Moronika
Film & Shorts Discussions => The Three Stooges - Curly Years => Topic started by: metaldams on February 27, 2015, 11:03:46 AM
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http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/97
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039444/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://www.emilsitka.com/halfwitsholiday1947.html
(https://ocdviewer.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/half-wits-holiday.jpg)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2WHDWMoXwAc
Watch HALF-WITS HOLIDAY in the link above.
To you guys getting used to these early day reviews, for the entire month of February I took a PTO day on Fridays, so next week, back to the night reviews.
Oh man, talk about a hard short to review, for very obvious reasons. I will try my best to judge this short based on what is actually on the screen as opposed to what happened to Curly. Of course, Curly's condition does have some effect on his performance and sadly, later on, his lack of screen time.
At the heart of it, HALF-WITS HOLIDAY is a remake of the all-time classic, HOI POLLOI in that it takes the old story of taking lower class citizens and seeing if environment, as opposed to heredity, could make gentlemen of them. This short does have a few good things going for it, for what it's worth. What often gets overshadowed is this is the Stooge debut of Emil Sitka, one of the five great ones along with Bud, Vernon, Symona, and Christine. He does get a nice bit in his debut as he gets run over by the Stooges. The close up of when he tries to bring himself back up and the way he shudders is hysterical. Vernon Dent and Ted Lorch are great to watch as the two gentlemen making the bet, and Barbara Slater, taking into account pure looks and nothing else, is the most beautiful woman to ever appear in a Stooge short in my opinion. Just, um, wow. In THREE SMART SAPS she's a swirling six foot tall attractive body, here she has a pretty face to go along with it. Too bad she didn't appear in more shorts.
The dinner table scene where they are doing the fake eating has for the most part never appealed to me. The whole premise of eating air with canned noises is not appealing. The scene would have been so much better if they found a way to screw up eating real food and a prime Curly was on hand. As it stands now, not too good. I do have to say the one good part about the scene, besides any excuse for a close up of Ms. Slater, is Moe hitting on her. Going to cover her in "furs and automobiles," as well as "mink, skunk, and porcupine." Those lines always make me laugh.
Of course there's the pie fight as well. This may be the last time we see Curly as the third Stooge, but rest assured, not the last time we see this pie fight! The intro to the pie fight is all time classic Symona Boniface, and while there are some great pie shots, it's obvious Curly is all of the sudden missing, and for reasons we already know. Moe doesn't seem very into it from this point on, and understandably so.
Well, this is all kind of a bummer. I have really enjoyed discussing these Curly shorts with you all and it sucks it has to end on this note. It sucks it has to end, period, but especially like this. I suppose the old phrase , "The King is dead, long live The King," will be symbolically applicable starting next week. If Curly was somehow able to read this, I'd thank him for a wonderful body of work and for all the laughter. He does show up in a cameo in a few weeks and much later on I'll find a way to discuss the MGM shorts and some features he appeared in, so we'll get to him again later. As far as Curly's main body of work, the 97 Columbia shorts, this closes the chapter. Next week, get ready for Shemp.
5/10
PS: Just throwing out a challenge to a non Laurel and Hardy fan or two not familiar with their works to check out those reviews, watch the YouTube links I provide, and give your thoughts, good or bad. I'd like this thing to take a life beyond the Stooges.
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I like this short better than metaldams... in fact I give it a 7/10.
While I agree that food scenes and the pie fight -Curly seem a bit off, I grade things off the product. The pie fight was disturbingly sparse of any Stooges period, and we get to review this fight again in PEST MAN WINS, and there is a lack of interest more from the other actors than the Stooges. Moe was flat, but the rest were non-existant. The food fight from IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE is MUCH MUCH better.
I somewhat enjoy the table scene... especially because Curly eats the lady's lipstick. Moe and Larry exchange some funny comments with Barbara Slater. But I like the scene as a vehicle for the boy's to show off some other skills in their pantomime (is that the right word? Please let me know and I will edit it if needed) with the food. Moe gets to throw some verbal jabs there.
Moe: What are you eating?
Curly: Peas
Moe: With a knife?
Curly: Soitanly! I always eat my peas with a knife!
Moe: Don't ya know anything. You mix them with the mashed potatoes and eat them with a spoon!
