Moronika
Film & Shorts Discussions => Solo Stooges => Topic started by: metaldams on October 19, 2016, 01:17:11 PM
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http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/283
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171133/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3
http://www.emilsitka.com/brideandgloom1947.html
Read Emil Sitka's diary entry on BRIDE AND GLOOM in the link above
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-RQS79Qt-ir8%2FVQX5IG9E0GI%2FAAAAAAAA-WU%2FP8A9CcjuCdg%2Fs1600%2FBRIDE%252BAND%252BGLOOM.jpg&hash=0a35f22488830ac06400940c78026d263eaf1e28)
So we've come to the final Shemp short, and it is yet again a domestic comedy. I think you guys figured out this is not my favorite type of comedy. Buster Keaton once said with these types of comedies the whole thing wouldn't happen if somebody would just explain the misunderstanding. He's correct, and Saint Buster knows a thing or two about comedy.
The thing is, BRIDE AND GLOOM starts well. Shemp is trying to take a taxi to rush to his wedding, yet it is caught in a glorious mud puddle. Now mud puddles, a comic cliche I like, was mastered at Hal Roach and done well here. Poor Shemp is trying to push the taxi out of the puddle while the taxi driver, played by Emil Sitka, hysterically does nothing. When Shemp finally has had enough and runs away, Sitka has the nerve to demand Shemp pays his fare because the meter is running! Now that's funny.
Next, Shemp prematurely goes to the car shop and takes his car out to rush to his wedding. Unbeknownst to Shemp, the car, not done being repaired, has no breaks. He's driving around this car, finally runs into a fire hydrant and leaves a watery mess on a pedestrian, played by Christine McIntyre. She gets in the back of the car, halfway undresses her wet clothes so as to not catch a cold, and asks Shemp to take her home. Her house just happens to be across the street from where Shemp's impatient bride and father in law await. So poor Shemp has a not fully dressed lady in his back seat in a car with no breaks near the church where he's late for his wedding, great set up!
Sadly, things peak here. After driving around the block a few times, the car cashes and it turns into another domestic comedy where Shemp is wrongly accused of cheating through situations that can be explained. The whole idea of having the half dressed lady in the back of a car for a wedding I remember being done in Charley Chases's hard to find LIMOUSINE LOVE, which I saw on TV once over ten years ago. I remember they milked that gag for all it's worth. A shame not much was done here, there was so much potential.
The cast itself, with Shemp, Christine, Jean Willes, Dick Curtis, Vernon Dent, and Emil Sitka upgrades the material. At least Shemp gives us subtle bits of character business. Notice the way he startles himself when looking in the mirror and pantomimes an apology. It's little bits of Shemp business like that which makes Shemp in this kind of role better than say, Derita.
So we're done with Shemp solo. Two of these films are excellent, the rest are all mid level and should be of interest to Stooge fans. The domestic comedy confusion thing was done too much and Shemp deserves better. Though it sadly took the ill health of his brother Jerome, Shemp came home and got material worthy of him. Columbia writers had the Stooges characters figured out, unlike so many of these other series, and Shemp naturally fit right in.
6/10
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Aren't these 5 Shemp shorts: HOME ON THE RAGE · GLOVE SLINGERS · MONEY SQUAWKS · BOOBS IN THE WOODS · PLEASED TO MITT YOU on the Three Stooges, The: Rare Treasures From the Columbia Pictures Vault? Is there a reason why you didn't review them?
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Aren't these 5 Shemp shorts: HOME ON THE RAGE · GLOVE SLINGERS · MONEY SQUAWKS · BOOBS IN THE WOODS · PLEASED TO MITT YOU on the Three Stooges, The: Rare Treasures From the Columbia Pictures Vault? Is there a reason why you didn't review them?
Because they are not Shemp shorts, Shemp is a supporting player. Gotta set some limits.
What's your opinion of BRIDE AND GLOOM?
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Bride and Gloom is a solid domestic comedy helped by a great cast. Probably a 7/10 for me.
Excluding the feature film Africa Screams, Bride and Gloom was Shemp's last solo effort.
Moviegoers may have been a bit confused at the time. Bride and Gloom was released to theaters in late March 1947, a few weeks AFTER after Fright Night, Shemp's return effort with the Stooges.
I think the same church exterior used in Bride and Gloom can also be seen in the Besser Columbia solo Waiting in the Lurch.
Do people prefer Shemp's solo shorts with Vitaphone or Columbia?
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Bride and Gloom is a solid domestic comedy helped by a great cast. Probably a 7/10 for me.
Excluding the feature film Africa Screams, Bride and Gloom was Shemp's last solo effort.
Moviegoers may have been a bit confused at the time. Bride and Gloom was released to theaters in late March 1947, a few weeks AFTER after Fright Night, Shemp's return effort with the Stooges.
I think the same church exterior used in Bride and Gloom can also be seen in the Besser Columbia solo Waiting in the Lurch.
Do people prefer Shemp's solo shorts with Vitaphone or Columbia?
Probably won't review 'em, but I should re watch those Clyde shorts. Made during the Columbia shorts late 30's early 40's prime.
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Probably won't review 'em, but I should re watch those Clyde shorts. Made during the Columbia shorts late 30's early 40's prime.
Andy Clyde and Shemp had real chemistry, better than what he had with the likes of El Brendel. It's too bad there weren't more Shemp-Clyde pairings but at least we have what we have... Boobs in the Woods (1940) is the biggest gem of their pairings, though I haven't seen the MIA Not Guilty Enough.
