Jerks of All Trades

The biggest drawback of putting The Three Stooges in a sitcom, as I can see, is the use of a laugh track. I always found their comedy the funniest when we, in the audience, were the only ones laughing-to hear laughing at their antics on the film itself is detrimental to the humor, in my opinion. So would a Stooges sitcom have worked, or was it just a poor idea in the first place?

The second biggest drawback in this pilot is the direction. Comedy films require more than just gags and funny jokes, they require timing and proper direction and pacing. This film has great gags and jokes, some of the best the team ever did-but it suffers because the direction is bad. At times (especially during the painting-and-papering scenes, which should ZING but don't), it almost seems like the camera is focused on the wrong Stooge. It even sometimes appears hard to follow, though this could also be due to the poor quality print I watched, to be totally fair.

Though the laugh track distances us from the "pure" humor of The Three Stooges, a Stooge series might still have been fun in its own right, and indeed, this pilot *is* sometimes fun, especially in the first act. There seem to be more gags and jokes per minute in this film than in their standard Columbia Pictures shorts, and this is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because even with poor quality direction the Stooges on a bad day are better than no Stooges at all. Bad, because it throws off the all-important pacing.

You'll note that despite this seemingly negative review, I did give this film six stars out of ten, which may seem incongruous. This is because The Three Stooges are among my favorite comedians of all time, and even at their worst they're still better than most "comics" today, though this particular film strikes me as a miscalculation and a missed opportunity. This pilot is probably best left for serious Stooge buffs alone, certainly not for people discovering them for the first time.

I noticed that one reviewer gave this one a 10. Well, based on my 2, it's obvious that there are some very divergent views on this failed TV pilot. As for me, I thought it was dreadful--tedious and completely unfunny in every way.

This show has a VERY broad sort of plot--in fact, very little plot. The three are house painters and wallpaperers. When they are hired to work on a house, they make a mess of things. There really is no other plot. Now although this may sound VERY familiar for the Three Stooges, there were three fundamental problems. First, as Curly was no longer a member of the group, Shemp is the 'point-man'. He wasn't terrible but was no Curly. Any true Stooge fan would agree that Curly was best. Second, there were no jokes--none. Much of this is because the trio were restricted to a very small set and had very few props--as the budget and size limitations of early TV were severe. Third, the timing and chemistry was off. The boys were fine on film--here they just looked out of place and awkward--and often they missed their cues. As a result of these factors, it's painful to watch and terribly unfunny. I can easily see why this show was shelved and never aired over the air.

By the way, the pilot is an early kinescope--a type of recording system that preserved the images for rebroadcast but, frankly, is pretty ugly. While it's less than ideal, at the time it was about the only way to preserve the footage. You cannot blame the filmmakers for doing this--just make some allowances when you watch. In addition, it was shot in front of a live audience (the norm for 1949)--but this is a problem as there is one person in the audience who seems to laugh very loudly at the least provocation. Again, I don't blame the filmmakers--but it is bothersome.

I first read of this Three Stooges-Moe, Larry, and Shemp-rarity in a book from the late '80s called "The Stooges' Lost Episodes". The authors of that book didn't like this TV pilot they made though they did like Larry's performance since he rarely rehearsed meaning his spontaneous take appealed to them more than Shemp's "tired robot-like manner" or Moe being "stiff, overbearing, and screechy, more so than usual". But having gotten used to seeing them being that way during their shorts, I laughed heartily most of the time when just watching this again on YouTube. Also appearing were Stooges patsies Emil Sitka and Symona Boniface who'd pass away not long after this. It's true their film performances, where they have more space either on location or in backlots as opposed to being on a limited stage, are better than this early TV one. Still, much of the material was funny enough to me. So on that note, I recommend Jerks of All Trades for anyone interested in all things Stooges.

Pretty stilted attempt from Stooges in the infant days of T.V. Worth a look from die hard fans....that's about it

The jokes and gags are old and recycled. For example, when they go to paint the table, the three of them continuously paint on each others faces, hands..etc. The Stooges' lines seem forced somewhat in comparison to the earlier shorts. I can't put my finger on what makes me feel that way though. The delivery of their lines are not smooth and connected with each other. Another strange thing about this is the laughter. It does seem like they are filming it in front of a live audience, but I could definitely be wrong about that. In their shorts previous to this pilot, they do not have any laughter which makes their jokes and gags run much smoother.

Although I really do not enjoy this pilot, it definitely has a lot of historical significance in my collection. It is only for the die-hard Stooges fans out there. It's definitely not for someone just getting introduced to the Three Stooges films. My overall grade for this pilot is 2 out of 10.