Hokus Pokus

In their 115th episode of the Columbia Pictures' short film as The Three Stooges, May 1949's "Hokus Pokus," the trio are paper hangers whose close friends is Mary (Mary Ainslee), a wheelchair invalid. Unbeknownst to the three, Mary's really a fraud taking her insurance company for a ride. While hanging a poster they encounter hypnotist Svengarlic (David Bond). The Stooges think he help cure Mary by hypnosis. Instead, as a publicity stunt, he hypnotizes them to walk high up on a flag pole on the side of a building in front of a large crowd, with hilarious results. Svengarlic is a reference to the 1894 character Svengali, who used hypnosis to get people to do what he wanted them to do, ofttimes criminal acts. The film's title is a play on the magic words magicians use, 'hocus pocus.' One of the classic scenes in the Stooges repertoire is the three shaving each other in a tight circle, synchronized perfectly as they use their sharp razors from the bottom of their necks to the tip of their noses. The short proved Columbia was correct in having the Stooges concentrate on their perfect films rather than veer off spending an inordinate amount of.

I've always thought of this one as perhaps one of the more underrated or perhaps I should say "overlooked" stooge shorts-- especially considering the great short that preceded it (the all time great Who Done it?).

But, this is a great short in its own right--a great mix of big belly laughs and little small moments that add up to 16 minutes of pure fun. And when I think of the "big laughs," my mind goes immediately to Shemp's smackdown with Vernon Dent (shoot one that way, shoot one this way, whoa).

I also enjoyed Larry's moment with the mixing bowls. Overall--if you're a Shemp fan--or just a stooge fan in general, then give this one a few looks.

9 stars

Classic. Our opening shot of the Stooges has them snoring in harmony. Soon, Moe attempts Morse Code on Shemp's head, which differs from a steam pipe only in that a steam pipe hasn't got ears! Shemp, performing the Australian crawl on the living room floor, gets grappled by fisherman Moe. All this, and the Stooges haven't even gotten warmed up yet. Things really get going when they start shaving each other. Moe shouts football signals and they execute some tricky plays here (Shemp: "Your face is too sharp!"). Larry takes the opportunity to disengage himself from a huge tuft of chest hair while we learn that Shemp's tongue makes a natural razor strop. The refrigerator keeps the hot towels piping hot while Moe sneezes Schlemiel #8 talcum powder all over the place (and we know where Woody Allen in "Annie Hall" got that bit from, don't we?). We see Moe apply his sixteen-parts-lard-to-one-part-egg formula for cooking breakfast while Shemp loses a battle with a folding table, thus keeping Mary (the "hopeless cripple") waiting for her nice cold pancakes smothered in vinegar. Yes, so far so good, but then . . . enter Vernon Dent! Here, Shemp "gets tough" with Vernon, and this bit is the highlight of the film. The scene then shifts to the Great Svengarlic, who stealthily observes Shemp hypnotize Moe into thinking he is in New York, Los Angeles, and then Sing Sing (whereupon Moe grabs the rungs of a chair back, thus simulating jail cell bars). Another great highlight of the film ensues after Larry observes that Shemp's attempts to extricate Moe from Sing Sing have been met with utter futility. The film's climax is breathtaking. I wonder how Svengarlic's agent was able to get a permit to allow three guys to dance on a flagpole several stories above a city sidewalk, and so quickly, too? Of course, such trivial details matter for naught in a Stooges short. We see that justice prevails in the end, but the scheming Mary, although defeated, has the last say, namely, the famous three-tone NBC gong as played out on the Stooges' heads, courtesy of the large ball that was attached to the end of the flagpole. All in all, a must-see for all you saps!

Mary is faking her injury for a $25k insurance claim. She has to stay in a wheelchair for one more day before going to the insurance adjustor's office. Larry, Moe, and Shemp are clueless idiots who have been tricked into waiting on her hand and foot. The boys put up a poster for hypnotist "The Great Svengarlic". The hypnotist decides to play around with them and put them in his street show to walk a flagpole outside an office building.

It's a solid Shemp Stooges short. I would add one scene with Mary rolling into office so that the final scene can be setup. I love the sing-sing bit and I wish the hypnotist can do something more imaginative. The flagpole is good but I can think of something wackier. They could do a dance or Rocket kicks. All in all, this is pretty good.

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 fair Three Stooges short with Shemp. The beautiful Mary Ainslee, David Bond, Vernon Dent, Jimmie Lloyd, and Ned Glass are in it. The scenes when the Stooges are getting out of bed and ready is funny. Bond is good as the hypnotist, The Great Svengarlic. There is another Three Stooges short similar like this one called Flagpole Jitters and its just as good as this one. Three Stooges fans, check this one out!