http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/173http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049090/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZfZ54ssj0Watch COMMOTION ON THE OCEAN in the link above
The very last Shemp Three Stooges short! Like most of these recycles, not really much to say. Fortunately, next week we start the Joe Besser era, where there will be plenty to say. OK, the fourth and final Palma as Shemp double epic, and like last week and unlike the first two, everybody came to their sense and gave Palma nothing to do. All he does is cover his face for a brief moment and gives us a few shots of shoulder.
A remake of DUNKED IN THE DEEP with bits of CRIME ON THEIR HANDS thrown in. The old footage is good, just better seen in its original context. The one new scene of note is Moe, Larry, and Gene Roth eating the wooden fish. I actually like the set up of how they got Harriette Tarler away from her meal and through a few circumstances, the wooden fish replaced the real fish. Somewhat creative, surprisingly for this late in the game. However, once they get the wooden fish and eat it, it turns into a variation of the cushion in the cake gag we've seen a million times, but instead of spitting out feathers, they spit out sawdust. Other than this one bit, every other comic scene of note is stock footage.
....and as far as Shemp Three Stooges shorts, this is it, my friends. They manage to go out on a whimper. Let's be honest, the last real Shemp short was BLUNDER BOYS, and due to stock footage, very few truly new films were being made these past few years. Overall, Shemp was more than a worthy successor to his younger brother Curly, and when we had a run of original shorts, lots of great comedy was made. Shemp was his own unique comic who gelled well with Moe and Larry, and it's a shame he couldn't live longer to make features with them.
Next week, the Joe Besser era is finally upon us. Really looking forward to discussing those sixteen shorts!
5/10
