Slappily Married

Joe DeRita was most famous for being a member of The Three Stooges during their later years--when they were no longer making shorts but full-length films. And, these later Stooges films were far gentler...with far less violence. His character, Curly Joe, was sweet but also very forgettable.

Until recently, I never really thought about what DeRita might have done before joining the Stooges. I found, surprisingly, that like the Stooges he worked for Columbia Pictures making comedy shorts at the same time when the Stooges were still making shorts at the same studio. However, after seeing a few, I see some similarities between his films and some dissimilarities. The directors, music and look of the shorts sure look a lot like Stooge films....but his character was far gentler and harmless....but also very likable.

In "Slappily Married", Joe plays a really nice guy who is continuously slapped around and misunderstood by everyone. His wife thinks he's cheating on her and a woman's husband also thinks he's a cheater. But all he wants is to be a good husband and to get his wife back....as she's left him due to her jealously. To make it worse, the wife is staying at a residents for women only....so how is he going to see her in order to explain everything and win her back?!

The pace and style of this film is quite likable. There is a nice vulnerability to Joe here that, unfortunately, you didn't see later. Later, he played most everything for pathos...here, however, he's a nice guy who STILL gets the snot beat out of him! Overall, quite an enjoyable little film...and one that is similar in many ways to the shorts Shemp was making at Columbia at the time.

For a long time before Joe DeRita joined the Three Stooges and adopted the moniker "Curly Joe," he worked solo. Between 1946 and 1948, while the Three Stooges made shorts at Columbia, Joe had his own comedy series at the same studio. SLAPPILY MARRIED was the first one.

It's fascinating to see DeRita in this short. Still a fairly young man in his thirties, he has a full head of hair which is often disheveled for humorous effect. Although stocky, Joe's considerably thinner than he was as "Curly Joe." Because of his youth and relative svelteness, DeRita engages in a lot more physical slapstick than he did as a Stooge, proving himself adept in this field. To his benefit, the slapstick, as directed by Edward Bernds, is smoothly executed and avoids the tasteless excesses that marred some of the other Columbia comedy shorts.

Nevertheless, Joe DeRita comes off as a unremarkable comedian. He's too colorless to project any pizazz. Joe's blandness is all the more evident when one realizes his character is reminiscent of Lou Costello, a bumbling, childlike patsy with a streak of brashness. The charm and vulnerability that made Costello so endearing is largely absent in DeRita.

Despite DeRita's lack of charisma, SLAPPILY MARRIED is an entertaining and amusing short. The scenario isn't much- Joe's wife thinks he's involved with another woman and he tries to win her back, but it effortlessly sails thanks to Bernds' adroit direction. It is also enhanced by a fine supporting cast, particularly Christine McIntyre, Dorothy Granger, and Dick Wessel. Talented casts seem to be a hallmark of Columbia shorts, bringing some spirit to these films even when the material was under par. This film is worth seeking out as an example of a good non-Stooge Columbia short even if in this case, the supporting cast outshines the star.

Better than I remembered might be my best "summation" of this Joe Derita solo. I'm not sure if my enjoyment of it has anything to do with my softening towards Joe Derita himself over the last few years.

About 7 to 10 years ago, my attitude towards Derita might have been the same as many--saying that he was a "passable" stooge and comedian at best, but I've really warmed to Joe to the point that I would say I like him as a comedian. "Like," not love like Curly or Shemp; but like nevertheless.

Getting to Slappily Married, the whole kitchen scene doesn't set me on fire. I think I might be in agreement with Metal and a few other previous reviewers on how someone with a stronger comedic personality might have elevated the same material--and immediately my mind flashes to a Lou Costello.

Fortunately, the laughs--for me--pick up big time when we get to Derita's place of business; the whole business with Jean Willes and the shoes. Now granted--over the course of the Shemp solos--the whole "jealous husband/boyfriend" angle got a bit tiring, but for whatever reasons it works here. Maybe because, for me, it didn't seem to dominate the whole short. But--for whatever reasons--I got a lot of laughs from Dick Wessel and Joe. And, oh yes, Jean and Dorothy fighting over the hat.

I'll wrap this up by saying this was a splendid 17 minute ride for me, given that I didn't have strong recollections of it before watching it again. I'm pretty sure all the Derita solos are not this good & I'll try not to get my hopes too high in the future, but-- taken for what it is--Derita acquits himself quite well in this first solo outing.

7.5 out of 10...

VERY MUCH STANDARD and not at all original in its story, action and gag inventory, SLAPPILY MARRIED nonetheless does serve a definite useful purpose in the history of the then declining market for the one and two reeler theatrical comedies. We could classify this as a sort of "light-bulb" movie; as the lead could have been changed very easily.

HOWEVER, IN THIS case the lead was one former burlesque comic, Joe De Rita, who would late in the following decade would gain a share of screen immortality as the sixth member of the Three Stooges.

AS WE HAVE already stated, this short is nothing out of the ordinary, bringing nothing new or unusual to the table. It is a short subject that truly reflects the style of the post war period of cheap budgets at the tight-wad capital of the movie world, Columbia Pictures Short Subjects Department. Whereas the same studio's product made in the 1930's and '40's up to and including the World War II years, featured a great deal of outdoors filming and freely availed itself to using sets, costuming and props from then Columbia features, they now appeared to be confined to some very bland sound-stage rooms.

ALTHOUGH WE MAY well have seemed to be overly critical, our attitude and critical evaluations of the work of Joe De Rita in rising above the constraints of the "typical" Columbia sound short is quite a different story. Being the old trooper and consummate pro that he was, he did manage to rise above any of those aforementioned disadvantages.

IT IS INDEED Joe's movie and he carries just about the first third of he action with his less than gourmet chef treatment of the kitchen. Working solo (with the exception of brief interventions by his "Mrs." (Christine McIntyre-lucky Joe!)he milks each gag to its fullest-be it with any mechanical devices, a bakers' dozen of eggs or any uncooperative cabinet doors. Moods change rapidly as they are reflected by his facial expressions and flopping hair. (curiously, De Rita's appearance combines Curly's physique, Shemp's hairdo with a relatively deadpan expression.)

THE REST OF the story takes us to his ladies' dress shop, where more interplay with props are displayed; all leading up to the inevitable dawning of misunderstanding. In this case it's a double dose involving Joe's wife and a lovey-dovey engaged couple (Dorothy Granger and Dick Wessel); all of which leads to a women only hotel, confrontation with that same couple and an ongoing dispute with a very butch female hotel guard/detective/bouncer.

THE SHORT WAS probably a sort of test, a "pilot" for a De Rita series of comedies that never materialized. His date with Columbia Pictures' destiny would come along after the unhappy experiment with Joe Besser as the 3rd Stooge put an end to their long two reeler run. De Rita would become "Curly-Joe" and costar in those kiddie-oriented features, TV & personal appearances and animation work for the rest of his life.