Topic: Idle Roomers (1944)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/80
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036948/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



Happy Halloween, everyone!  I'm so happy I got this short on this day.  Since it's Halloween, let's start with the horror stuff.  It's quite obvious there's a wolf man in this one, played by Duke York.  Most of you know three years earlier, Universal had a big hit with Lon Chaney, Jr. in THE WOLF MAN which no doubt had an influence on this short.  What only the seasoned horror fans will know is that around the same time of IDLE ROOMERS Columbia had a horror film of its own called RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE.  In addition to having the title character played by Bela Lugosi, there's also a wolf man character in this one, so I'm going to say Clolumbia's latest horror film had a bigger impact on IDLE ROOMERS.  Some trivia Vomit and any other Iron Maiden fan will appreciate is the wolf from RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE is the same wolf used in the first thirty seconds of "The Number of the Beast" video.  Below are pictures of the wolves, first in IDLE ROOMERS, then in RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE.





As for the short itself, I definitely enjoy this one.  The obvious milestone of this short is this being the debut of Christine McIntyre.  I think it's safe to say she's the crush of generations of Stooge fans.  There have been plenty of beautiful women before and after Ms. McIntyre in Stooge films, but none with her versatility and none who just flat out stayed around as long as she did.  She's a godsend to Stooge fans, and in IDLE ROOMERS she plays a dignified, wealthy wife who acts appropriately bemused by the Stooges antics.  Welcome aboard, Christine.  I love the way the boys go out of their way to try to impress her at the beginning, with Larry calling Moe his boy to her while Moe admits to her he'll go out of his way for her more than others.  Good stuff.

Other favorite parts are the sock darning bit, Curly doing the Marx Brother and before them, Max Linder mirror routine with the wolf man, Curly playing the trombone and an orchestra comes out (think about how ludicrous that is), and the routine of Curly carrying the luggage on the moving carpet and his knees giving out.  Also, check out Curly carrying that huge pile off luggage on his back at one point.  Yeah, I'm sure the boxes were empty, but still, that must've been tough.

8/10

[Shemp_Diesel]

Well, I had to think they were going to be mixed opinions about this one--or maybe it's just me who's mixed about this one. Christine was definitely in a class of her own--there may have been other women who beat her in the looks and va-va-voom department, Diana Darrin comes to mind--but as far as being an actress and her versatility--she could play the villianess as well as she played the heroine--none were better than Ms. McIntyre.

Those bouquets to Christine aside, I always found this to be a weak short--perhaps Mr. Del Lord's weakest. Again he tries his hand at co-writing as well as directing and the results are mixed.

I did enjoy Larry telling Christine that his boy will get her other luggage and what Moe does to him afterwards. That highlight aside though, the stooges once again find themselves doing spookhouse antics--and as I've said before, I don't think that was there strong suit.

Overall, I give it 4.5 pokes, maybe a poke higher than it should be--thanks to Ms. McIntyre....


 

[metaldams]

Well, I had to think they were going to be mixed opinions about this one--or maybe it's just me who's mixed about this one. Christine was definitely in a class of her own--there may have been other women who beat her in the looks and va-va-voom department, Diana Darrin comes to mind--but as far as being an actress and her versatility--she could play the villianess as well as she played the heroine--none were better than Ms. McIntyre.

Christine McIntyre had a different kind of "va-va-voom" about her than Diana Darrin and just about any other attractive female in a Stooge short, and it had nothing to do with looks.  What it had to do with is that Christine McIntyre was in her thirties when these shorts were shot.  Look at the way she gracefully carries herself in this short, there's no way some twenty one year old can pull that off. They just don't have that kind of maturity.

[Shemp_Diesel]

Something I forgot to add during my initial message--was this another short with a decided lack of Larry? Other than getting the hell beat out of him in the elevator, it seems to me Larry had little to do this short--much like Busy Buddies.

Btw, Metal I didn't mean to sound like I was slighting Christine's beauty--she was definitely beautiful in every sense of the word & even though I didn't personally know her (obviously) she seemed like a natural beauty, inside and out....

[metaldams]

Something I forgot to add during my initial message--was this another short with a decided lack of Larry? Other than getting the hell beat out of him in the elevator, it seems to me Larry had little to do this short--much like Busy Buddies.

Btw, Metal I didn't mean to sound like I was slighting Christine's beauty--she was definitely beautiful in every sense of the word & even though I didn't personally know her (obviously) she seemed like a natural beauty, inside and out....

Oh no, I didn't mean to imply you were knocking her beauty, so sorry if you took it that way.  Just pointing out something about Christine McIntyre that doesn't get touched upon much.  I'm 35, I kind of notice these things now when I wouldn't have five to ten years ago.

As far as Larry, well, I guess overall you're right if the elevator scene didn't exist, not to mention the classic look on his face when the wolf man gets his paws on him.  Other than that though, not much Larry.  Still more than BUSY BUDDIES.

[Paul Pain]

For me, this is the beginning of the sick Curly era.  He just seems a little bit slower in this one, and his pitches are a bit deeper.  Nevertheless, he pulls off a top-notch performance.  Here we see, as has been mentioned, the debut of the outstandingly beautiful Christine McIntyre, best known for the being the subject of most pornographic Stoogephilia.

Something I forgot to add during my initial message--was this another short with a decided lack of Larry? Other than getting the hell beat out of him in the elevator, it seems to me Larry had little to do this short--much like Busy Buddies.

Yeah, Larry is non-existent, as is Moe.  This is pretty much a Curly solo appearance.

