Topic: The Yoke's On Me (1944)

[Paul Pain]

Italians and Germans didn't even have to do anything to get mistreated.  In my home state of Rhode Island, the moment war was declared all the English and Irish went up the legendary Federal Hill and took away every Italian's radio, weapons (which very few had), and valuables.  One local radio celebrity was vacationing in Hawaii when he was kidnapped and forced onto a plane to Montana (remember, this is December) where he was abandoned to figure out on his own how to get home.

[metaldams]

Interesting posts, Tony and Paul.  I'm going to have to do further research on what you guys are talking about.

[Tony Bensley]

Interesting posts, Tony and Paul.  I'm going to have to do further research on what you guys are talking about.

What I've discovered about the mistreatment of German Americans just today is both eye opening and heartbreaking!  I can message you some links if you wish.

I'd like to think we're well past this sort of thing, but it seems the current administration has a lot of minorities and people of varying sexual preferences and gender identifications very nervous.  Just love and respect one another, and let everybody have the same rights, I say.

But, I severely digress!  Regarding THE YOKE'S ON ME, although I did see it not that long ago, I somehow missed the Japanese relocation references, as I believe I dozed off while viewing this particular short.  I'll have to view this one again, soon!

CHEERS! 

[Tony Bensley]

Well, I just gave this short a fresh viewing.  Apart from the unfortunate Japanese Relocation Center reference at about 6 minutes in, and that the Japanese escapees do appear to be dead (Although watch for the impaled escapee, whose left forearm moves at around 15:30!), I found this short to be a fairly enjoyable one.  Of course, the title itself is a light hearted racial jab, if light hearted can be considered an apropos phrasing.

Having read a bit about the internment camps and relocation centers, which I've long had a sketchy awareness of, and especially viewing the 1942 JAPANESE RELOCATION short narrated by Milton S. Eisenhower (Which I find doubly ironic, given the German American relocations - The Eisenhowers were of German descent!), I can see that wartime theater goers were supposed to view this in the context of the relocations being necessary for National security, however obviously wrongheaded we can see that was when viewed through our 2017 lenses.

With all that said, I give this short 7/10.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Please explain the lighthearted racial overtones in the title.  I'm missing it.

[Tony Bensley]

Please explain the lighthearted racial overtones in the title.  I'm missing it.

Pronouncing the "J" in Joke with a "Y" could be interpreted as the then common stereotype of Asians having trouble pronouncing certain English letters, such as "J" and "L" (Commonly substituted with "R" in old movies and in early television.), although I may have misinterpreted that in this case, as Eggs do indeed, figure in this short. 

It also occurs to me that lighthearted may have been a poor choice of wording on my part. Mild, but insensitive (Assuming the first interpretation!) is probably a more accurate description.

CHEERS! 

[Paul Pain]

Pronouncing the "J" in Joke with a "Y" could be interpreted as the then common stereotype of Asians having trouble pronouncing certain English letters, such as "J" and "L" (Commonly substituted with "R" in old movies and in early television.), although I may have misinterpreted that in this case, as Eggs do indeed, figure in this short. 

Asian's can say "J" just fine.  It's more a jab at the Germans or the Stooges own Yiddish/Jewish ancestry as German and Hebrew and Yiddish all turn the "J" to "Y".

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Yes, O K, I thought that might have been where you were going with that.  With all due respect, I'm like Paul Pain, I don't buy it.  Swapping the J and the Y sounds is more a Scandinavian stereotype, as in El Brendel's Yumpin' Yiminy.  Asians ( and mind, I'm talking only comedy stereotypes here, not reality ) are noted for swapping the R and L sounds, as in Pat Morita's famous opening to his stand-up routine:  "Herro..."

[Tony Bensley]

Absolutely correct on the "Y" as "J" thing being heavily used in Scandinavian dialect humor!  El Brendel and Yorgi Yorgessen (Of "I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas" fame!) are of course, two prime examples of that!  In these examples, it comes off as more endearing to me, although I'm not really sure why. I suppose part of it may be that although neither El or Yorgi were actually Scandinavian, they both looked, or at least sounded like natural Swedes to my ears.  I do also recall Pat Morita's gently having fun with his native Japanese's supposed letter mispronunciation.  I loved him on HAPPY DAYS, and in the Karate Kid films.

That said, I swear that I've also very occasionally heard the "J" pronounced as "R" in Japanese portrayals.  Vitto Scotti as the Japanese Sailor who thought the war was still on in two Season One GILLIGAN'S ISLAND guest appearances comes to mind as to where I possibly heard joke pronounced as yoke.  I'll have to recheck those episodes on my DVD set for confirmation, or refutation should my memory prove faulty in this regard!

EDIT:  As it turns out, my memory was extremely flawed in the above instance!  Vito Scotti pronounced the Japanese Sailor's J's straight up!

It would appear that I'm wearing some egg on my face, in this case.   

CHEERS! 

[archiezappa]

I just watched this. Wow! I never noticed the nasty thing that guy called our Stooges. Well, it's one of those things where once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of the weakest Curlys . . . for obvious reasons. The fan dance is a definite highlight and I have no complaints about the opening five minutes. Unfortunately, the remainder of "The Yoke's On Me" is sluggish and offensive. Moe, Larry and Curly's performances lack their usual spark — weighed down by subpar scripting and direction.   Perhaps the most cringeworthy ending of any Stooge two-reeler.

4/10

[Daddy Dewdrop]

This is one that's grown on me over the years.  The PC police be damned, there's some very funny stuff in this one.  I rank it #45 on my countdown.