I also highly enjoy the opening scene. This scene is classic Stooge folly and a perfect predecessor to the interactions we'd see between Emil and the boys for years to come. Ted Lorch does a great job as well, taking a sledge hammer to the stomach and a kick the chin, all while maintaining his high-society-sociologist manner. The verbal exchanges he shares with his "dear Quackenbush (Vernon Dent)" are absolutely remarkable.
"Friends, applaud, the comedy is over."- Ludwig van Beethoven didn't really say this, but it's applicable here.
The glorious Curly era is over, but now we have fresh new comedy to look forward to in the Shemp year.
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The food fight from IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE is MUCH MUCH better.
Agreed! IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE had actual characters, like the lion fight bit and some guy named Curly, as well as Etherelda Leopold's immortal reading of her Senator line. Great stuff! Here, it's physically funny seeing people get plastered with pies based on camera set ups and editing, but the actors could have been anybody.
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I actually enjoyed this episode somewhat, but of course, HOI POLLOI is better. This episode would have turned out way better if Curly was in better health, but this is by far, his worst performance. His performance is really dull and I think we all know why. Even Joe Besser's performance in the dinner scene of PIES AND GUYS was better than Curly's performance of that scene in this episode. And trust me, I'm no fan of the Besser episodes...
I like the plot of the episode. The whole beginning fixing scene was short, but fun to watch. The fake dinner scene was also another good scene. The party scene was fun too... It's a little different than HOI POLLOI because the stooges actually try harder to act like gentlemen in this one, but then they fail miserably in the end when they get into a pie fight with the guests. But of course, Curly should be off the hook because he wasn't part of the pie fight. Just goes to show that Curly missing in the pie fight sort of makes things not make sense in the end, but since we all know the behind the scenes story behind this, we understand why the episode ended the way it did. Nonetheless.... Larry and Moe did a great job. I admire them that they were able to continue on right after dealing with such a tragedy.
Well, that's the end of Curly. Up until this day, I cannot help but wonder what the stooges would have been like after 1947 if Curly would've been able to continue. Not that I don't like Shemp; he's awesome. But it's just my curiosity that kicks in that makes me wonder about this all the time... what would life have been like if Curly made it through retirement? Up until all 190 episodes were filmed? And then up until the 5 feature films? And then up to the cartoons? Wouldn't it be interesting to have seen those New Three Stooges cartoons with the nyuk nyuks and woo woos?? I guess we'll never know. I guess if there is a God, I can ask him when I die. That will be my only hope of ever getting my questions answered. I know it's a ridiculous thing to stress over, but I just can't help it. I'm a "what if" kinda guy. :D
Anywho..... this is the last Curly episode, but I still have earlier ones I need to go back to and review and I shall do that when I have the chance. But I look forward to reviewing Shemp next week!!
7.5/10
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Heh, what to say about this one--on the whole, I wouldn't grade it as low as some others have in the past & I definitely wouldn't go as far as saying this short should have never been made. But, depending on when the actual pie fight was shot, it's very hard to get into the spirit of it knowing that Jerry was either in a hospital bed or maybe at some nursing home or wherever trying to overcome a debilitating stroke while Moe & Larry try their best to carry on with the pies--it's a dark cloud that unfortunately hangs over the short.
Having said all that, there are some bright spots when all 3 stooges are present--the whole exchange at the beginning when the professors meet the boys & the lines, "it's a good thing Kilroy wasn't here; we'd be disgraced for life."
And, as Metal astutely pointed out--the stooge debut for the great character actor & almost stooge, Emil Sitka. Who knows how the team of Howard, Sitka and Derita would have jelled in the movie they were supposed to make--but I suppose that's a discussion for another time.
Overall, I think I would rate this the same as Metal--5 out of 10 pokes.
Farewell Jerome Howard--you were truly one of the greatest....
[3stooges]
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New thought:
From this short, we get "The Amalgamated Association of Morons: Local 6th and 7/8's"
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The plot was pretty good, the cast was All-Star, with Emil Sitka's "Rookie of the Year" performance as well. As for the pie fight, even with the reused footage, the part where Larry ducks and Moe squats down to hit him is always a hit, in more ways than one.
My favorite quotes were:
1. "Now if I gave you a dollar and your father gave you a dollar, how many dollars would you have?" "One dollar." "You don't know your arithmetic." "You don't know my father!"
2. "There ain't been a gentleman in our family in 50 generations!" "Quit bragging."
3. "Oh, Curlington!" "Yesington?" (It was better with the extra lines with Joe, but this one is still good.)
