Topic: Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb (1938)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/32
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030223/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

This shorts reminds me of a Shemp short in the sense the surroundings are a bit limited and the slapstick plenty.  Then again, this short was remade as A MISSED FORTUNE with Shemp, so obviously Jules White agrees!

I like this short.  It's interesting watching these in order on a weekly basis, because I notice in this case this is the second short in a row where the boys play a game with objects not meant for the game (paint cans and a floor for checkers vs. using pancakes as gambling chips).  Also the second short where an object wrongly gets used as a food item (paint as coffee and glue as syrup).  The first five minutes is classic Stooges, nothing better than seeing the boys work together in a room with a few props.

My only complaint about the short is that the ending, like many Stooge shorts, is too sudden.  It was like they have all this great comedy but have to end it suddenly due to time restraints.  Other than that though, fun short.  Curly with the champagne bottle in his mouth and champagne flying out of his ears is a great shot, and I always find it hysterical that Moe orders two grown men to take a bath.  Love the gold digging hotties as well.  I'm a cheapskate, but if that brunette were to tell me she was lonely in that tone, she'd have full access to my credit card balance that never gets used, my PIN number, my 401K, and I'd have to get her bank account number so I can make sure my two week direct deposit goes to the right place. 

9/10

[metaldams]

By the way, my new girlfriend mentioned above, Earlene Heath, dead at age 44.  Can't find anything on her, but so many of these girls in Stooge shorts die so young.  I don't know all their individual cases, but in general, Hollywood was tough on potential starlets. Check out UNCIVIL WARBIRDS as well for that cast.

[Shemp_Diesel]

This used to be high on my list of favorites, not quite as much now; which is not to say the short is bad, far from it, but I will say that I find the remake with Shemp to be just as good as the original and the remake has a better ending too.

Although I will point out that the golddiggers from this short are probably better actresses overall compared to the trio from A Missed Fortune.

"What does that monkey got that I ain't got?"

"A longer tail."

8 out of 10...

[JazzBill]

This is an OK short. It has some pretty good bits in it. I like the bath tub bit and I like idea of the boys and girls trying to swindle each other. I think the bit with the spoons getting glued to Moe and Curlys mouths is dragged out a little to long. But all in all it's a pretty funny short and I rate it an 8.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Good stuff, especially, as someone else said, in the first five minutes.  I'm puzzled when someone says that such-and -such a bit goes on too long.  We've run into this before, notably with The Alphabet Song, which is about to reappear.  Too long?  These bits usually take two minutes, tops.  At what point does the old ennui kick in for you?  In fact, almost all the musical interludes are criticized as going on too long, and I suspect that it's because the writer just doesn't like music of that vintage, whatever its duration.  Me, I'm a fan.
     This ending is criticized for being inconclusive, though funny.  I can see the point, but to me the real conclusion is when Larry passes out while moaning " They'll throw us in jail!"  Well, he's right...they're going to jail.  That's massive fraud and property damage.  There's really no way around that.  May as well take the konk on the dome and spare us the litigation.

[Kopfy2013]

I think this is an OK short.  To me I was a little bored.  It seems rushed.

Nothing stands out for me. Sorry.

[Larrys#1]

I consider this episode to be divided into two parts. The first part being the opening scene with the pancakes. The second part being the scene at the hotel. The first part was brilliant. The whole pancakes and glue gag was hilarious. The second part, while not as strong at the first part, is still good. Most of it was great; Curly breaking the bed, Larry drowning in the tub, Curly drinking champagne, the stooges going after the monkey and breaking the vase, and the stooges dressing up as the tall Indian......

Moe: "How!"
Curly: "Swell, how you doin'?"

Very funny part there!

However, the stooges and the girls part was sorta meh for me. It was ok, but it is the weakest part of the episode, imho.

Great episode all around tho.

8.5/10

[seven2nds]

I enjoyed this short.  The Pancake/Glue bit was funny.  It has already been mentioned, but I have to agree the Brunette was stunning.  There was some great dialogue in this short as well.  When the girls are plotting against the boy's one of the blonde's said " Right. Then we get their dough and give 'em the ozone." also when Curly sees the Monkey in his pants and says " I got the D.T.'s. I'm seeing gorillas, I tell ya "  I found that D.T's are Delirium Tremor's, seizures that can happen when somebody quits the booze cold turkey.  I love the outdated slang and the long forgotten pop culture references. 

