Sappy Bull Fighters

On Facebook, I managed to watch this-the last Three Stooges short to be released if not filmed. By this time, Joe Besser was cast as the third one after Shemp Howard's death. Also, Columbia Pictures was remaking many of the old Stooges ones as this one had the plot and used some footage from the Curly-starred What's the Matador? That's why you hear some "woo-woo"s from Joe in this one. I found this short pretty funny even when Joe does Curly's lines and mannerisms though it threatened to run out of steam at the climatic bullfight sequence mainly due to some obvious mix of stock footage and pick-up shots. Though they've obviously aged many years from their peak performances, Moe and Larry still have some energy which would serve them well during several more years of features with new member Curly Joe DeRita after Besser left the act to take care of his wife. Another good thing about this short is the presence of the beautiful Greta Thyssen. Hubba Hubba! So that's a nice recommendation of 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".

And again, Columbia Pictures decides to merely make "hash" using the original version with Curly and without any of the gags or jokes to boot! Toward the end of this pitiful flick when Joe gets stuck riding the bull, the studio didn't even make much of an effort to re-record the sound for if you listen carefully you can still here Curly going "Woo woo woo woo". Also, when Moe and Larry throw the darts in order to "slow the bull down so he can get off", that's lifted right from the original because you can actually see Moe and Larry "magically" appear 15 years younger. Why oh why did Moe allow all this to happen? It's a burning question that probably can never be answered because as far as I know, in real life he was quite sensitive to any type of criticism and had rather high standards for his work, as also did Larry, Curly and Shemp. Don't waste your time on this one.

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!

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.