And of course, there is Curly's last line, "Hmmm!", when Moe told him to go sit down, right before the "Sword of Damocles" part. Unfortunately it was a sad ending to Half-Wits Holiday. At least his actual stroke was not filmed. And if what I have read about the Columbia big shot is true, I would not be surprised if Cohn-head told Curly to get back to work and stop goofing off.
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The plot was pretty good, the cast was All-Star, with Emil Sitka's "Rookie of the Year" performance as well. As for the pie fight, even with the reused footage, the part where Larry ducks and Moe squats down to hit him is always a hit, in more ways than one.
My favorite quotes were:
1. "Now if I gave you a dollar and your father gave you a dollar, how many dollars would you have?" "One dollar." "You don't know your arithmetic." "You don't know my father!"
2. "There ain't been a gentleman in our family in 50 generations!" "Quit bragging."
3. "Oh, Curlington!" "Yesington?" (It was better with the extra lines with Joe, but this one is still good.)
And of course, there is Curly's last line, "Hmmm!", when Moe told him to go sit down, right before the "Sword of Damocles" part. Unfortunately it was a sad ending to Half-Wits Holiday. At least his actual stroke was not filmed. And if what I have read about the Columbia big shot is true, I would not be surprised if Cohn-head told Curly to get back to work and stop goofing off.
I think we can agree that (1) Harry Cohn did not seem to have much control over the filming and other related stuff, and (2) it was most likely obvious that something was wrong. There are some pretty detailed, and heartbreaking, accounts of what happened out there in the literature.
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Are you going to review Stop Look and Laugh?
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Are you going to review Stop Look and Laugh?
No. What's the point? It's a dumb compilation film void of anything new. There's my review. ;D
1/10
I'd be much more interested in reading your thoughts on HALF-WITS HOLIDAY. That would seriously be cool.
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1. "Now if I gave you a dollar and your father gave you a dollar, how many dollars would you have?" "One dollar." "You don't know your arithmetic." "You don't know my father!"
That is a great exchange, you're right.
Also forgot to mention, when Curly howls like a wolf towards Ms. Slater, does it appear his mouth movement is nowhere near the sound actually coming out of his mouth? I'm thinking it's overdubbed, am I alone here?
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Random observation: As much as I love Vernon Dent, I think I enjoy the performance of the original Professor from Hoi Polloi that much more--forgive me that I can't recall his name; that's how much I think of his performance. :P In any event, some of his reactions to the stooges in Polloi can't be matched imo (No, no get it right, get it right)....
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Random observation: As much as I love Vernon Dent, I think I enjoy the performance of the original Professor from Hoi Polloi that much more--forgive me that I can't recall his name; that's how much I think of his performance. :P In any event, some of his reactions to the stooges in Polloi can't be matched imo (No, no get it right, get it right)....
I agree, that guy in Hoi Polloi rules. His name was Harry Holman and he is probably more famous for being in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
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If we're just throwing quotes...
Moe: Oh see the cat. Does the cat see the mouse? Yes! The dirty rat!
Larry: Don't get personal!
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Some observations:
1. "Mrs. Gotrocks," a large, matronly lady--I cannot help observing her resemblance, in voice as well as form, to Julia Child--approaches Moe and Larry and peremptorily claps her hands at them as she says, leaning down toward them: "Stop it! Stop it this minute--you disGRRRACEful vagabonds!" Moe and Larry exchange a quick glance and then synchronously whack her in the face with hunks of pie.
That much by itself is enough to make me laugh out loud every time I watch this short. But it gets even better. In one of the most sublime moments of the Stooges' dealings with the fair sex, the Julia Child Doppelgänger wipes the pie filling from her eyes (as Moe mutters, sotto voce, "Who do you think you're talking to?") and says, "SO! You want to play ROUGH, do you? WE-E-E-ELL!" as she dives for a pie, sending Moe and Larry into flight.
That lady is one of my favorite bit players in the Stooge shorts. I thought that this was the only short in which she appears, but I learn from the page on this short that the actress, Helen Dickson (http://www.threestooges.net/cast/actor/401), appeared earlier in Slippery Silks (more pies!). She is also listed as appearing in a couple of subsequent shorts, but I think she does so only in reuses of this same footage.
