Three Sappy People

Three Sappy People (1939)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hilarious short has the Three Stooges playing phone repairmen who are working at the office of some famous psychiatrists when they learn they're in desperate need of money. They receive a phone call from some rich folks needing some help with a crazy wife so they pretend to be doctors and all hell breaks loose. This is perhaps one of the most famous shorts that the Stooges ever did and it's easy to see why as it's action-packed from start to finish with some terrific dialogue and great jokes. I'm normally not a fan of food fights and they can be from any film be it the Stooges or those early Keystone pictures but the one here is actually pretty funny and wild. One of the biggest highlights come from the boys trying to check reflexes but of course they can't do this right and it ends with Curly checking one man's who just happens to have a wooden leg. Other great jokes include a sequence at the dinner table when the boys make pigs out of themselves. The greatest scene in the film has to be when Curly accidentally eats a powder puff.

In this great Stooges short we see a rare treasure indeed - worth many thousands of dollars today - a Springfield, Massachusetts-built 1928-1931 Rolls Royce Phantom I with left-hand drive. The car is an unusual one, in that the coach-builder apparently built the body into somewhat of a cabriolet - the top is longer than that of a roadster, but shorter than a full phaeton. The car appears to have only two doors, the normal Phantom I wire wheels have custom complete color-coded wheel covers, and the car is painted an unusual color (not black). Having built many detailed models of this chassis with several body styles, the example in this Stooges short makes it a treasure beyond the great humor that made seeing it possible.

You want insane. You got it. The Stooges hit their stride with ultra comedy film shorts like this, thanks to writer Clyde Bruckman, who let it roll, taking every opportunity to make it as bananas as possible.

Another case of mistaken identity, which fit Moe, Larry and Curly's style. They play phone repairmen mistaken(?) for distinguished psychiatrists? Introducing Drs. Z. Ziller. X. Zeller and Y. Zoller?

Mission: Cure(?) wealthy Mr. Rumford's (Don Beddoe) wife of being NUTS. Fact of the matter, everyone is nuts here. Ann Doran, a fabulous character actress, steals the show playing the Countess. Just watch her face. Bud Jamison is right at home as the poker face butler, from the school of James Finlayson who played off Laurel and Hardy. This features one of the BEST food fights the Stooges ever got themselves into, although behind the scenes actress Lorna Gray (who plays the dippy wife) claims she was hit so hard by a cream puff it partially lodged in her throat. The casualties of comedy.

Gloria Blondell, sister of actress Joan Bondell, plays the switchboard operator. Gloria co-starred in the LIFE OF RILEY tv show, later the voice of Walt Disney's Daisy Duck.

Fasten your seat belt for this party FEST. Always on remastered Columbia dvds, generally by decades, 30s, 40s and 50s episodes. Thanks to METV for running these golden oldies every Saturday.

Three Sappy People is a favorite of mine due to Lorna Gray's performance. She reminded me of a woman I knew a few years back who was a spitting image of her in this short.

The Three Stooges play three inept phone repairmen. During their attempt to fix the switchboard, they are then mistaken for the psychiatrists in the office they are doing work in. Due to Curly's friend/wife/dog Gertie "expecting any minute", they decide to portray the 3 psychiatrists named Ziller, Zeller and Zoller to make money to help Gertie. Fortunately for The Stooges, these three psychiatrists are known for their unorthodox methods.

The patient in question is Sherry Rumsford (Gray) who is the young, restless and vivacious wife of J. Rumsford Rumsford (Don Beddoe) who wants her wanderlust sated. The boys run amok at the party and at the dinner table hoping they can cure Sherry and collect.

The star of this episode aren't any of the Stooges but Gray. The then 22-year old actress is absolutely infectious whether she's talking, laughing or parking her car INSIDE the mansion. She has a devil-may-care attitude that is very appealing. Ann Doran, playing a countess who Curly annoys, is also a standout. I found her very attractive. Other Three Stooges' regulars such as Bud Jamison (playing a butler) and Richard Fiske (playing a guest) are also in the cast.

While not one of their elite shorts, Three Sappy People is still quite good. I never get tired of watching Lorna Gray and Ann Doran in this one.

This Three Stooges short uses the old plot device of placing the blue-collar Stooges in high society surroundings, setting the scene for all sorts of lowbrow mischief at the expense of the upper crust and bringing the haughty rich down to the working-class level of the Stooges.

In order to make fast money, the phone-repairmen Stooges pose as pricey psychiatrists Drs. Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller and crash a society birthday party at a swank mansion. After falling off their tandem bike, the Stooges consult wealthy Mr. Rumsford (Don Beddoe), who asks them to examine his young wife (the lovely birthday girl Lorna Gray). All manner of chaos ensues, especially when the Stooges sit down with the rich folks for a formal dinner party. Things naturally get quickly out of hand, and everything culminates in a wild upper crust cream puff fight, then the boys are paid $1,500, after which they scram.

The action never slows down, the gags are hilarious, and the supporting cast is fine. A young Ann Doran appears as an unbearably stiff and haughty socialite, who is of course on the receiving end of her share of cream puff missiles. Lorna Gray is absolutely radiant and has a great talent for the Stooges' style of comedy. The dependable Don Beddoe is great as the exasperated Mr. Rumsford, who is unable to control his wild young wife. For some reason I can't identify, I've always thought that the Stooges crashing their tandem bicycle is one of their funniest gags ever. Even if you don't particularly like the Three Stooges, you might enjoy this bright and funny short subject.