Mummy's Dummies

Great short. Who would have thought that ancient Egypt was plagued with unscrupulous used chariot salesmen? And here we have the Stooges, three of the best in the business. They even bamboozle the head of the Royal Palace Guards out of a considerable number of "sheckels" with the old "original paint" line! Of course, back then it was probably still a fresh scam. They even have Shemp get into disguise and act as a shill to drive up the price. Hilarious indeed, but alas, they picked the wrong guy to rip off. They end up arrested and are dragged to court before King Rootintootin himself, the rightfully beloved Vernon Dent. As good luck will have it, Rootintootin is suffering from a toothache. Shemp, a.k.a. "Painless Papyrus," always carries around with him his "delicate instruments," which comprise 2 pairs of pliers, a hammer, two chisels, a Phillips Head screwdriver, a bit-and-brace, and some extra bits. Well, what did you expect in ancient Egypt, Novocaine? Of course, Shemp must put on the pair of spectacles he carries around for his delicate work, and we see first-hand that optometry in ancient Egypt was still quite primitive. Couldn't those Egyptians get anything right? No matter: somehow, through sheer serendipity, the Stooges cure Rootintootin, and are rewarded with positions as "royal chambermaids". Then we see that ancient Egypt, despite all its shortcomings, was a highly advanced political state, since the head tax collector, the rightfully revered Phil Van Zandt, has been ripping the royal treasury off blind. Now, that sure makes me feel at home. So what happens? Do the Stooges save the day again for old Rootintootin? And what about Rootintootin's unmarried daughter? Could this be Shemp's chance to marry into royalty? Will Moe be best man? Hey, don't listen to a poor slob like me. Get out there and see this remarkable short for yourself! You won't be disappointed.

***Thanks to METV for "Shemptember!" We love it.

One of the best Shempers. Writer Ellwood Ullman cooked up a witty back in time story; the Stooges are "used chariot" dealers in ancient Egypt? Yes, they sell a lemon to Pharaoh Rootentooten (Vernon Dent, of course) who orders them killed. That is until, Moe, Larry and Shemp are able to cure his toothache?

Poetic license shamelessly at work here (double time), all between Shemp's hilarious mugging. Best of it is Philip Van Zandt, generally playing a crook and loving it. The guys have to save Rootentooten's fortune and are rewarded by getting to marry his beeeeeeutiful daughter? Anything but... and who do ya' think is chosen as the groom?

Laugh out loud stuff, taking first prize for best sets and wardrobe. The prop folks did an excellent job. Familiar heavy Ralph Dunn, who acted with the BOWERY BOYS, appears, also Wanda Perry (as Princess Fatima), cast in several film classics, including the GREAT ZIEGFELD, playing one of the showgirls.

Remastered on Columbia dvd, box sets by decades; 30s, 40s and 50s episodes.

In ancient Egypt during the reign of Great King Rootentooten, Larry, Moe, and Shemp run an used-chariot dealership. They slapdash together an old jalopy. They use various schemes to sell the lemon to a powerful customer. The unhappy customer turns out to be the head of the palace guards and the guys are promptly arrested. The King receives bad tax news and has a bad toothache. He quickly sentence them to be fed to the crocodiles. The boys offer to fix his toothache.

I am solidly a fan of Curly over Shemp. To me, Shemp is always second best but that does not mean that he's bad at his work. Curly is a transcendent comedy God. Shemp is merely a mortal who does good work. In this case, the story holds together very well and the boys are an excellent team. It hits on all the right notes in both comedy and story. This is as good as the Shemp Stooges get.

This ancient Egypt tale that stars the Three Stooges is very good.Vernon Dent is very good as King Rootentootin.Ralph Dunn was good as Rhadames and Philip Van Zandt Futamon,the Tax Collector.Mummies Dummies is very funny.This is one of My favorites and if you a Stooge fan then this is a good one to check out!

It's ancient Egypt and the boys are selling used chariots. Their bad products end up with them being sentenced to execution. But thanks to another con job (Schemp being a dentist), the Pharaoh gives them a reprieve. The problem is that they have formed some bad connections with others who aren't powerful but are dangerous. This is one of the better Stooge films with lots of slapstick and the usual nuttiness.