2. Barbara Slater. What a lulu! I am entirely in agreement with what Metaldams said about her.
3. The reading lesson: When Moe starts reading the book upside-down, I would transcribe his utterances thus: "Tar yittrady eeth say. Glug zap snorglots rammits. Ronnessonce kebairts--" (interrupted by Vernon Dent turning the book right-side-up). The second and third "sentences," if they can be called that, are, I believe, indecipherable nonsense. But the first four words compose the sentence "Yes, the dirty rat!"--Moe's line to Larry a few seconds later--read backwards. Neat, eh? In the corresponding scene in Hoi Polloi, when Larry does the reading and Moe slaps him for aiming the line "Yes, the dirty rat!" at him ("Don't get personal!"), Larry points to the book as if the words were printed there. Perhaps they actually were!
4. There's a nice touch at the end of the same scene, when Professor Quackenbush (hmm, I wonder where they got that name from--he said, wagging his eyebrows like a certain famous member of another comedy trio and flicking ash from the end of an imaginary cigar) tears his hair out in exasperation and Curly picks up the bits of hair and tries to attach them to his shorn pate. Moe gives him a slap on the head as the scene fades out.
5. Finally, there is something in this short that sends me on another of my flights into high-cultural comparisons. I believe that the plot has about it something of the dramatic arc of a Greek tragedy. First, bear in mind that, unlike most of the shorts, it is based on a single action: a bet. Bets by nature concern things that cannot be known or predicted with certainty. But Professor Quackenbush bets Professor Sedletz that he can do something that nobody has done before. He presumes that he has superior insight into the connections of causes and effects--exactly the sort of hubris that the Greek gods are wont to punish with ruin.
Now think of the climax of the short: the pie fight. How does it start? Surprisingly, the ostensible initiator of the culinary violence is one of the guests, the lofty Mrs. Smythe-Smythe (Simona Boniface). Of course, she is not so much the initiator of the pie fight as its first victim: she merely flings off a bit of the pie that has hit her in the face after Moe, in a bizarre move, has flung it against the ceiling. So really it is Moe who is the cause of the pie fight. But why did Moe fling the pie against the ceiling? Because he saw Curly try to eat it while it was still in its pan and needed to get rid of it in a hurry. A few seconds later, he sees Larry doing what Curly tried to do and knocks the pie out of his hand and into the face of another guest, thus precipitating the full disaster that, up to that point, might have been averted. Moe saw that trouble was afoot and acted, in however unwise a manner, with the specific intention of averting it. Like Oedipus, his very attempt to prevent catastrophe is what brings the catastrophe about. The pie fight causes Professor Quackenbush the loss of the bet that he and the three boys have been working for two months to win.
If the structural affinities of the action with that of a Greek tragedy are not enough to make my point, there is also what Mrs. Smythe-Smythe says when Moe keeps trying to run away from her: "Young man, you act as though you have the sword of Damocles hanging over your head!" The writers obviously had some knowledge of Shaw's Pygmalion--a modern comedy based on an ancient myth. Tragedy and comedy differ not so much in plot structure as in tone and perspective. As Mel Brooks has said, "Tragedy is when I scratch my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die."
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Hugo, a very thoughtful write up. I love what you say about the Ms. Gottrocks character, (think about how funny that name is), and I never noticed the "Yes, the dirty rat," line was previously read backwards. I wouldn't have caught that in a million years.
One of the great things about these reviews is whenever I plan to visit these shorts in the future, I plan to take into account all these observations you all make, so this is good stuff.
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... the actress, Helen Dickson (http://www.threestooges.net/cast/actor/401), appeared earlier in Slippery Silks (more pies!). She is also listed as appearing in a couple of subsequent shorts, but I think she does so only in reuses of this same footage.
In both PEST MAN WINS (1951) and PIES AND GUYS (1958), Helen Dickson returned for new footage, combined with HWH stock footage.
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1342.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo780%2FBeAStooge%2FPIES%2520GUYS%2520_%2520introduction_zps3eaekiej.png&hash=c9522d51cad75502188ec09c359e765c61c136cd)
In PEST MAN WINS, she was joined by her real-life husband, bit player Lawrence Williams.
(https://threestooges.net/albums/cast/Lawrence_A_Williams.jpg).
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In both PEST MAN WINS (1951) and PIES AND GUYS (1958), Helen Dickson returned for new footage, combined with HWH stock footage.
