Fright Night

Thanks METV for "Shemptember!" We are hooked on the Stooges.

Yes, Shemp officially joined his brother, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine in this short, the teams 98th episode. The fun fact is Shemp never left the team because he had worked with Moe, Curly and Larry in vaudeville. Moe said it was to be temporary, following Curly's stroke, however his health never improved and Shemp spent nearly a decade with the Stooges. What insane fun.

Shemp claimed this was his favorite film because he loved boxing. Here, the Stooges are backing Chopper (played to the top by Dick Wessel), betting all their money on him to win which will make them rich -- until gangsters get into the act and force them to make him LOSE. Or else! The dirty rats.

This short rocks and rolls, and owes a lot to Shemp who picked up where Curly left off. In fact, if you watch closely, he's a stunt-master, able to jump, bounce and flip all over the place. Just plain goofy and filled with a ton of energy. Some real stunt doubles were used in the series, however for the most part, Shemp did many of his own pratfalls.

Applause to tough guy Dick Wessel, who previously co-starred in DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL, one of his best roles. Wisecracking blonde Claire Carleton plays Kitty, perfect Stooge leading lady.

***Look for super star pro wrestler and football star Sammy Stein as "Gorilla." He looks the part. Top direction by Edward Bernds who let Shemp take the stage. Another wild one written by Clyde Bruckman. Remade as FLING IN THE RING.

Always on remastered dvd via Columbia, the films boxed by decades, 30s, 40s and 50s episodes.

Larry, Shemp, and Moe are training boxer Chopper Kane for his big upcoming match. He is sparring against Shemp when Kitty Davis walks into the gym. Chopper decides to show off by beating up on Shemp. Later, gangsters demand that the guys get their fighter to throw the match. It's fun to have Shemp getting pummeled. That's all I need from this Three Stooges short. Everything else is gravy.

The boys are fight managers and their lone boxer is "Chopper" (who looks about 40, and as much a boxer as I am). After some early shenanigans they have Chopper do some sparring with Shemp (who isn't thrilled about doing this). To make matters worse, the pretty "Kitty" comes into the gym, Chopper is smitten and really wants to impress her...and Moe and Larry accidentally tie Shemp's right glove to the ropes.

What comes next is a massacre, but it's pretty funny. Afterward The Chopper leaves with the bimbo dame and hoods come into the gym. They represent "Big Mike" and tell the guys that their man is not going to win the upcoming fight against Gorilla Watson. "Why," they ask. "Because Big Mike said so." Then they leave and the boys don't know what to do. "We have every last cent we own bet on the Chopper," says Larry.

They decide to literally sweeten up their fighter, feeding him pies and cream puffs all day and letting him hang out with Kitty.

A few crazy things happen, the fight is called off and Big Mike and his hoods wind up chasing the Stooges all around a warehouse. In all, a decent episode.....entertaining but no big laughs. Maybe because I've seen these episodes many times for 50 years.

Shemp's appearance was his first in a long time, taking Curly's spot after the latter suffered a stroke, ending his career. I always liked Shemp, but Curly's shoes were impossible to fill.

Shemp makes a welcomed return to The Three Stooges, though Curly's stroke was a terribly unfortunate incident. Shemp (with Moe) was one of the original 1922 Stooges (Shemp left in 1932) and here, in 1947, he shows that he still had it. "Fright Night" starts off somewhat slow but, from the night of the fight (just under halfway through the short) till the end, the short is a lot of fun, and Shemp's performance is hilarious. With his return, Shemp brought the Stooges to a more out-of-place human level, whereas Curly was pure animal. Shemp's gruff old uncle-like attitude made him much more accessible than Curly, and Shemp was also a much better actor (Curly always sounded like he was reading his lines). This short catches The Three Stooges returning to their original lineup, and the shorts were much better for it.

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 one of My favorite Three Stooges shorts! This one is with Shemp! Dick Wessel performs good here as a gentleman and as rugged boxer. Tiny Brauer was great as the villain. Cy Schindell also was good. Also in this short is Claire Carleton, Stanley Blystone, Heinie Conklin, Dave Harper, Sammy Stein, and Tom Kingston. There is another Three Stooges short with Shemp very similar like this one called Fling in the Ring. I strongly recommend both!