Topic: Training for Trouble (1947) - Schilling & Lane

[Paul Pain]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147623/

Our journey with Gus Schilling and Dick Lane already comes to an end here as none of their other shorts are available on YouTube to review, although only one of the films is actually lost.

TRAINING FOR TROUBLE is a very familiar short to Stooge fans as this is a scene-by-scene remake of A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN with two exceptions: (1) Gus and Dick don't have to sneak out of the building like the Stooges did, and (2) there's no scene of them trying to get into the upper berth.  Every step of the way, this short falls except for one regard: Monte Collins.  And, of course, A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN is a rewrite of SHOW BUSINESS directed by Jules White and starring ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd.

Now, don't get me wrong: Schilling and Lane are funny in their own regard as is Sidney Fields in the role of Anthony Pain, but they're not as funny as The Three Stooges and James C. Morton.  Monte Collins's character is repainted in a way that suits his strength and thus isn't the same as Bud Jamison.  Bud smacks his head on the berth above and starts crying about his luck; Monte smacks his head on the same and instead complains about the idiot who put that bunk there.

Now, Jules White is obsessed with stock footage, and, being such a close remake of A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN, one would expect the stock footage to abound, but surprisingly nearly everything is done anew, even the scene of the drunk man trying to cut the monkey's tail.  But there is stock footage still: the crab on the plate, the scenes of the train moving and the monkey pulling the brake cable are reused as is the closing scene.  Yes, you read that right, Jules recycled the ending of the Stooges being thrown off the train and onto the bulls that buck and throw as they run while the scene transitions to the Columbia card.  How does he do this?  By having Mr. Pain also get thrown off the train!

Schilling & Lane do everything like the Stooges here: the boot cooking in the oven and then burning the "dumb one" when he puts it on later, face slapping (which they do remarkably well), "How dare you look like someone I hate?!", the crab/turtle gag, etc.  And it's all done better by Moe, Larry, and Curly.  Schilling & Lane are funny, but it's hard not to compare to the Three Stooges when they're even acting like them.  James C. Morton also ruled in the role of Paul Pain, the HEARTTHROB of milllliions!

7/10

[HomokHarcos]

I liked the beginning of this short when they were practicing, I thought it was pretty funny when they were doing the dance and the neighbor came in and got kicked right in the face. I hope that didn't hurt for real, because I watched it a few times and it looked like it hurt. I wish the rest of the film focused on them performing the act and messing it up, but unfortunately it turns into a remake and instead the focus is on them travelling by train.

[metaldams]

A fun alternate take on A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN and perhaps even more so, SHOW BUSINESS from Pitts and Todd.  Schilling and Lane carry the material well but don’t add quite as much as the other versions.  They’re good comedians but I guess I seem to prefer them carrying their own material versus me comparing them to others using familiar scripts.

It’s nice seeing Judy Malcolm get the random slapping girl bit in this short - I always thought she was underused with The Three Stooges and she does a nice job here.  Also awesome seeing Sidney Fields in a Columbia short!  Again though, he’s good but he’s no James C. Morton as far as this role goes.  Would be used to greater effect with Bud and Lou on the TV show.

Again, watching this short felt like a really cool alternate take.  It’s amazing the mileage some scripts got over the years and Jules White took advantage of this one.  Also took advantage of some Stooge footage towards the end!

[Umbrella Sam]

Unfortunately, instead of another HIGH BLOOD PLEASURE style short, we get another short of Schilling and Lane basically just rehashing Stooges (as well as Todd and Pitts) material. It’s not bad; I did think the slapping bits with Judy Malcolm were funny, and Monte Collins does a great job reprising his role from SHOW BUSINESS. Sidney Fields should be a great choice for his role considering his work with Abbott and Costello, but something just seems off about it. He seems like he’s not getting as frustrated as one would think. James C. Morton and Anita Garvin both pulled off this role with their great over-the-top performances, but for some reason Fields seems a bit more subdued than usual.

Most of the gags were done better by others, but Schilling and Lane do acceptable variations on them. Not much more to say than that; it’s a fine enough short, but there are better versions of it out there.

5 out of 10