(https://threestooges.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1342.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo780%2FBeAStooge%2FPIES%2520GUYS%2520_%2520introduction_zps3eaekiej.png&hash=c9522d51cad75502188ec09c359e765c61c136cd)
Oh! A maskazeeno cherry! (Or rather, tomato.) ;D
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In my apparently never-ending attempt to identify outdated references, I believe that Professor Sedlitz is named after an antacid powder, like Alka-seltzer or Bromo Seltzer, that itself was a pun on the words "settle-its" as in settle your stomach. I think the product was also spelled funny, like "Seidleitz", but the pronunciation was the same as the professor's name which the contemporaneous audience would have picked up on. Incidentally, I think Dent and Lorch are both very good in this.
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In my apparently never-ending attempt to identify outdated references, I believe that Professor Sedlitz is named after an antacid powder, like Alka-seltzer or Bromo Seltzer, that itself was a pun on the words "settle-its" as in settle your stomach. I think the product was also spelled funny, like "Seidleitz", but the pronunciation was the same as the professor's name which the contemporaneous audience would have picked up on. Incidentally, I think Dent and Lorch are both very good in this.
Thanks, Chief. That name has always stuck out, in my viewing of the short, as peculiarly un-fictional-sounding.
Incidentally, I think Dent and Lorch are both very good in this.
As the latter would say, "Yesh, Profeshor."
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I was watching this one last night. It's so sad to watch Curly's last performance. He was a comic genius and, although I love Shemp as well, I feel like the Stooges were never quite the same again.
Now, onto the short itself.
Despite being Curly's swan song, I actually found this one to be quite enjoyable. As mentioned, the general story line is borrowed from Hoi Polloi, although there's quite a bit of new bits thrown in as well, like the Stooges practicing their table manners, and of course, the pie fight. Speaking of the table manners scene, I've always got a kick out of Larry burning his tongue on the imaginary soup, and Curly 'doing everything SHE does', including putting on lipstick.
The pie fight has some great moments, lots of which will be reused in later shorts, beginning with the 'Sword of Damocles' hanging over Moe's head.
Some other things that made me laugh include 'Delighted, Devastated, Delapidated' and 'Enchanted, Enraptured, Embalmed', 'You don't know your arithmatec/You don't know my father' borrowed from Nertsery Rhymes, and of course, The Amalgamated Association of Morons - Local 6 and 7/8.
Overall, I'd give this a 7/10.
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So, we've really come to this: the end of the great comedic genius, Curly Howard. Despite what I said on other threads, I'm going to go ahead and say, well, I don't like this movie. It does have some high points, but are therefore ruined by Curly's obvious illness..
The plot of this is borrowed from Hoi Polloi: Two professors make a bet and one says they can turn someone from the lower-class into a gentleman. Another one says otherwise. The professor hires The Three Stooges, and they are taught various lessons as reading and eating. Come party day. The Stooges do go over good for the first couple of minutes, but it ends up in a pie fight with a noticeably absent Curly.
Vernon Dent and Ted Lorch give good, convincing performances in the opening scene, and then we are introduced to The Three Stooges, and we are also introduced to Emil Sitka in his first appearance with the boys that would go over until the very end ( literally), and you can very well tell why Emil Sitka was chosen for so much more appearances with Moe, Larry, and whatever third Stooge at the time he was hired, because he plays off very well with the Boys.
The Three Stooges' beginning scene is a good way to begin for a entrance, although I probably like the beginning for Hoi Polloi better.. I don't know why. " If your father gave you a dollar, and I gave you a dollar, how many dollars would you have?" " One dollar!" " I can see you don't know your arithmetic." " I can see you don't know my father!" That banter is great, and includes a great spotlight for Larry to shine in this scene.
There is a noticeably almost dead Curly in his reactions in the reflex scene, which would've been a much better gag to do when Curly was better. It would've played out much better, if Curly was doing much better.
The Amalgamated Association of Morons line is a good one, although Curly is once again doing pretty darn horrible in this.
I wish not to talk much about the dining scene, because, well, there's not much to talk about. It's just a bad idea, in general, that would've suited more visual comedians rather than The Three Stooges. The only thing worthy of noting is the gag where The Three Stooges hear that dinner is going to happen and step on Emil Sitka's face. Only thing. Otherwise, it's a bad display for a great comedic legend, Curly Howard. He's not doing too good in this scene, and you can obviously tell.
