In the Curly and Shemp era, there are those undeniable front-runners: MEN IN BLACK, BACK FROM THE FRONT, THREE LITTLE BEERS, THREE DARK HORSES, TRICKY DICKS, and HEAVENLY DAZE. This here is one of those incomparable shorts; it is a comedy classic.
The plot is the Elwood Ullman special: Stooges plus allies versus an enemy. But this one takes it to new levels of ridiculousness.
The Stooges do a fantastic job as ne'er-do-right manual laborers, here as delivery men. The amount of destruction they cause by dropping Vernon Dent's boxes of "junk" is astounding. Little do they know they are being watched... by madmen still trapped in the 15th century in their minds.
The concept of a genie in a lamp is not necessarily funny (e.g. I DREAM OF JEANNIE). Here, we have Wesley Bly as Amos, the "genius of the lamp," who does an incredible job in a straight-man role. But he is not only a straight man, he also does not get to switch his gaze even as action occurs around him.
Shemp is the only Stooge who can find a genius in a lamp and ask for a horrible suit like that, especially given his ugly hat he is already wearing. Nevertheless, Amos obliges, so Larry, jealous of Shemp's find, plays some trickery. From here it is all verbal and sight gags non-stop in a Curly-era style laughfest. Vernon Dent gets his goose cooked twice after being insulted by Moe.
Shemp is on top of his game here in this one. He is witty, puts on great faces, and relies on his "genius" throughout. Shemp has the jump of a little boy throughout this one. Larry is awesome as always as he takes on a stronger character, bullying Shemp and unrepentingly attacking friends by mistake. Moe does a great job on the scare reactions here. He is as vibrant as he was 15 years prior.
Vernon Dent plays the unlikely role of a Stooge ally here. He puts on great faces and reactions in one his last great Stooge roles. The abuse he takes here is on a never before seen level. And he is the punchline of the last scene of the short.
Lastly, Philip Van Zandt: without him, we have nothing. He puts the scare into the scare reactions. He is truly convincing in his role as the evil cutthroat determined to get the lamp at all costs. We have here his greatest performance in a Stooge short, though he was always great.
The plot all works around the genius: warehouse, cutthroats, Vernon's house, and even hot potato with a genie's lamp and cooling it off in a fish bowl. Swords, fine china, and camp stoves all make the cut here as well.
We have found the
GOAT