Topic: Mummy's Dummies (1948)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/111
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040620/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ubti-dqY9F8

Watch MUMMY'S DUMMIES in the link above



      A few weeks ago, I compared FIDDLER'S THREE to one of those Ben and Jerry's ice cream combos where they include every flavor of processed carb known to man, women, and beast.  Around the corner from my house there is a local Wawa that sells those things.  If I go a few doors down, there's a Chinese resturant, which is where this week's short resides.  Chinese food is awesome going down, but doesn't leave much of an after effect, which is why I need to invent analogies like this in order to come up with a review!

      Moe is great in the opening scene taking turns giving mayhem to Shemp and Larry, but it was done better in those early 50's shorts I can't wait to discuss.  The boys again are in a basket with swords going through, but it was done better in, ironically enough, FIDDLER'S THREE.  There's another chase scene at the end of this thing which is like a zillion other Stooge chases.  Dee Green makes her final appearance, but here it's just for her mere presence, nothing else.  No character, just an ugly face with fake teeth. Yeah, there's nothing bad here, it's General Tso chicken all the way, but it don't fill you up.  More Stooge comfort food, and I can't find a reason why a Stooge fan wouldn't enjoy this short.  It has a lot of stuff I would think most of us like in small doses.  I also can't see it making anyone's top ten.

      OK, Shemp as the mummy is a highlight I suppose, and that close up is one of the all time great Stooge shots....seriously.  But even then, Shemp with a Mummy theme is done better here!  Break out that Vitaphone DVD set and see for yourself, a superior short for sure.

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/247

      Vernon Dent rules as the king with the toothache, I gotta say.  That said, and perhaps this is just my worldview talking, but I'd much rather the boys be heroic earning money for that kid's operation than say, making sure a king gets his "rightful" tax money (shudders).  Oh, and the girl feeding Larry grapes in this short is Suzanne Ridgeway, one of those attractive girls who will be appearing in more of these things as the fifties happen, yet she hardly speaks.  No doubt taking over the mantle for Judy Malcolm.

      Oh, and one final thing, MUMMY'S DUMMIES is the only Shemp short of the forties not to get the stock footage treatment.  A guess would have to be the sets were too lavish, but that's just a guess, I really don't know.  The sets do rule in this one, though.

      Another good short.  Just good, not great.  Nothing wrong with that, perfect for a rainy Saturday.  Now I'll take a quart of roast pork fried rice and steamed dumplings.

8/10


     

[Shemp_Diesel]

I'm not sure I have much to add this week--this is one of those good but not great shorts. Another short from 1948 that has an ancient period setting & once again Vernon is King and Phil Van Zandt is the heavy. What's that old Yogi Berra saying--deja vu all over again...

7 out of 10...

[Paul Pain]

I'd say this short is more like the Chinese sweet ribs; it's a nice treat, but too much of it and you'll get sick of them.

I must say, Shemp does a really good job with the nearsightedness gag.  He abuses mouths in ways no one could imagine.  The plot, however, is more like an egg roll; what on earth AM I eating?  We get the wonton soup later from the scene with Moe and Larry in the basket, which gets everything settled in.  Finally, we get Shemp spinning whilst the guard pulls the mummy-wrap off of Shemp for a fortune cookie.

Unfortunately, next week is breakfast for dinner.

[Paul Pain]

Also wishing a happy birthday to Shemp_Diesel, whichever upcoming day it is!

[Shemp_Diesel]

Also wishing a happy birthday to Shemp_Diesel, whichever upcoming day it is!

Thank you.


And not to get sidetracked--as I'm sure we'll get into it next week--but I gather by your earlier comments that next week's short is not one of your favorites, hmmmm....

As for this week's short, I forgot to add, I love Shemp's little exchange with the harem girl about her perfume...

[Lefty]

While I have never even given any thought to Chinese food and the Three Stooges together, and while I think of TSO of computer mainframes whenever I see "General TSO," I have quite often felt that by not having a remake, "Mummy's Dummies" is more enjoyable in that it is not one from Column A (original) and one from Column B (remake).

The best line is, "I'm Honest Moe, that's Honest Shemp, and that's -- that's Larry."

My brother, a retired dentist, preferred Shemp's role as a dentist in "The Tooth Will Out" over this one as Painless Papyrus, but Shemp got the desired result in this short.  The scene with the Stooges vs. the bad guys was very good.  And the ending, with Moe and Larry throwing rice and boots at Shemp and Dee Green, was very amusing.

[Paul Pain]

Thank you.


And not to get sidetracked--as I'm sure we'll get into it next week--but I gather by your earlier comments that next week's short is not one of your favorites, hmmmm....

As for this week's short, I forgot to add, I love Shemp's little exchange with the harem girl about her perfume...

I actually do enjoy next week's short quite a lot... but it has a chimineepanzee, which is always a -1 pt in my book.  No, what really sucks is that we start reviewing LOVE AT FIRST BITE on my birthday   

But breakfast from dinner is just that; it's something I never complain when someone says that's what I'm having, and I'm going to enjoy it a lot.  But I am not, on my ownm going to say "Let's have pancakes!"

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

Larry as a human jack-in-the-box, popping up from a large basket with his thumbs in his ears and yelling, "BOINNNG!" to distract a guard so that Moe can give him a blow on the head with a hammer: that to me is the one unique attraction of this short. Boinnng!

[Kopfy2013]

 I enjoyed this short.

 I agree with Lefty's synopsis. 


'You sand fleas ' .... Shemp and the perfume.... The whole used car/chariot scene. 

 If it is Chinese food it is good Chinese food.

I give this a strong 8.

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

There's a line of Shemp's that I can't make out. During the sequence in the used-chariot lot, Shemp disguises himself as an old man to bid up the price of the chariot that the boys are trying to sell to the guard. After the guard says, "You can have it!" and turns to leave, Moe shoves Shemp aside and tells the guard that they will stick to their original bargain. But before he says that, Shemp mutters something that seems to end in the word "anyway." Can someone make out what he says?

[Shemp_Diesel]

Dr. Hugo, I just went to youtube to watch it--it's kind of hard to make out, but it sounds like Shemp said "Yes I had one anyway."

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

Dr. Hugo, I just went to youtube to watch it--it's kind of hard to make out, but it sounds like Shemp said "Yes I had one anyway."

To me it sounds more like "He had to have one anyway"--but that's just an impression. I can't find an interpretation that "clicks."

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

No dyspepsia this week, I like this one.  Good opener, good action all the way thru, good jokes.

[Shemp_Diesel]

A slight change of heart after viewing this one again--bumping it up to an 8. Again--you get that feeling of deja vu--but it's good deja vu. Original paint, King-sized tooth, and Shemp as the mummy make for a good viewing experience...

 

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

A good but not great Shemp episode, I did enjoy the scene where the Stooges were collecting the money they've made from selling a wrecked chariot and seeing Moe collecting most of the money for himself, I find it interesting that this was the only 1940's Shemp short not to be remade in the mid 1950's, overall I give this episode a 7 out of 10.

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of the better Shemps from the late 1940s — sparked by a solid cast, handsome sets and some rare outdoor shooting.  Worth the price of admission just to see Shemp as a mummy.  Good fun, but no match for "We Want Our Mummy."

7.5/10 

[Daddy Dewdrop]

I seem to enjoy this one more than most here.  Solid laughs from start to finish and a strong showcase for Shemp.

I rank it #6 (Shemp) and #43 overall.