An interesting question would be who was Shemp's best partner in his solo shorts.... you have Clyde, Brendel, Tom Kennedy, Daphne Pollard, Harry Gribbon, Jack Haley, Roscoe Ates, etc.
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If there is enough interest, I plan on doing both the Shemp Vitaphones (that I can find on the web), the Glove Slingers (terrible as they be), and the Shemp-Clyde shorts. There are some gems in those collections.
BRIDE AND GLOOM is pretty non-descript. Fortunately, DeRita and Besser will be more fun to do solo reviews of. Shemp is himself here and all the cast is good, but the plot sucks. The car scene was the best part and one of the better short-subject car scenes.
6/10 [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke]
An interesting question would be who was Shemp's best partner in his solo shorts.... you have Clyde, Brendel, Tom Kennedy, Daphne Pollard, Harry Gribbon, Jack Haley, Roscoe Ates, etc.
I vote for "not El Brendel" :D
Jack Haley sucked, too, TBH.
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The Shemp solos, I would say on the whole are mostly good & I have a tough time deciding which is the best after Where the Pest Begins. Maybe this one or Mr. Noisy.
Of course, we have another Shemp where the "jealous husband/wife" gimmick gets used again--but per usual, Shemp seems to rise above the tired vehicle. The supporting cast for this one can't be beat either--Christine, Jean, Dick Curtis, Emil and the always venerable Vernon Dent; who may have the best moment in this short with Jean Willes: But he's so beautiful...
7.5 out of 10...
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Unbeknownst to Shemp, the car, not done being repaired, has no breaks.
Poor Shemp: he never gets a brake!
(Edited to add: My post was intended as an oblique comment on a spelling error. Brakes are what Shemp's car lacks. A break is what he needs to get.)
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Poor Shemp: he never gets a brake!
Nope! But he does slapped around by his little brother!
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Can we agree that though we respect them highly and do get some legit laughs from them, most of the Columbia comedy shorts really don't hold a candle to the classic stooges, not even the Shemp and Derita solos? It seems to me that despite the engaging personalities of the soloists, even Langdon, Chase, Clyde, Brendel ( maybe ), the shorts themselves are like today's sitcoms compared to the glorious in-full-flight classic stooge shorts, which even though they were made at the same time seem to be a light-year of comedy above these other potboilers.
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Can we agree that though we respect them highly and do get some legit laughs from them, most of the Columbia comedy shorts really don't hold a candle to the classic stooges, not even the Shemp and Derita solos? It seems to me that despite the engaging personalities of the soloists, even Langdon, Chase, Clyde, Brendel ( maybe ), the shorts themselves are like today's sitcoms compared to the glorious in-full-flight classic stooge shorts, which even though they were made at the same time seem to be a light-year of comedy above these other potboilers.
They're pretty dull stuff, but I can watch at least some of the Shemp solos for pleasure. The rest are of only academic interest to me.
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They're pretty dull stuff, but I can watch at least some of the Shemp solos for pleasure. The rest are of only academic interest to me.
What about Buster Keaton? Some of his are hilarious even if they aren't as good as some of his shorts at other studios. There are a couple of pretty good Hugh Herbert's, too. Soon enough my dear friends. [cool]
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What about Buster Keaton? Some of his are hilarious even if they aren't as good as some of his shorts at other studios. There are a couple of pretty good Hugh Herbert's, too. Soon enough my dear friends. [cool]
I took the chief to be referring by "the Columbia comedy shorts" to the ones in the "Three Stooges Rare Treasures" collection. I don't know anything about other shorts from Columbia.
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Keaton is definitely the exception. I agree that his Columbias are as good as the stooges. There aren't many of them, though, maybe, what, ten?
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Keaton is definitely the exception. I agree that his Columbias are as good as the stooges. There aren't many of them, though, maybe, what, ten?
Yep! Ten excellent shorts. And they're hilarious even though some of them enter the taboo territory of mistaken lovers and what-not.
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And I would like to point out that my previous post had four consecutive commas and did not lose grammatical coherence. That has to be a record of some kind, even if a negative one. And it wasn't a list, either, a list would have been easy, and could have gone on indefinitely. Professor Finestein has pronounced himself verklempt, and intends to show it to Dr. Gansamacher.
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Keaton Columbia is good for the most part, and really only pales in comparison to his silent work, which has an impossibly high standard. The few Hugh Herbert/Dudley Dickerson comedies I've seen are funny. The rest? Varying quality. I think it's safe to say Columbia found a golden formula with The Three Stooges but were not as consistent overall as say, Hal Roach.
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The Joe Besser shorts are pretty bad,but I like him and JIm Hawthorne as a team,too bad they didn't make more shorts.
And Angela Stevens is major Hubba-Hubba in "Spies and Guys".
RUFF-RUFF!!!!!
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This is an average short,but I love Dick Curtis' overacting and "WHY YOU"!!!!!!!
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I'm very high on this short now & I'm sure it's the stellar supporting cast making me forget the whole time how formulaic the plot is. I was laughing my ass off & this now ties with Where the Pest Begins, as my favorite Shemp solo. Even the opening with Shemp stuck in the mud & Emil just puffing on a cigarette was better than I remembered...
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I didn't really care for this one, since it was pretty light on slapstick. It's also notable that it was originally released on March 27, 1947, almost three weeks after Shemp's first short as a third Stooge, Fright Night.
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I didn't really care for this one, since it was pretty light on slapstick. It's also notable that it was originally released on March 27, 1947, almost three weeks after Shemp's first short as a third Stooge, Fright Night.
You’re correct about the release date. Filming wise, this was shot in February 1946, four months before FRIGHT NIGHT. My guess is Columbia delayed the release to spread out the Shemp solo product.