Scheming Schemers

When Shemp Howard died of a sudden heart attack in November 1955, Moe and Larry were forced to include longtime supporting actor Joe Palma as a double for Shemp for the last four shorts before their contract renewal. However, one of those shorts, Scheming Schemers, flows along nicely thanks to its use of archive footage from previous shorts. There's even a nice pie fight for the film's climax. However, one can wonder what was going through Moe's head when he asked the surreal question, "Hey, where is that pudding head Shemp?"

This was actually the first Shemp short I saw and I thought it was pretty decent, but when I heard that they didn't have the actual "Shemp" in it, I got disappointed. Joe Palma does good standing in for Shemp, but I don't think they had to remake about 7 good Shemp shorts after Shemp's unfortunate death.

The 3 Stooges are plumbers being called around 9:00 at night to find a ring that was accidentally dropped down a sink drain. Moe and Larry leave Shemp behind because Larry dropped from the upstairs bedroom into the Jeep and forced Moe to drive away. Shemp catches up to them and does say one line that was dubbed in, "Hold your horses, will ya." I thought the first version was better. This one doesn't really have anything to do with Shemp. So many questions can be asked about this one. Did they really have to do this one over again?

SCHEMING SCHEMERS (1956) is one of my favorite Three Stooges shorts ever. It's not too bad for a remake after Shemp's death. Shemp's double is covered with pipes in one scene and they dubbed in a voice of Shemp saying, "Hold your horses!"

This is the only short the Stooges made taking footage from three older films. There's mostly footage of VAGABOND LOAFERS (1949), which includes all the footage of the real Shemp.

There's some stock footage of A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO (1940) which includes Dudley Dickerson as a cook, and Larry digging a hole looking for a place to shut the water off.

There are a few scenes from the pie fight from HALF-WITS HOLIDAY (1947) which was inserted so Moe and Larry could catch the Kenneth MacDonald, trying to steal a valuable painting.

There's some new footage of Moe and Larry searching for a valuable ring that fell down the sink drain, which is why the stooges are at the house, and them starting a pie fight in the dining room.

I think it's interesting to see how all these shorts are edited together. I think it's a mixture of three good shorts. I'd say this is the best remake from 1953 to 1956. Very entertaining to watch.

Rating: A+

"Scheming Schemers" is one of the many remakes of old Stooges shorts from the 1950s. Producer Jules White, in an effort to cut expenses, took old Stooge films and inserted new scenes in them. "Scheming Schemers" is one such effort.

The film is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it is one of four remakes with Shemp that includes new footage after Shemp died in November 1955. Joe Palma doubled for Shemp in a few scenes of the new footage. Second, the film contains scenes lifted from three previous Stooge films - probably a record number of scene lifts for the series.

Footage from the 1940 Stooge short "A Plumbing We Will Go" was inserted into the film; these scenes include Larry digging a hole and popping up out of the ground, and Dudley Dickerson as a cook in the family kitchen while its being flooded with water. Scenes from the pie fight from 1947's "Half-Wits Holiday are included. Most of the footage in the film is from 1949's "Vagabond Loafers," including all the footage of the real Shemp. The new scenes, filmed in January 1956, include Moe and Larry interacting with Emil Sitka and getting into a pie fight with Kenneth MacDonald. The scene where MacDonald is stuffing the painting into the pipe is also from 1956; a double stands in for Christine McIntyre, and has her back to the camera (McIntyre by this time had left Columbia.)

What it noticeable to diehard Stooge fans, and what takes away from the enjoyment of the film, is the mixture of footage from the three previous shorts with the new 1956 footage. Incredibly, pies that Moe and Larry throw in 1956 land on people in the 1947 scenes!

The mixture of old and new footage limits one's enjoyment of this short. In addition, the absence of the real Shemp is noticeable in the new footage. This short is interesting only as a curio; watch "Vagabond Loafers" instead.

This is the first "Shempless Shemp Short" that I've had the chance to see. I must say that, if I didn't know beforehand -- and hadn't previously seen "A Plumbing We Will Go", "Half Wit's Holiday" and "Vagabond Loafers" -- I wouldn't have guessed that this was comprised of scenes shot at 4 different dates over a 16-year period.

While this short is fairly enjoyable in its own right, it has the additional, rather backhanded benefit of the games you can play while watching it. Spot the 1940 "Plumbing" footage. Spot the 1947 "Holiday" footage. Spot the 1949 "Vagabond" footage. Spot the new footage (in which Larry & Moe, sadly, have to talk about the deceased Shemp as if he were still there). Spot the fake Shemp (in just a shot or two). Spot the old dialog dubbed over new footage (Shemp's voice, in a fake Shemp scene). Spot the new dialog dubbed over old footage (references to the "ring" added to "Vagabond" footage).

It loses points for being a remake of a remake, for the "lost ring" plot not fitting naturally with some of the old footage, for trying too hard to compensate for Shemp's absence in new footage by saying his name more times than necessary, and for having previously unseen characters unaccountably show up (from the "Holiday" footage) so they can get hit with pies. But it gains points for managing to be as smooth and coherent as it is for such an unlikely hodgepodge.