http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/282http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171762/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Hope you guys have this one on DVD, as SOCIETY MUGS is a remake of TERMITES OF 1938, and a good one. Obviously Shemp and Tom Kennedy don't quite have the chemistry of The Three Stooges, but they're still very good together. Shemp is the bossy, sort of Moe like character of the team, as Kennedy plays a loveable big oaf. Still, Shemp gets plenty of signature moments, and his carnival barker enthusiasm while leading a high society party by throwing food in the air and catching it with their mouth is quite infectious. Classic Shemp! Really, the only thing is missing is the equivalent of the boys jamming on the instruments, think Moe sawing the upright bass. Other than that, this is a very fast paced, enjoyable remake, and Tom Kennedy and especially Shemp are both in top form. Who else here finds Tom Kennedy to have a slapstick resemblance in look and manner to Pat Buchanan?
The supporting cast are excellent minus Gene Roth, who isn't convincing as the butler, too brutish. Talk about a guy who had one awesome role and the rest kind of iffy. Everyone else is fantastic. Christine rarely is bad, and this is no exception, and Rebel Randall is great here to, she had one Hell of a yell. All Stooge fans know she can fill out a swimsuit, but she was also a good actress, as she shows here, and it's a shame she only has one Stooge appearance. Vernon Dent is just as wonderful as Bud Jamison was in the same role as the guest trying to fit in.
Great short overall, and an absolutely wonderful Shemp performance. I think he'd make a wonderful third Stooge if watching this in 1946.
Next Stooge review, due to playoff Red Sox baseball and work schedule, will be Friday and I'm looking forward to it in a perverse way. The next solo review will be a Joe Derita short since it was released before the last Shemp, so we will conclude the Shemp solo reviews in two weeks.
9/10