I do agree that the ending was too sudden.  There was a few scenes that could have been shortened to make room for a proper ending.  Either way I enjoyed it, but not a stand out.
6/10

George
  

[stoogepreacher]

I loved this short as I do nearly all of them.  The best parts are the stooges doing things with objects that are not meant to be used in that way.....like making pancakes for poker chips.....Drinking champagne like soda pop.....sleeping on top of the bed.......Bowing to a vase......The routines are great and the lines are great.
Curly: "My hat, it's broken"
Moe: "So it is......let me fix it....(Punches through the hat and hits Curly)
LOVE IT!!!
Take Care God Bless and Keep Watching
Stoogepreacher

[Paul Pain]

When the girls are plotting against the boy's one of the blonde's said " Right. Then we get their dough and give 'em the ozone." also when Curly sees the Monkey in his pants and says " I got the D.T.'s. I'm seeing gorillas, I tell ya "  I found that D.T's are Delirium Tremor's, seizures that can happen when somebody quits the booze cold turkey.  I love the outdated slang and the long forgotten pop culture references. 
6/10

George
 

Actually D.T.s are a medical term that is still used.

The boys reek havoc on a hotel room.  I won't say much here; I like the Shemp version much better.  This is a 7/10, but Shemp will probably get 9/10 when his time comes.

[MrsMorganMorgan]

"Take a bath!" "But it ain't spring!" "Oh yes it is. See the pretty grass?" (Moe boots Larry on the ass into the bathroom). How do you get any better than that?

And even with a pancake glued into his mouth, Moe is still lethal. Watch that whole pancake scene; every movement, every line; every "Ngah!" The Stooges were at the absolute top of their game here. Their perfection is the reason I can't even consider any other B/W comedians.

[Alixer]

This shorts reminds me of a Shemp short in the sense the surroundings are a bit limited and the slapstick plenty.  Then again, this short was remade as A MISSED FORTUNE with Shemp, so obviously Jules White agrees!

I like this short.  It's interesting watching these in order on a weekly basis, because I notice in this case this is the second short in a row where the boys play a game with objects not meant for the game (paint cans and a floor for checkers vs. using pancakes as gambling chips).  Also the second short where an object wrongly gets used as a food item (paint as coffee and glue as syrup).  The first five minutes is classic Stooges, nothing better than seeing the boys work together in a room with a few props.

My only complaint about the short is that the ending, like many Stooge shorts, is too sudden. The Skinny Express wrote this https://skinnyexpress.com/phen375-review about the Phen375 program. It was like they have all this great comedy but have to end it suddenly due to time restraints.  Other than that though, fun short.  Curly with the champagne bottle in his mouth and champagne flying out of his ears is a great shot, and I always find it hysterical that Moe orders two grown men to take a bath.  Love the gold digging hotties as well.  I'm a cheapskate, but if that brunette were to tell me she was lonely in that tone, she'd have full access to my credit card balance that never gets used, my PIN number, my 401K, and I'd have to get her bank account number so I can make sure my two week direct deposit goes to the right place. 

9/10

This is one of my favorite 3 stooges episodes. I've seen it a hundred times. I wonder how my 50k in 1938 would be in todays money.

[Dr. Mabuse]

A set-bound Stooge romp that never feels claustrophobic thanks to Del Lord's brisk direction and a steady stream of laughs. The only problem is the jarringly abrupt finish — not unlike "The Sitter Downers." Time constraints weren't an issue, since "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb" runs a mere 16 minutes. I'm not a big fan of "A Missed Fortune," but at least the remake had a more satisfying conclusion.

8/10

[metaldams]

Just watched this short and had a thought.  When the boys get the prize money and look at the unemployment insurance and social security benefits taken out, these would have been hot topic issues at the time.  This is a 1938 short.  Unemployment insurance started in 1935 and social security 1937.

[Dr. Mabuse]

The Film Daily (May 1938)

[Samurai]

I've always enjoyed this short. It seemed that it wasn't aired as frequently as other Curly shorts, so it was always a welcomed episode.

For me, it will never approach 10/10, but it never failed to entertain. And for the record, I too was rather partial to 'Cleopatra' (Woo-Woo).

I often find that my favorite moment in a Stooges short can be a quick sound or facial expression...often from Curly. In this case, it's the sound he makes as he opens his mouth so Moe can extract the spoon. It's like a love sick seal...and ALWAYS makes me loff.