Of course, the reading scene is one of the things that actually goes good in this movie in an otherwise bland short comedy. For some reason, one of the more underappreciated gags in this scene that always cracks me up is when Moe starts reading the book upside down, then Vernon goes, " It's upside down!" then Moe continues to read in the correct way. It's hilarious!
The party scene goes good for me in the first couple of minutes, even though Curly is really not doing good, which is incredibly visible. I like the " Champagne!" line as well as anything that has Simona Boniface. Of course, for all of her great work that she does, she gets a pie in the face which she so rightfully deserves.
Then, the gag where the champagne spews in Larry's face is excellent, and Larry gives a great reaction as he so usually does. A lot. In fact, he should be more known for his reactions, but...
The pie fight. Ah, the pie fight. It starts out with a pie on the ceiling, which hits Simona in the face.. Then, there's a whole big pie fight that erupts between the party. My favorite reaction is the woman and man; the woman gets a pie in her hair, and then as the man gives a big wide O with his mouth, he gets pie straight in his mouth. I wonder how much takes it took to get that one right.
Then, the pie fight was used for so much other pie-fighting scenes in the Shemp and Joe shorts, I always want more of Shemp and Joe getting hit with pies rather than the stock footage.
Obviously, Curly is missing from the pie footage, which sucks. Why couldn't Jules White have just incorporated footage of Curly getting hit with pies from one of the other shorts, so it looks more realistic??? My overall thoughts: This movie with some good gags and a good storyline was ruined by sick Curly, and an absent Curly from the pie fight.
I'm going to go ahead and rate this movie a 7/10.
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I believe I should go into the Three Stooges database and start applying my personal ratings on the Shemp shorts over there...
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Obviously, Curly is missing from the pie footage, which sucks. Why couldn't Jules White have just incorporated footage of Curly getting hit with pies from one of the other shorts, so it looks more realistic??? My overall thoughts: This movie with some good gags and a good storyline was ruined by sick Curly, and an absent Curly from the pie fight.
I'm going to go ahead and rate this movie a 7/10.
Easily answered: Because there was no stock footage of Curly getting hit with pies while wearing a light-colored suit, which is what he's wearing in HALF-WITS HOLIDAY.
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Hmm, 'tis true. 'Tis true...Still, I don't know much about how heavily editing was used at this time, but couldn't they have switched around the colors to the colors used in Half-Wits, using editing? Again, I don't know how heavily editing was used at the time.
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Whoops! I just went back and took a quick look, and I now see that by the time they get to the party, Curly has ditched the light-colored suit and they're all wearing tuxes. I didn't realize that! They're also wearing tuxes in IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE, so some vintage pie-fight footage definitely COULD have been inserted.
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What's the short in which, during a pie fight, we see a brief shot of Larry in a suit of armor getting hit by a pie? If they can do something as nonsensical as that, they can do anything to fill out a pie fight.
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What's the short in which, during a pie fight, we see a brief shot of Larry in a suit of armor getting hit by a pie?
In the Sweet Pie and Pie
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Whoops! I just went back and took a quick look, and I now see that by the time they get to the party, Curly has ditched the light-colored suit and they're all wearing tuxes. I didn't realize that! They're also wearing tuxes in IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE, so some vintage pie-fight footage definitely COULD have been inserted.
Interesting. That would've been a good idea. Not only would the episode make more sense (since Curly is now part of the pie fight), but it would take some weight off Moe and Larry, who were forced to continue with the scene after dealing with Curly's stroke. I'm sure it wasn't easy for them to carry on with the scene like they did.
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Anyone else actually somewhat excited to be getting into the Shemp shorts?
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Anyone else actually somewhat excited to be getting into the Shemp shorts?
[hello]
There are lots of Shemp partisans, you know. Besides that, watching Curly deteriorate is enough to make even Curly partisans look forward to the Shemp shorts. Eventually, though, we shall get to the "dead Shemp" shorts, and after those--ugh!
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Anyone else actually somewhat excited to be getting into the Shemp shorts?
Yes, of course! If you asked me if I prefer Curly or Shemp, I would definitely say Shemp, and not think about the question. Shemp was a great comedic genius.
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Bring on the Mongoose.... :)
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Anyone else actually somewhat excited to be getting into the Shemp shorts?
I am, to a degree.
While we all wish Curly could have continued, his increasingly obvious poor health was to the Stooges' detriment.
Shemp initially brings a new energy and life to a flagging series until budget cuts start eating away at the shorts.
For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead
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I am, to a degree.