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

I enjoy this one, I think it's fine, with the exception of the foot-twist, which goes on and on and on, way past funny into torture.  This became a specialty of Jules White, so I was surprised that this is Del Lord's work.  ( Another one of these is Vernon Dent ramming the beach umbrella into Curly's belly...a quick jab might have been funny, but that...?  I'll have to look up who directed that one. )  There are more of these to come, a major turn-off for me.
     This one is all Curly, true, but I don't see any pathology yet.  I agree that it first shows up in his voice, which was ever so slightly different at times in Yoke.  I think we're all agreed that what we hear is a stage voice, one which he simply may have found more difficult to sustain as he aged.  That is until real physical problems set in.  But he's still energetic here.

[Shemp_Diesel]

( Another one of these is Vernon Dent ramming the beach umbrella into Curly's belly...a quick jab might have been funny, but that...?  I'll have to look up who directed that one. ) 

The one you're referring to is Booby Dupes; the last Curly directed by Del Lord....

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Thanks.  Booby Dupes ( what the hell does that mean? a pun on bobby sox?  On "boop-oop-ee-doop"? ), Boobs In Arms, lots of boobs here in the forties.  My computer chops are pathetic, if I get stuck for a fact not already lodged in the grey matter and need to look something up, I'm pretty helpless.  When corresponding with a less erudite group, I'll just make stuff up, but I wouldn't dare with you intelligent imbeciles.  Again I'm surprised that this is Del Lord rather than Jules White, but I'll take these two sequences as proof that, to say the least, Lord's timing was off by this point.  At least they were doing the Lord's work, Har-De-Har-Har-Har.  Sorry. 

[Shemp_Diesel]

Yeah, Del was definitely in my eyes losing his mojo at this point in the stooges career, but that won't tarnish the stellar work he did for the first 8 years--although I have to say I think Mr. Lord went out on a high note with Dupes--but as always, we'll discuss Booby when the time comes...

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Correct.  He directed some of the very best.

[Paul Pain]

I will refrain from sharing my strong opinions of BOOBY DUPES for another four weeks.

No one mentioned the rather disappointing ending which insinuates the Stooges perish...

[metaldams]

I will refrain from sharing my strong opinions of BOOBY DUPES for another four weeks.

No one mentioned the rather disappointing ending which insinuates the Stooges perish...

Yes, but they perish comically, able to continue Stooging in another life.  It's all cartoon like, I can deal with it.  What I don't like is when they get blown up by a cannon and a final shot is their smoking shoes.

[Paul Pain]

Pay attention to Vernon's face when the Stooges come to clean the room.  When he is complaining about the room, he has an angry stare, but when Moe puts the hammer in Curly's nose, you can watch is face turn to bewilderment.

And Curly when he things Moe is going out the window... the ultimate internet tough-guy

"Hey lady I aint' that ugly?  Or am I?"  "I think I got pyrea [peridontitis]!"

[Shemp_Diesel]

I will say, Duke York probably makes for a better "Wolf Man" than the sorry specimen that was Matt Willis in Return of the Vampire.

[Kopfy2013]

I like the short a lot. Welcome Christine McIntyre one of my all-time favorites.

Hazel seems to be something also. Can we get more information on her? Sort of reminds me of Rita Hayworth.

I like the Wolfman Wolfman quote from Hazel's roommate.

Curly carrying the trunk; With the moving carpet; The sweat coming off his face.

Christine carries herself elegantly.  I rate this a 9. Curly does great, short keeps my interest and it's Christine's first.

[JazzBill]

I like this short a lot. I think it stays solid from the beginning to the end. Curly seems to be in pretty good form for this one. Moe and Larry get some good bits also. I like the mirror bit between Curly and the Wolfman, it was done years later between Lucille Ball and Harpo Marx on one of Lucys shows. I rate this short a 9.

[metaldams]

Some mirror gags!


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zury01k7paE

Max Linder

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j5lU52aWTJo

Groucho and Harpo

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=79EnDc-Ucv8

Harpo and Lucy

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

I always thought this was one of the more underrated Stooge shorts many people seem to dislike, I agree Curly seems to be showing less energy here than he did before but doesn't appear to be very sick like he would from "If A Body Meets A Body" onward.

I also remember the first time I've seen this short I've originally thought I was watching a Wolf Man movie because of the scenes with the Wolf Man in the hotel room and I was shocked to find out I was watching the Three Stooges (who I was a huge fan of at the time).

It was great seeing Christine McIntyre in her first appearance with the Stooges and it makes me wish she would've been one of the regulars at the beginning of the Stooges careers.

Overall I give this short a 7/10 and find it to be an enjoyable short to watch.

[Dr. Mabuse]

Yeah, that "Return of the Vampire" makeup certainly came in handy.  A rare horror comedy from the Curly era, "Idle Roomers" is consistently entertaining. Duke York delivers a memorable performance as Lupe the Wolf Man.  It's too bad Columbia didn't pony up a little more dough for the ending, which is astonishingly weak even by Stooge standards.

8/10

[Daddy Dewdrop]

We're in the portion of the "worst -to-first" countdown where things are pretty average - not bad, but not great, either.  This short epitomizes that statement.  It certainly has its moments (Christine, Vernon, Curly's mirror gag), but also has some slow spots.  Things will steadily improve from here on out.

#128. Idle Roomers

[O.U. Gonga]

I never cared much for "Idle Roomers." But I decided to see it today and give it another try.

It's not as bad as I recall. Pluses include the first full appearance of Christine McIntyre. Also, to my eyes and ears, Curly seems in good shape here, compared to his girth in "Idiots Deluxe."

I like Curly trying to tune in the boogie-woogie while the radio is on his head. The resulting noise on the radio reminds me of Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" some 30 years later.

The end seems cheaply tacked on, a bad special effect. But overall a better effort than I remembered. 7/10

[metaldams]

Going to keep that METAL MACHINE MUSIC reference in mind next time I watch this one.  A 64 minute album, I think I tapped out after three minutes.  Welcome aboard.