Topic: My Mummy’s Arms (1934) - Shemp Howard and Harry Gribbon

[metaldams]

      Brad Server, AKA Curly’s grandson, has kindly posted a bunch of Shemp Vitaphone shorts on YouTube.  These are also available on two volumes of DVD sets from Warner Archives that also include the last six Roscoe Arbuckle shorts before he died.  I highly suggest checking those out.

      So as Moe, Larry and Curly were starting off at Columbia, Shemp was already well underway at Vitaphone.  They were the short subjects unit of Warner Brothers.  Watching this short and frankly, the entire Vitaphone set I mentioned above, I have to question the billing on some of these shorts.  Officially, this is a Harry Gribbon short.  In reality, he makes a comedy team with Shemp Howard here.  There is even a Shemp short or two where Shemp is top billed where he had a partner who perhaps he should have shared billing with.  Make no mistake, this is pure Shemp, no second banana stuff.

      The premise of this one is there are Egyptologists who find a mummy, King Phooey, to be exact.  When trying to export him, Shemp gets someone to wrap him in mummy bandages and put him in the coffin.  This way he can be transported so he can be near the lady of his desire, Mary.  The things us guys do for women.

      This is a funny short all around, starting the the mummy’s name and then watching Shemp and Gribbon together bicker over the girl.  Shemp is especially funny.  We do get Shemp doing a riff on Al Jolson the same way Curly would do much later on.  Curly does “mammy” but Shemp, appropriately enough, turns it into “mummy.” 

      Really though, the highlight of this short is the joy of seeing Shemp in those mummy bandages and the close up shots of him in the coffin.  Really funny stuff.  If this were a more seen Stooge short, I have a feeling that image would be a bit more iconic with Stooge fans and would sell on t shirts.

      The other highlight of this short is the scenery.  While I’m not going to say this is on the level of Universal, the pyramid and desert decor is quite excellent.  Seems like a lot to do for a two reeler, so I wonder if these settings were borrowed from another film and if so, what film?  Then again, maybe the two reel budgets were higher than I’m imagining and this is original.  Either way, this short looks great.

      A very enjoyable entry here.  If you’re a Shemp fan - and if you’re at this site, how can you not be - I think you’ll enjoy this one.

[metaldams]

….and the guy wrapping Shemp in the bandages - I thought he was familiar.  Sheldon Leonard from IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

[Paul Pain]

Oh, MY MUMMY'S ARMS is indeed a Shemp classic.  Despite being billed a Harry Gribbon short, Shemp steals the spotlight and possibly even the screen time as well in this one.  Fortunately, this one begins with a memorable and appropriate theme song, and we're off to the races.

What's not to love with classic Shemp?  Imagine how hilarious his Columbia shorts could have been with him in his comedic prime doing characters scripted to his strengths instead of Charley Chase mimickry?  We get here a perfect sample of "the ugliest man in Hollywood."

MY MUMMY'S ARMS has all the hallmarks of an excellent short: good plot, good scenery, and good acting.  If anyone is a bummer here, it's Harry Gribbon; I have never found a sample of his work that justified him getting starring shorts let alone higher billing than Shemp, who was already a known quantity in Hollywood.  Harry does a good job, but his less than impressive performance is the only knock on this gem.

There is another legend born here: Sheldon Leonard.  Leonard plays his roll to perfection, and it was the beginning of big things with his role in this short.  He plays the part convincingly and is a fantastic contrast to the character's played by Harry and Shemp.

This is a must see for any Shemp fan.

[Umbrella Sam]

Kind of a strange short, but strange doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Like metaldams, I too noted that the scenery was at a surprisingly high level. Maybe it’s just being so used to Columbia’s low budget scenery, but even with the few other Vitaphone shorts I’ve seen (including ones with Shemp), I don’t remember them being this level. We get some mirage type stuff while Harry Gribbon is traveling through the desert, which again is strange to see in a Shemp Howard comedy, but they make some pretty good jokes out of it, especially when Harry tries leaning on the tree only for it to disappear.

Harry Gribbon...I can see why he’s not to everyone’s tastes. He was a Keystone veteran, after all, but one who never really found his own distinct personality; he’s basically as funny as the writing and direction allows him to be, and I think this is a case where they allow him to be. Cool seeing Sheldon Leonard here. Funny seeing you mention IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, metaldams, because Sheldon Leonard did so much in his career, I was trying to think of what to cite him for; he worked with Abbott and Costello, was a Jack Benny regular, he even did a couple voices for Looney Tunes before ultimately transitioning into a very successful career as a television producer. As always, he does a great job immersing himself into his role here, playing the part seriously while still managing to hold his own with the two main comedians.

Shemp, of course, is great. It’s interesting because I was worried that having him stuck in the coffin for the majority of the short would limit what he could do, but they do manage to get some really funny closeups of him in the coffin and I like the gag with him blowing out Harry’s match when Harry still doesn’t know he’s the mummy. The short is basically just him doing what he does so well, some Stooge antics blended with his fast talking personality; even this far back, you can still tell he was perfect for the Stooges.

Not the best one of these Vitaphone shorts I’ve seen, but still a good short overall.

[metaldams]

Harry Gribbon, as far as the impression he made on me, is most memorable as the cop Buster has interactions with in THE CAMERAMAN.

[Umbrella Sam]

Harry Gribbon, as far as the impression he made on me, is most memorable as the cop Buster has interactions with in THE CAMERAMAN.

Yeah, THE CAMERAMAN definitely comes to mind for me. Funny enough, just last night I was watching the Lionel Barrymore feature, THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, and sure enough, Harry Gribbon has a small part. Another one of those actors who often seems to show up at the strangest times.