While we all wish Curly could have continued, his increasingly obvious poor health was to the Stooges' detriment.
Shemp initially brings a new energy and life to a flagging series until budget cuts start eating away at the shorts.
For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead
You are very, very true at that, John. But, hey, it was for the better that Curly sadly had this unexpected stroke, because all bad things have reasons. This had a wonderful reason: Shemp. And, tonight, Metaldams is going to be reviewing Fright Night!
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But like the short. Definitely is some good hi jinks and one-liners. They have been all mentioned by Metal and others - arithmetic - Larry ducking down on pie fight. Incidentally I enjoyed the pie fight. Not as good as the others but still enjoyable.
I give this a seven.
I look forward to analyzing the Shemp shorts. Curly's shorts I memorized lines, remember scenes. I do not remember too many lines from Shemp shorts except for "Hold hands you lovebirds" So I look forward to going over each and everyone of Shemp shorts one by one, at least until he passed and they did reediting.
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My boss at work was wondering why I've been so antsy today about this Shemp guy. Yes, I'm really looking forward to this, and I have no favorite between him and Curly. It's like choosing a favorite child.
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You are very, very true at that, John. But, hey, it was for the better that Curly sadly had this unexpected stroke, because all bad things have reasons. This had a wonderful reason: Shemp. And, tonight, Metaldams is going to be reviewing Fright Night!
Laddie, don't you think you should... rephrase that?
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Watching this short, something I noticed...
When Lulu (to quote metaldams, "Me like Barbara Slater, make a whoopee" (http://moronika.com/forums/index.php/topic,5276.msg46643.html#msg46643)) introduces Moe and Larry to Mrs Smythe-Smythe, two people - a man and a woman - walk up in the background, appearing to analyze a painting.
The man, I realized, is Chuck Callahan (http://www.threestooges.net/cast/actor/36)!
Here's the interesting part, apart from just being an ID: this short was filmed in May 1946 and released in January 1947. Almost smack in the middle of that interval, Chuck died in September. So this would had to have been one of his final screen appearances?
(I also have Chuck in walk-ons in several shorts from 1940. And personally, I don't think that's Chuck in A DUCKING THEY DID GO. The Mayor appears to be legit bald, while Chuck looks to have had legit hair. Plus the face and voice seem off to me.)
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God bless you, G C, I don't think it's him either, and I got clobbered when I said so over a year ago. To my eye and ear, the mayor and Mr. McGurn look and sound nothing the same, and the mayor is legit bald. Nice to have some company, especially someone with your extra-spotting chops.
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I don't think it's Chuck either studying the heads of "The Mayor" and a different confirmed photo of Chuck. The ears aren't even the same shape or size!
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This is odd, but it's exactly one year later, I'm just surfing and I've hit upon this thread and the fact that my pal Paul Pain agrees with the contention, first posited by me and more-or-less seconded by Green Canaries that The Mayor and Mr McGurn are not the same actor. Thank you, Pain old man, we're up against some Hollywood Heavyweights on this, perhaps in time we'll all engage and reach the truth.
In the meanwhile, how about my contention that the unshaven Effie the Bearded Lady, and the shaven Effie, are not the same actor/actress? I can entertain the theory that the unshaven Effie is an actual bearded lady, or at least a woman, due to her theatrical but womanly voice, while the shaven Effie is a man. The two really don't look alike, and the one with the beard comes across as more womanly than the one without. These are deep waters, indeed.
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really late to the party here, but having just watched a few Emil Sitka clips on You Tube, I'm pretty amazed at his ability to take a fall during that "luncheon is served" gag. The stooges literally knock him off his feet and it sure look like Larry and Moe step right on his face. That had to hurt!
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Here is something I found of interest. In the 2015 non-fiction book, "The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York", the story is about a con-man PR hack, John Gluck, who creates a charity to assist poor kids in New Yor City. Early in the story, Gluck marries a recent immigrant woman Symona Boniface who is pursuing a career as an actress. She is in her early early 20s when she weds Gluck, who is about 20 years her elder. The marriage lasts a few years, and Symona also slightly helps Gluck in running his charity. Anyway, Symona finally gets wise and divorces Gluck, and she moves to Hollywood to become an actress --- and she eventually enters the world of the Three Stooges as a supporting actress.
Anyway, "The Santa Claus Man" is a well-researched read about charitable organizations in NYC during the Jazz Age. Read the book, it's a good story and provides a little information about pretty Symona Boniface!
