Shivering Sherlocks

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

This is a good Three Stooges short! The Stooges are very good in it so is Christine McIntyre, Kenneth MacDonald, Frank Lackteen, Vernon Dent, Duke York, Stanley Blystone, and Cy Schindell. Its quite good to watch around Halloween time! There is another similar like this Three Stooges short with alternate scenes called Of Cash and Hash.

Director Del Lord's final episode with the Stooges, and he goes out with a bang or an axe?

The guys are running a diner -- with all the usual gags. I think Del just let the camera roll on Shemp to see what he could do with the menu? Often what Laurel & Hardy did and with hilarious results. Pretty Christine McIntyre drops by, who just happens to have inherited an old dark house in the countryside? How convenient.

The guys take off with her to check out the place -- where it gets good and creepy... The place has been taken over by trigger-happy crook Kenneth MacDonald (Lefty), who just happens to have a hunch-back homicidal maniac bodyguard called "Angel," marvelously played by Duke York.

BEST ever scenes; Angel pulling out a GIANT axe and chasing down Shemp, Moe and Larry. Shemp's stuntwork is perfect, the rough-housing similar to Curly's escapades with gorillas. One thing for sure, Del Lord keeps this moving and you just love it. Crazy on steroids stuff. You'll want to see this short comedy all over again.

Sad note; Duke York, who generally played heavies in westerns, took his life a few years later. Interestingly, he had appeared in so many films, stock footage of him was used in westerns years after his passing. Fitting memorial for a famous stunt performer. Not forgotten.

First episode of 1948. #104.

Released on Columbia dvd; box sets divided by decades, 30s, 40s, and 50s episodes. Thanks METV for running "Shemptember."

Del Lord had been promoted to direct Colombia Pictures' feature films after years with The Three Stooges. However, he was asked to return to the studio's short films department temporarily to handle a few movies, including a reunion with his old pals the Stooges in January 1948's "Shivering Sherlocks." Lord co-wrote the comedy with the team's regular writer, Elwood Ullman, recycling several skits into the story where they help failing restauranteur Gladys Harmon (Christine McIntyre) while checking on an her inherited house to see if an $1,000 offer for it was fair. At the restaurant the hungry three partake in dinner, where Moe is eating clam (with the shells) chowder. The gag, 'Man vs. Soup,' has the clam eating every cracker Moe throws into the bowl, which was previously seen with Curly mugging it up in 1941's "Dutiful But Dumb." An exasperated Moe mimics Curly's trademark sounds, reminding viewers of the ailing brother's talent. While visiting the house for inspection, the Stooges are greeted by the humpbacked Angel (Duke York), who tries to kill the Stooges with a giant knife. This was York's last appearance of the many films with the three comics. "Shivering Sherlocks" was the only Del Lord-directed Stooges movie with Shemp, and the last one he directed in a long line of their classic comedies.

The tone is set early on. Cy Schindell, as a cop: "Who's in that can?" Voice from within (unmistakably Shemp's): "Just garbage!" Can't three guys enjoy their Saturday night out stuffed in a garbage can without being hassled by The Man? Thus the poor Stooges become the prime suspects for an armed robbery. Actually, that's a good thing, otherwise we wouldn't see the Stooges trip up police captain Vernon Dent on his own polygraph! Lodge meeting, huh? Yeah, sure, Vernon! Makes you wonder what debauchery he was really up to. The best delivery of a line in this short has to be Shemp's "Boy, you got a lotta crust!" when Larry is discovered to have run up a huge tab at the Elite Cafe. Thankfully, Christine McIntyre is in this short, too, as Gladys, the proprietor of the café. It's also good to see Kenneth MacDonald. The scene where he says, "Angel . . . Strangers in the house" is priceless. I may have said too much already, so get out there and see this short!

Shemp's only Stooge short directed by Del Lord. Lord directed many of the classic shorts with Curly, so seeing what he could do with Shemp held great promise.

A funny first half: Stooges all crammed into a single garbage can, the lie detector scenes, Moe being busted for never paying his tab, Vernon Dent and the cup of coffee/ mug of paint are all funny scenes.

The short falls apart after the Stooges are being chased by Angel throughout the house. Really nothing that hasn't been done better by the Stooges many times already. They run around in circles and Shemp drops wooden barrels on the villains. Cops arrive, then Shemp drops same on Moe and Larry. The end.

What a disappointment from one of the Stooges best directors.