Hot Stuff (1956)

metaldams · **on:** August 11, 2016, 06:46:21 PM

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/171
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049337/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsbm-kheXJA

Watch HOT STUFF in the link above

Could not find a film poster for this, yet the image above showed up in Google images when I typed in "Three Stooges Hot Stuff." Who here objects? (crickets chirp)

The good things I have to say about HOT STUFF are story wise the new footage blends in well with the old and it made me want to go back and view FUELIN' AROUND again. Seriously, how great is Shemp in this old footage? His pantomime skills when getting hit on the head with objects are very strong here, and the lack of good Shemp footage in these recycles makes me appreciate Shemp that much more.

Story aside, the new footage is awful. I don't get angry at Joe Palma for eeping like Shemp. I to do unpleasant things to make a living, and we all have to eat. That said, I don't think any of us here enjoy watching him. As far as the scene in the office, Big Chief is on to something with Jules White's ham fisted direction of the boys reacting with women. Moe is WAY over the top here. Compare this to the Ed Bernds directed old footage when he's smitten by Christine. While decidedly not subtle, Moe's acting is a bit more tolerable there, in my opinion. Hey, ham is in the eye of the beholder. How many slices does one need? A shame too, because Connie Cezon is good in a bad scene. A shame she only got a couple of good roles late in the game, as she had talent.

The old footage, again, saves a short from a 1/10. Is this short necessary? No.

4/10

Shemp_Diesel · **Reply #1 on:** August 11, 2016, 06:55:39 PM

Oh well, another post-mortem Shemp, another week of the "blahs." This might be the worst one yet as far as Palma goes--like I said last week, I'm sure Harry, Jules and all the cast in crew involved knew how stupid a "Shemp body double" was, but now Jules or whoever has him actually trying to speak in his own voice & eep like Shemp. Painful doesn't begin to describe it.

Whatever merits these films may have come from the old footage. I'm almost to the point where I'm begging for Joe Besser to hop on board...

1 out of 10...

Paul Pain · **Reply #2 on:** August 11, 2016, 07:25:22 PM

Required reading: FUELIN' AROUND thread

Meh... I haven't much to add now... No objections to the film poster... My initial thoughts have been covered... this short can...

BURN IN HELL^TM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3/10

Big Chief Apumtagribonitz · **Reply #3 on:** August 11, 2016, 09:26:41 PM

Every bit of new footage is for the worse. Unmitigated butchery. Sad, sad, sad.

Paul Pain · **Reply #4 on:** August 12, 2016, 06:14:09 AM

Quote from: metaldams on August 11, 2016, 06:46:21 PM

As far as the scene in the office, Big Chief is on to something with Jules White's ham fisted direction of the boys reacting with women. Moe is WAY over the top here. Compare this to the Ed Bernds directed old footage when he's smitten by Christine. While decidedly not subtle, Moe's acting is a bit more tolerable there, in my opinion. Hey, ham is in the eye of the beholder. How many slices does one need? A shame too, because Connie Cezon is good in a bad scene. A shame she only got a couple of good roles late in the game, as she had talent.

Just watch any Jules White directed non-Stooge short, and you'll find all the same flaws that Big Chief has pointed out before.

Now that I'm well-rested and watching this short... man is Gene Roth just awful in any film produced after 1950 (produced, not released) as his eastern-European impersonation comes out more like a Scottish accent. It's obvious that Jules needs filler as he does something he hadn't done before, and that's do an entire scene to give a Stooge routine (the flaming booze) to a non-Stooge character.

We get a full shot of Palma's clearly not-Shemp face and get to hear his clearly not-Shemp voice. You'd think there was somewhere they could have lifted Shemp's voice like they did in last week's short, but maybe Jules just didn't want to impose that kind of impossible task on some poor soul.

How far we've come from the 1940s, where the Stooges would actually make a serious effort to impress a lady.

The scenes in Prof. Snead's house and the boys making the rocket fuel are some of the funniest in all the Shemp... oh, wait... right...

Then we get another Palma-eeb... which isn't a Shemp-eeb... why didn't Shemp ever arrive from behind that door ever again? Oh, right...

Ugh!

Shemp_Diesel · **Reply #5 on:** August 12, 2016, 04:17:32 PM

Well--I've brought this up before--as bad as the stooge series has fallen at this point, I'm not sure you can put it all on Jules White. I think all of us have brought up the many contributing factors that led to the "decline" starting in 1953--shrinking budgets, less shooting days, the stock footage, the general lack of interest in short films.

Jules White is my favorite stooge director, so I don't like to just look at the 1953-57 period and say that should stain everything the man did before that.

But again--at this point in the stooge shorts--I think I'm actually looking forward to when Joe Besser steps in.