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Here is something I found of interest. In the 2015 non-fiction book, "The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York", the story is about a con-man PR hack, John Gluck, who creates a charity to assist poor kids in New Yor City. Early in the story, Gluck marries a recent immigrant woman Symona Boniface who is pursuing a career as an actress. She is in her early early 20s when she weds Gluck, who is about 20 years her elder. The marriage lasts a few years, and Symona also slightly helps Gluck in running his charity. Anyway, Symona finally gets wise and divorces Gluck, and she moves to Hollywood to become an actress --- and she eventually enters the world of the Three Stooges as a supporting actress.
Anyway, "The Santa Claus Man" is a well-researched read about charitable organizations in NYC during the Jazz Age. Read the book, it's a good story and provides a little information about pretty Symona Boniface!
Wow! I'll have to check this one out!!
For duty and humanity,
JohnH aka QuinceHead
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While it was difficult to watch Curly's increasing deteriorating health that would end his career but Moe, Larry & the supporting cast do a great job with their roles and make the most out of the episode, while I consider "Half Waits Holiday" to be a well made episode I would prefer seeing a healthier, more energetic Curly, he does seem to be at a very low ebb here but I've thought he was a little healthier and a bit more animated here (up until the party scenes) than he was in "Three Loan Wolves"
I totally loved the scene where Moe and Larry threw the pies at a snobby woman after she called them "disgraceful vagabonds." I love seeing the Stooges or the working class people retaliate against the snobs.
Overall I give the episode a 7/10
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As a child, I grew up loving this two-reeler — especially the pie fight. However, recent viewings of "Half-Wits Holiday" have been decidedly less enjoyable . . . for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, Curly has a few bright moments and, with the exception of "Rhythm and Weep," the overall effort is superior to the Jules White-directed shorts from 1946.
6.5/10
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As a child, I grew up loving this two-reeler — especially the pie fight. However, recent viewings of "Half-Wits Holiday" have been decidedly less enjoyable . . . for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, Curly has a few bright moments and, with the exception of "Rhythm and Weep," the overall effort is superior to the Jules White-directed shorts from 1946.
6.5/10
Fascinating how not knowing of Curly’s stroke as a child gave you a different opinion of this short. I saw a lot of Stooge shorts as a kid but this one I don’t remember from back then. By the time I got around to it in my twenties, I knew about Curly’s condition.
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The only 1945-46 shorts I watched in the early 1970s were "Micro-Phonies," "Beer Barrel Polecats" and "The Three Troubledoers." I did not know about Curly's stroke until I saw Moe Howard's 1973 appearance on "The Mike Douglas Show."
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I often Wondered why didn't they just incorporate some of Curly's Pie footage from "In the Sweet Pie and Pie"?
They used younger Curly footage in "Beer Barrell Polecats". At least you'd think he was still in the short.
Most moviegoers wouldn't notice the difference-Certainly not a "Fake Shemp"!!!!
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Once again it appears that I like this one more than most. It ranks #30 in my countdown.
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Here is something I found of interest. In the 2015 non-fiction book, "The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas in New York", the story is about a con-man PR hack, John Gluck, who creates a charity to assist poor kids in New Yor City. Early in the story, Gluck marries a recent immigrant woman Symona Boniface who is pursuing a career as an actress. She is in her early early 20s when she weds Gluck, who is about 20 years her elder. The marriage lasts a few years, and Symona also slightly helps Gluck in running his charity. Anyway, Symona finally gets wise and divorces Gluck, and she moves to Hollywood to become an actress --- and she eventually enters the world of the Three Stooges as a supporting actress.
Anyway, "The Santa Claus Man" is a well-researched read about charitable organizations in NYC during the Jazz Age. Read the book, it's a good story and provides a little information about pretty Symona Boniface!
Today on our way to doing a bit of Christmas Shopping in Waterloo,, which is a little over an hour outside London (Ontario), my son played a podcast from 2018 about John Gluck. It seems back in the 1910s - 1920s, charities weren't regulated like they are today, which, along with some timely major events (IE. World War 1, and the 1929 Stock Market Crash), John Gluck never really faced legal consequences for all of his scamming! Symona's name of course, did come up, and her assistance with the Santa Claus charity was noted, as was her leaving John Gluck (Along with other notables!) when his fortunes turned sour. Fascinating!!!! [3stooges]