http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/118http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042012/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1http://www.emilsitka.com/vagabondloafers1949.htmlRead Emil Sitka's diary entry in the link above
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=08sCJVa32ikWatch VAGABOND LOAFERS in the link above
For the next few weeks, maybe, just maybe, there'll be some controversy. Full disclosure, I am not capable of giving an unbiased review here. A PLUMBING WE WILL GO is my favorite Stooge short ever and the maze of pipes bit is Curly's masterpiece. Curly is an otherworldly presence with his squeals, brief moments of satisfied nyuks when he thinks the problem is solved, and is a master of varied gestures and emotions. He's hysterical, and gives a performance that stands out in the annals of comic history. Shemp? I love the guy, but this is the one and only occasion I will say he pales compared to his brother. Usually Shemp is a distinct presence just as good as Curly, but here he was given material better suited to Curly. Curly is otherworldly, Shemp is merely competent. I also have no desire to see Curly do a shadow boxing routine either, certain routines are just better suited to certain comedians. It's this wonderful thing called individuality, egalitarian thoughts are a pipe dream, pun intended. Also, towards the middle of this thing? Lots of stock footage of Larry and Dudley, I mean lots. It will get much worse later on, though.
Sadly, this would be the last short appearance of Symona Boniface, not counting ghostly stock footage. Her last actual appearance is JERK OF ALL TRADES, which we'll discuss much later. Hey, glad she went out with a bang, this is one of her better roles. Her enunciation of lines, along with the butler's, are priceless when she admonishes the boys for mingling with the guests. Bud is gone, and now, so is Symona, another great supporting player leaving the series. She was the best actress the boys had playing high society ladies and always brought a sense of fun, she'll be missed going forward. By the way, the water through the TV gag? The gag itself was done techinically better in A PLUMBING WE WILL GO, but acting wise, Symona gets a much better chance to sell it, and she shines.
Remember when I said in FUELIN' AROUND the three year older Christine McIntyre plays Emil Sitka's daughter? Well here, the twenty year older Symona plays his wife! Emil destined to play much older than he is, again. Christine and Kenneth MacDonald play strictly straight villain roles here and do a fine job. Makes me think Christine should have worked with Hitchcock, and hey, he did like blondes.
As far as comic highlights? Really subtle things. I love Moe reading that book on how to be a plumber, but the best bit is a lazy Larry dumping the bucket that's capturing the water dripping from above and his satisfied reaction once doing so. Poor Moe doing all the work! I really like that little Larry moment. Another observation is I don't believe Shemp gets hit by Moe once in this short.
Look, not a bad short, but I admit I'm biased. Any KISS fans here? I rarely listen to the first KISS album because all the best songs on it were done better on ALIVE! Same deal here. If A PLUMBING WE WILL GO didn't exist, I'd watch VAGABOND LOAFERS more often.
7/10