http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/64http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035436/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1Definitely my favorite short of 1942. Really a funny film all the way around with no weak moments. Also one of Curly's finer shorts. The energy he shows as he's singing and dancing while he's going up to the doorsteps of his fiancé is contagious, and the dance scene is a classic. I imagine the type of comic dancing Curly was doing with Barbara Slater may have been close to his stage act before being a Stooge, though I can't say for sure. He's a joy to watch either way, and the loosely basted suit gag where Larry is trying to sew it together is another instance of the boys doing a Harold Lloyd gag, this time from THE FRESHMAN.
Speaking of Barbara Slater, her only other role in a Stooge short is in HALF-WITS HOLIDAY as Ms. Quackenbush, but she also appears in Charlie Chaplin's MONSIEUR VERDOUX (see picture below). Like I said last week, I love taller women, and she's quite stunning in this short, so the fact half the time my eyes are on Curly's comedy dance number while she's seductively swaying is a testament to how fun Curly is to watch in this one.
I also stated last week's short was the first post Pearl Harbor short, but this short would be the first short where there is pro U.S. Military paraphernalia, though it's subtle. Check out the scene where they are trying to break the window of unbreakable glass. On the street behind them, you can clearly see an Uncle Sam recruitment poster. Also, when Curly jumps through the glass less window and has the egg on his nose causing him to do a Jimmy Durante impersonation, you can see a War bond poster. There's also a draft joke when Moe is dancing with his partner, so it's fascinating to see world events subtly, and later on, not so subtly, popping up in Stooge shorts.
More fun thought character wise about Curly in this one. He and Larry and Moe are engaged and trying to save their finance's father. Curly may be engaged, but that does not stop him from hitting on his tall dance partner. While the gag may be similar to Harold Lloyd, character wise, Harold was always focused on one girl in his features and never strayed away. Now on the other hand, I can picture a Marx Brother going after a girl or ten, or Stan and Ollie being entangled in a compromising position only to have a dishpan from a wife meeting their skulls.
9/10