Paul Pain · **Reply #6 on:** August 12, 2016, 06:10:22 PM

Quote from: Shemp_Diesel on August 12, 2016, 04:17:32 PM

Well--I've brought this up before--as bad as the stooge series has fallen at this point, I'm not sure you can put it all on Jules White. I think all of us have brought up the many contributing factors that led to the "decline" starting in 1953--shrinking budgets, less shooting days, the stock footage, the general lack of interest in short films.

Jules White is my favorite stooge director, so I don't like to just look at the 1953-57 period and say that should stain everything the man did before that.

But again--at this point in the stooge shorts--I think I'm actually looking forward to when Joe Besser steps in.

Still, though, there were a lot of things that could have been better handled. We just had superpositions of Shemp's voice last week, so why not this week? There's budget cuts, and then there's "I can't be bothered." And I think at this point, everyone, including Jules, just wanted to move on to the Besser era as quickly as possible.

Dr. Hugo Gansamacher · **Reply #7 on:** August 13, 2016, 08:08:52 AM

Quote from: Paul Pain on August 12, 2016, 06:14:09 AM

Now that I'm well-rested and watching this short... man is Gene Roth just awful in any film produced after 1950 (produced, not released) as his eastern-European impersonation comes out more like a Scottish accent. It's obvious that Jules needs filler as he does something he did before, and that's do an entire scene to give a Stooge routine (the flaming booze) to a non-Stooge character.

Well, I always look forward to Gene Roth's pronouncement, after the booze has produced its sound effects: "By golly, that's good! Tastes like rotten eggs!" It may be the best new line in all the pseudo-Shemp shorts.

Lefty · **Reply #8 on:** August 13, 2016, 10:26:13 AM

The only interesting thing in the new footage of "Hot Stuff" is Connie Cezon giving it to Moe with the tack-like paper holder and the big staples. The 7-year gap between this and the original surely shows when Moe and Larry are in new footage and then old footage comes in, as you can tell how much they have aged in that time frame. Even I knew that back in the 1970s.

Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum · **Reply #9 on:** August 13, 2016, 02:04:18 PM

The new footage with the ladies at the beginning isn't bad, though of course sending "Shemp" off by himself is just too obvious. And the imitation eeb-eebing act (with the exaggerated exit stage left) is SO bad as to be a self-parody of the whole Fake Shemp thing. The rubber-necked dummy Shemp (from the old footage) is only slightly less convincing.

Dr. Hugo Gansamacher · **Reply #10 on:** August 13, 2016, 02:19:20 PM

Quote from: Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum on August 13, 2016, 02:04:18 PM

The new footage with the ladies at the beginning isn't bad, though of course sending "Shemp" off by himself is just too obvious. And the imitation eeb-eebing act (with the exaggerated exit stage left) is SO bad as to be a self-parody of the whole Fake Shemp thing. The rubber-necked dummy Shemp (from the old footage) is only slightly less convincing.

Yeah, but the old rubber-necked (and -legged) dummy, unlike the new impostor, is really funny.

Paul Pain · **Reply #11 on:** August 13, 2016, 03:52:40 PM

Quote from: Dr. Hugo Gansamacher on August 13, 2016, 08:08:52 AM

Well, I always look forward to Gene Roth's pronouncement, after the booze has produced its sound effects: "By golly, that's good! Tastes like rotten eggs!" It may be the best new line in all the pseudo-Shemp shorts.

I wasn't questioning the humor of the scene as much as the use of a non-Stooge character in such an effect. It's something that was done sparingly, if ever.

Quote from: Dr. Hugo Gansamacher on August 13, 2016, 02:19:20 PM

Yeah, but the old rubber-necked (and -legged) dummy, unlike the new impostor, is really funny.

What is it about an obvious dummy that encourages hearty laughter? I don't know, but I can laugh at a dummy every time... unlike an obvious stunt double or "Fake Cy"

QuinceHead · **Reply #12 on:** August 14, 2016, 09:52:24 AM

Has anyone else wondered how long the Stooges would have continued in their "state of decay" (recycled shorts with less and less new footage) had Shemp not passed away so suddenly?

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum · **Reply #13 on:** August 15, 2016, 07:55:00 AM

Quote from: Dr. Hugo Gansamacher on August 13, 2016, 02:19:20 PM

Yeah, but the old rubber-necked (and -legged) dummy, unlike the new impostor, is really funny.

Perhaps you should say, intentionally funny.

metaldams · **Reply #14 on:** August 19, 2016, 02:59:52 PM

Quote from: QuinceHead on August 14, 2016, 09:52:24 AM

Has anyone else wondered how long the Stooges would have continued in their "state of decay" (recycled shorts with less and less new footage) had Shemp not passed away so suddenly?

For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead

I would just look at the Besser era. Some of those films were recycled to an extent. I'm sure the practice would have continued with a few less original shorts than the Besser era if Shemp remained.

