Topic: Was Joe DeRita better solo?

[Bangsmith]

As everyone knows, Joe DeRita starred in four solo shorts for Columbia before he became a Stooge. He is my least favorite Stooge, and is for a lot of other fans as well, so a lot of people may not have seen those shorts. In my opinion, he was much better solo.
Slappily Married-1946
The Good Bad Egg-1947
Wedlock Deadlock-1947
Jitter Bughouse-1949
To those members who have seen any of these, I'd be interested in getting your opinions, pro or con, on these shorts. Are they better than his Stooges material?

[Jareth]

I liked Joe DeRitas solo shorts as did I like Joe Bessers solo shorts.

[Bangsmith]

I liked Joe DeRitas solo shorts as did I like Joe Bessers solo shorts.

Yes, but was he better solo?

[Jareth]

Well that is hard to say because some people may like his solo stuff better and some may not like it at all, but I think he is better solo.

[Bangsmith]

Well that is hard to say because some people may like his solo stuff better and some may not like it at all, but I like his solo stuff better.

Good answer. That question is designed to draw people's opinions. I started this topic because I don't know anyone who has seen them besides me, so I wasn't sure what other Stoogenerds thought. Maybe I should have worded it as: Do you THINK DeRita's better solo? Peace!

[Jareth]

Good answer. That question is designed to draw people's opinions. I started this topic because I don't know anyone who has seen them besides me, so I wasn't sure what other Stoogenerds thought. Maybe I should have worded it as: Do you THINK DeRita's better solo? Peace!

Have You seen any of the Joe Besser solo shorts? they are way better then any thing he has done with the Stooges

[Bangsmith]

Have You seen any of the Joe Besser solo shorts? they are way better then any thing he has done with the Stooges

I've seen five of the ten he did for Columbia. I don't remember which ones, I'll have to check the filmography to see which titles ring a bell as it's been a long time since I saw them. I had them on VHS, but it burned up a few years ago. If memory serves me right, they were better than his Stooges stuff, but I like DeRita's solo material better. I have those four on DVD-R.

[xraffle]

I never saw Joe DeRita's solo shorts, but at IMDB.com, it says that Joe Besser was the only stooge that was better solo than with the stooges. So, I'm assuming that Joe DeRita was better with the stooges than in his solo shorts.

[shemps#1]

For DeRita's sake I hope his solo work was better than his work with the Stooges. The Stooges movies with DeRita are abysmal.

If he showed any trace of a personality in his solo work that would be more than he was able to do as a Stooge.

[metaldams]

JITTER BUGHOUSE makes the worst Besser era short seem like a masterpiece, and I'm not exaggerating.  One of the most painful 15 minutes I've ever experienced.  SLAPPILY MARRIED is about the same as the Derita Columbia features...not awful, but not great either.  Good time wasters.  Haven't seen the other two.

[Pilsner Panther]

I've never seen any DeRita solo shorts, but as long as his comic persona was different from the annoying one he used as a Stooge ("Buddy boy!"), maybe they're funny.

A high school friend of mine used to call Joe D. "the fake Curly" in his appearances with Moe and Larry, and that's still an accurate description, I think.

I'd like to see some of the DeRita Columbias, just out of curiosity (along with some by Andy Clyde, Hugh Herbert, and other members of the Columbia "stable" of comics). Columbia Short Subjects was a "laugh factory" just like the cartoon studios of the period, and it's amazing that they all created so much great work, considering the tight schedules and the tighter budgets. Tex Avery and Buster Keaton both complained about having to crank out so many films under those bare-bones conditions, and still be expected to make an audience crack up watching them. I guess it's kind of a miracle that they usually succeeded!

 

[Dunrobin]

I have only seen THE GOOD, BAD EGG, myself.  It was "okay" (maybe a 2 or 2-1/2 poke rating), and was definitely better than his performances in the Columbia feature films with the Stooges.  Based on that, I would say yes, DeRita was better as a solo performer than as a Stooge.

[Bangsmith]

The truth is, ANYTHING he could have done solo has to be better than his Stooges material. He was no Shemp: It's just amazing that he was even competent solo.

[kinderscenen]

I'd say yes, but...

You have to deal with the fact that the Joe DeRita on film probably wasn't the one that Moe and Larry knew from burlesque. I'm pretty sure that he was probably a pretty funny comedian live--as evidenced by their TV appearances (c'mon, don't tell me you didn't laugh when Moe slapped his wig off in the hospital sketch and he had to ad-lib a bit to cover Moe and Larry's laughing).

I never liked the fact that he had to be Curly-Joe. You can't have lightning strike three times. Shemp was "his own man" when he replaced Curly, and like him or not, Joe Besser really couldn't be anything other than his solo character when he replaced Shemp.

So, long post slightly longer, yes, DeRita was a hell of a lot funnier in his younger, solo years before he joined the Stooges, but we also have to remember that the Stooges themselves were funnier before their conversion into the child-friendly performers that we see in the 60's films.  Let's face it, once you start censoring a performer/TV show, it usually stops being funny. (See "new" versions of Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, etc.)

[Bangsmith]

I'd say yes, but...

You have to deal with the fact that the Joe DeRita on film probably wasn't the one that Moe and Larry knew from burlesque. I'm pretty sure that he was probably a pretty funny comedian live--as evidenced by their TV appearances (c'mon, don't tell me you didn't laugh when Moe slapped his wig off in the hospital sketch and he had to ad-lib a bit to cover Moe and Larry's laughing).

I never liked the fact that he had to be Curly-Joe. You can't have lightning strike three times. Shemp was "his own man" when he replaced Curly, and like him or not, Joe Besser really couldn't be anything other than his solo character when he replaced Shemp.

So, long post slightly longer, yes, DeRita was a hell of a lot funnier in his younger, solo years before he joined the Stooges, but we also have to remember that the Stooges themselves were funnier before their conversion into the child-friendly performers that we see in the 60's films.  Let's face it, once you start censoring a performer/TV show, it usually stops being funny. (See "new" versions of Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, etc.)

I think Moe made a rare mistake when he tried to make a Curly out of Joe DeRita. Apparently, audiences were less than receptive when DeRita first joined the act, so the nostalgia factor was used. Unfortunately, it was not a financial mistake. I guess when people get older, they are more willing to compromise, but even Moe admitted that "Snow White" was a dud. If the Stooges had not watered down their act for children, DeRita's solo personality would have worked better than his (or Moe's)"Curly-Joe" personna!

[JazzBill]

If you want see DeRita funny with the Stooges you need a copy of a DVD called "Lost Comedy Treasures". On it is a bit they did on the Steve Allen show in 1959. Moe plays the part of a director, Larry is a big movie star and DeRita plays the part of Larrys stand-in. It is short, but it's funnier than anything they did with Besser.(In my opinion)

[Bangsmith]

I have that DVD. It is part of a four-DVD set put out by Goodtimes. "Kings Of Laughter", and "Festival", also from Goodtimes, have some interesting DeRita footage as well.

[Jamison]

I've seen three of DeRita's solo efforts and the best I can say is that he looks better with a full head of hair than with the buzz cut! At least Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka and Symona Boniface appear, and they are always worth watching. Columbia didn't seem to put much effort into the shorts, and DeRita was typecast as the put-upon little guy who can't catch a break. ("little" meaning stature; he was already quite pudgy, but still relatively svelte compared with his Stooge days) The most entertaining moment comes in JITTER BUGHOUSE (I think), when Joe Lindy hops with his landlady and briefly shows off his dancing prowess. If I remember correctly, he had appeared in his family's vaudeville dance act and could still move, despite his weight gain.