Sappy Bull Fighters

This short was remade from "where's the matador".I hoped more for the last stooge short. I've always hated Besser. All he was doing was Curly Howard's material, and a bad job at it.The original version of this short was much better. All of the bullfighting scene is Besser doing Curly's material, recycled footage from "where's the matador", and even "where's the matador" had a little bit of recycled footage from the first Abbot & Costello movie movie "One night in the tropics"(The footage of the other bullfighter before the three stooges come in). The budget was much smaller than the one for the original verion of the short.All and all, at least it isn't "Sweet and hot","Horsing around", or "Snow White and the Three Stooges".

With titles like FLYING SAUCER DAFFY, SPACE SHIP SAPPY, and this one, SAPPY BULLFIGHTERS, it was clear that the creative force behind the Three Stooges was running out of steam. This one, in fact was their last short. Of course, having Joe Besser on board didn't help either.

Not to say that Joe Besser was a no-talent loser. I found him hilarious in THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW as Stinky Jones. Besser just wasn't cut out to be a Stooge, any more than Bill Clinton was cut out to be President, but we won't go there.

Fortunately, their career took off again in the 1960's, so this wasn't their swan song.

Rating: * out of *****

(or as Shemp so fondly put it, "beebeebeebeebeebeebeebeebee.......)

What's up with all these people ragging on Joe Besser so harshly? The guy may have been little more than a footnote in the Stooges' history, but he could be damn funny in his own right. "Sappy Bullfighters" isn't the best Stooges short for sure, but it wasn't the worst, either (check out "Cuckoo On A Choo-choo" for that honor). And don't blame Joe for repeating Curly's lines. It wasn't his idea, that was the cheapness of what Columbia's shorts department had come to by the end of the 1950s. Joe Besser was a funny guy, as well as a decent person, and he deserves more than the derogatory statements made by some commenters here.

This is a remake of "What's the Matador" with Curly Howard as third Stooge- and Let's be honest, it's not near as good, mainly because Besser was not Stooge material. But compared to other Besser Stooge shorts, It's great. Greta Thyssen is great eye candy for the male audience members. Gowan.... take the bull by the horns and see this film for yourself. It is funny. Highlights include the Stooges' harmonic crying, Greta's husband discovering Larry under the bed and some jokes that were recycled from "What's the Matador" and the Shemp Stooge short "Don't throw That Knife." For a Besser short, this is a must see.

I feel that although Joe's shorts weren't up to the par of Curly and Shemp, they definitely improved over time. The first half of the 16 shorts Joe made with Moe and Larry were not very good, with the exception of Space Ship Sappy. Then, for my money, the last seven or so (starting with Fifi Blows Her Top) were very good, with many belly laughs. Out of that bunch, Sweet and Hot is the only one I didn't really enjoy, although it did have an original concept behind it.

One reason I think Joe's shorts kept getting better is that he began getting bonked by Moe. Joe had expressly stated in his contract that he wasn't to be hit by Moe. In his early shorts, it makes the comedy suffer greatly. Whenever the Larry, Curly or Shemp had a stupidly clever comment directed at Moe, you could be sure Moe would respond with a whack. But with Joe, all he could do was stand there and yell at him. He looked extremely frustrated.

But in the last half of Joe's run, that policy apparently got relaxed as Moe freely pokes and bangs Joe. If you're a real Stooge fan it's a real relief.

I liked Sappy Bullfighters mainly for the first half. The scenes of the boys crying in harmony, the scenes in Greta's cabin, and Larry hiding under the husband's bed are funny. And when the husband tried to chase the boys and ends up putting his head through the door, it smacks of the old-time Stooges!