Kopfy2013 · **Reply #15 on:** August 19, 2016, 07:52:57 PM

I give this a 5 ... mainly because of the original material ... they definitely make out Palma to be a parody of Shemp .... that is sad ... totally agree....

Great question by QuinceHead -- how long would the remake lunacy gone on if Shemp lived?

Big Chief Apumtagribonitz · **Reply #16 on:** August 19, 2016, 08:04:53 PM

The easy answer is until Cohn died. The studio survivors didn't waste even a day after Cohn's death before the stooges were off the lot. I don't think it would have made a difference who the third stooge was at that point.

GreenCanaries · **Reply #17 on:** August 20, 2016, 09:20:03 AM

Weren't the Stooges let go in December 1957 -- two months before Cohn's death?

And honestly: If Moe, Larry & Shemp had went on, I wonder which shorts of the sixteen final ones they would've done with ML&S, and which would've been done by Besser solo, perhaps with Jim Hawthorne as his sidekick.

Then again, since Besser's final solos were all remakes of his earlier shorts (!), I wonder if we could've avoided at least some of them.

Paul Pain · **Reply #18 on:** August 20, 2016, 09:27:02 AM

Quote from: GreenCanaries on August 20, 2016, 09:20:03 AM

Weren't the Stooges let go in December 1957 -- two months before Cohn's death?

And honestly: If Moe, Larry & Shemp had went on, I wonder which shorts of the sixteen final ones they would've done with ML&S, and which would've been done by Besser solo, perhaps with Jim Hawthorne as his sidekick.

Then again, since Besser's final solos were all remakes of his earlier shorts (!), I wonder if we could've avoided at least some of them.

Hawthorne only did the two shorts with Besser and then came back 4 years later to do the two remakes. It's doubtful he would have come back yet another year later to make new shorts.

Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80 · **Reply #19 on:** November 30, 2017, 09:45:56 PM

Mediocre remake of the near classic short "Fuelin' Around", the new footage where the stooges were in the office were fairly good but that only lasts for a few minutes, I remember back in the early 2000's AMC would air this short instead of "Fuelin' Around" which I've thought was strange.

Overall I give this short a 3/10 because of the office footage was fairly good.

Tony Bensley · **Reply #20 on:** February 04, 2018, 01:12:08 PM

Apart from seeing Joe Palma's eyes and his obviously non Shemp like hee bee hee bees, I found the new footage in this one a bit more bearable than the previous RUMPUS IN A HAREM (1956). That I prefer the original FUELIN' AROUND (1949) over MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949) also helps.

HOT STUFF gets 5/10 from me.

CHEERS!

Dr. Mabuse · **Reply #21 on:** December 12, 2020, 02:00:25 AM

No one had the heart to make this second Fake Shemp outing. Some of the doubling has a "Plan 9 From Outer Space" quality — all that's missing is a cape for Joe Palma. Thankfully, we can skip this sad fiasco and watch "Fuelin' Around" instead.

2/10

metaldams · **Reply #22 on:** April 18, 2021, 05:41:22 PM

I just watched this one today. Conceptually, this may be the worst Shemp short. I say “may be” because the quality of the old footage makes this somewhat watchable. But again, that’s what FUELIN’ AROUND is for.

But in addition to giving Palma a line and making the poor guy act like Shemp, the acting in the new scenes is insanely over the top. I don’t expect subtlety from The Three Stooges, but it’s taken to a whole new level here. The way Moe and Larry act around the ladies and Phil Van Zandt’s villain Schlick is hard to watch here. These guys should have gotten away from Jules White years ago.

Dr. Mabuse · **Reply #23 on:** April 18, 2021, 05:59:33 PM

Quote from: metaldams on April 18, 2021, 05:41:22 PM

These guys should have gotten away from Jules White years ago.

Once the trap door opens and the stock footage takes over, Jules White's direction becomes increasingly heavy-handed and cringeworthy.

Paul Pain · **Reply #24 on:** April 19, 2021, 02:49:38 PM

Quote from: metaldams on April 18, 2021, 05:41:22 PM

I just watched this one today. Conceptually, this may be the worst Shemp short. I say “may be” because the quality of the old footage makes this somewhat watchable. But again, that’s what FUELIN’ AROUND is for.

But in addition to giving Palma a line and making the poor guy act like Shemp, the acting in the new scenes is insanely over the top. I don’t expect subtlety from The Three Stooges, but it’s taken to a whole new level here. The way Moe and Larry act around the ladies and Phil Van Zandt’s villain Schlick is hard to watch here. These guys should have gotten away from Jules White years ago.

It's no doubt, really, that the boys should have let their contract expire, run with JERKS OF ALL TRADES for a few years, and then probably retired to roll in money from syndication. But, hindsight is 20/20, and their pay was secure with Jules White's department.