Mr. Noisy

This is a remake of Charley Chase's 1940 comedy "The Heckler". As good as that film is, Shemp improves the material. He is an obnoxious sports fan whose loud comments disrupt not only the players but the other fans. Shemp has always been in the shadow of his younger brother Curly, but he is a successful solo comedian, something his younger brother could never have been. Ed Bernds keeps the pace of the film fast and there is a gag with a giant cotten swab that has to be seen to be believed!

Shemp Howard is a sports fan who can't keep his mouth shut in the stands. He heckles tennis games and a baseball game, demoralizing the sports pro he's riding. As a result, some crooks decide to bring him along to the next baseball game, so they can lock down the bet on the opposing team.

Like many a postwar Columbia short, it's a remake of an earlier movie -- use the same script and let the comic ad lib a bit. In this case, it's the fourth time this movie was made. the earliest version was 1928's THE FIGHT PEST, one of Charley Chase's late silent short. Its second appearance was as a Mack Sennett short starring Matt McHugh, THE LOUD MOUTH. That version was nominated for an Oscar. Chase revisited in 1940's THE HECKLER, and this time it's Shemp's turn.

He does a grand job as being an annoyance, not only to the players on the field, but to spectators in the stands. That's Vernon Dent sitting next to him, giving Shemp his comic, angry glare.

"Mr. Noisy" is a Shemp Howard solo vehicle, though he'd rejoin the Stooges later in 1946 following his brother Curly's stroke. You can see a lot of the Stooges in the style of this short, though originally it was a Charlie Chase film, "The Heckler". Oddly, the Chase film came out in 1940...only six years before Columbia re-made it.

Shemp plays the most obnoxious character most of us have ever seen on film. He spends most of the short annoying everyone around him...and when he goes to a baseball game he really is able to throw the team off due to his loud voice and boorish behaviors. Some professional gamblers see how effective he is in getting the star of the Green Sox to crumble under pressure that they pay to take him to Cincinnati in order to continue heckling the team...and so they can bet heavily against the team. What's next? See the film.

This is NOT sophisticated entertainment...but it is funny and worth seeing. Like the original, "The Heckler", I'd score this one a 6...well worth seeing but far from a must-see picture.