Bubble Trouble

For this one time, that I can think of, the "remake" is actually better than the original. The original "All Gummed Up" just stops at the birthday cake scene with everybody blowing bubbles then...that's it. It just seems normal that there should be another sequence added on to wrap up the fountain of youth concept, but there isn't. Obviously, in this version, someone in the studio actually realized the error and brought it to everyone's attention. So the ending is added where Mr. Flint demands that he wants to be young again like his newly transformed wife but it has a surprising effect on the male species. It turns them into apes! Now he turns into an angry and powerful gorilla and chases the boys around the drugstore. This is what was totally lacking in the original. That sense of urgency, tension and fear that is so much a part of a good comedy. I don't mean to discount the original and most of the footage from that one is used here but go for the remake first and then compare. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

It's these type of remade dogs from the mid-50's that makes me wonder why Jules White even bothered. This short should have been titled "All Gummed Up part deux: The Director's cut" or something. But I guess this short could be worth something to those who haven't seen the original since it basically "borrows" nearly all the old footage, and Columbia has released this short on VHS & DVD (why, instead of a much better remake like 'Loose Loot' I have no idea)?!?

Grade: D-

Larry, Moe, and Shemp have been running their drug store for the last decade. Landlord Amos Flint comes in to evict them. He berates his elderly wife Serena Flint for being old. Shemp has an idea. If the guys could come up for a formula for youth, they could become rich and famous. They are able to turn Serena into her young beautiful self.

This is a re-edit of All Gummed Up (1947) with new footage. I'm not sure what exactly was changed. People have done side-by-side comparison. I'm just going to judge this by itself and it's good. The story flow is good. I love Christine McIntyre. I love all the bubbles. I kind of want Amos to turn into a baby. They don't need to bring out the ape suit every time. I do like some of the closing action like hammering out Moe's head.

Although BUBBLE TROUBLE may contain a large amount of old footage from ALL GUMMED UP, I think this is great. The last five minutes of the short is changed into a scene where Amos Flint turns into a gorilla and fights the Stooges. One of the Stooges best remakes.

There's also about two seconds worth of stock footage from CORNY CASANOVAS. Amos Flint pushes Shemp against the wall. A flowerpot falls from the wall and lands on Shemp's head. Compare the scene of the flower falling off the wall to CORNY.

A great remake. Purchase this TODAY!

Grade: A-

Even though I haven't seen this stooge short in about 2 years, it's a pretty short even though we don't get to see the new footage until the last 4 or 5 minutes of the short and that's when it becomes a classic (I never cared for All Gummed Up and I think that short was Shemp's weakest of the 1940's).

In the original Emil Sitka shrank after trying to drink the fountain of youth but in this short, he becomes a gorilla and grabs Moe and starts banging his head on the floor and his head becomes a squashed pancake and Moe and Larry suggest that the gorilla needs a mate and they get Shemp to try it and Shemp shoves it inside Moe's mouth and he does a chimp impersonation.

Not of one of the better remakes from the 1953-56 period but the gorilla scene makes it a classic, 2.25 out of 5 stars.