner party guest

Melissa Arno
Dinner party guest

Margaret Irving
Dinner party guest

Unidentified A PEACH OF A PAIR 1
Grocery man

Production Crew

Lloyd French
Director

Dolph Singer
Story

Jack Henley
Story

Edwin B. DuPar
Photography

Stooge Businesses (0)

Stooge Goofs (0)

Stooge Mayhem (Avg. 0.00)

Re: PEACH OF A PAIR, A
Posted 2014-06-07 15:32:13 by Shemp_Diesel
Edited 2014-06-07 15:34:36 by Shemp_Diesel

I just purchased Volume 2 of the Shemp Vitaphone comedies, and so far, A Peach of a Pair is definitely the best short I've watched up to this point. Stooge fans should recognize this material seeing as it spawned the all-time classic, An Ache in Every Stake and there is a mix up with some alum, which no doubt inspired the alum scene from No Census, No Feeling.

I don't need to go into much detail about the plot, but I will say the laughs from this short very nearly match Moe, Larry and Curly from "Ache." Shemp's turkey stuffing is a scream, the hoity toity, high society matron with her constant fainting spells is good stuff and Daphne Pollard is in step with Shemp all the way.

I just hope the rest of the Shemp solos can match this very funny outing.

9.5 pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: PEACH OF A PAIR, A
Posted 2010-05-17 15:34:38 by falsealarms

Great solo Shemp effort. Pollard and Shemp had such great chemistry and it showed in a big way in this short. Having a Stooge in a kitchen never fails and it didn't here as the kitchen scenes were the best part of the film.

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2003-07-27 07:21:00 by Bruckman
Edited 2003-07-27 07:27:00 by Bruckman

Very funny solo Shemp effort. As a vaudeville team called "Cook and Butler", Shemp and Daphne Pollard mistake an employment agency's ad for a cook and butler needed for a fancy dinner party for a gig. Plenty of typical etiquette gags follow, including the spiking of the punch with alum--the hostess speaks with a kind of pursed-lip affectation and thinks all her guests are mocking her with bad impressions; Daphne takes a ride on a serving cart and collides Oliver Hardy-like with the kitchen wall, with cans and bottles raining down on her from a shelf; and in a reworking of a gag from L&H's THE DEVIL'S BROTHER, both venture down into the cellar for brandy, and end up snockered after liberally tasting each of the casks of liquor to find which one contains the brandy. Lloyd French, this film's director, came to Vitagraph straight from the Hal Roach studio, where he'd spent the previous 5 years as assistant director and director on the Laurel and Hardy unit, so it's not surprising some of the gags have a L&H-like tone (as do Daphne's long-suffering glances at Shemp). His later work with the Stooges permitted him to embellish many of the gags appearing in this film. A particular highlight is Shemp getting slapped around by Daphne much as he would by Moe, and doing his notorious "fish-mouth" after drinking the alum-laced punch. And he's hilariously sloppy looking, with a bioled shirtfront which will not stay put (presaging the gag with the rolled-up shirtfront 20 years later in INCOME TAX SAPPY) and a mop of hair that would do credit to any Seattle grunge musician.

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2003-05-27 19:37:00 by [Deleted Member]
Edited 2003-06-25 23:13:00 by [Deleted Member]

I don't know who decided to bomb this short, but it reallydoesn't deserve it. Shemp's great as a screwballvaudevillian (he stupidly eats the trained goose that's thestar of the act), and Daphne Pollard is pretty good too,even though she doesn't do the kind of hard slapstick shedoes in "His First Flame." Also, as BeAStooge mentioned,this short was an inspiration for "An Ache In Every Stake,"specifically the turkey-stuffing scene (with a lot of thesame lines!) and the exploding cake at the end. Not tomention the dinner guests ingesting alum and their mouthspuckering up, which also appears in "No Census, No Feeling."

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2003-05-13 21:46:00 by FineBari3

Certainly one of the finest examples of Vitaphone shorts! My new female hero, Daphne Pollard!! She must have been one of the first women to do serious slapstick. She dishes it out, but takes it too! Where or when did the 'stuffing the turkey' scene originate??? We know this one shows up again a few times in Stooges shorts....

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2003-02-20 21:47:00 by metaldams

Classic Vitaphone short with a great mid-30s pairing of Shemp Howard and Daphne Pollard. As great as anything The Three Stooges were dishing in this time period. A must see.....................

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2002-06-26 13:30:00 by Del Lord

One of Shemp's best Vitaphone efforts, with the diminutive Daphne Pollard delivering some amazing slaps and socks, even using a meat cleaver at one point!

Re: A PEACH OF A PAIR
Posted 2001-05-08 13:53:00 by BeAStooge

Very funny inspiration for "An Ache in Every Stake". Howard and Pollard are hilarious together!

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

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Prod. No.:	1773-1774
Shooting Days:	5 days From: 1934-08-18 To: 1934-08-23

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