The Sitter Downers

A long-time friend and fellow Stooges fan (we're in our fifties) and I sat down with a few glasses of 'Cab-Sav' (Cabernet Sauvignon for the uninitiated) and spent some enjoyable hours p***ing-ourselves laughing. Of the twelve classics in this collection, TSD was the last in order on the DVD but paradoxically the first released: 1937.

It is a real hoot but, more than that, surprisingly contemporary and with some insights into the American psyche. Yes, Virginia, there ARE female Stooges! The uncredited trio of actors playing the wives are a feminist's delight: just as stupid as the boys. Now there's equality for you! There are pointed comments about Unionism, the notion of lotteries, and even how the selection of wives is, in itself, a lottery. The final scene with its pre-fab nightmare (the house that 'crack' built) would have made Dali proud! Escher would rise from the dead just to applaud this surreal masterpiece!

What makes TSD different from many of the Stooges' shorts is that it does not fit neatly into their vaudeville act (for surely that is where many of their set-pieces were derived). While it shares the same anarchistic bent, it is at once more pointed in its criticism of the American world-at-large as it is of life-in-general. Put simply, it is a masterpiece of its genre and can stand alone as an indication of just how brilliant Moe, Larry and Curly were. Enjoy!

Sitter Downers, The (1937)

** (out of 4)

The Three Stooges want to marry their loved ones but their father refuses because, well, because they're the Stooges. The boys refuse to leave his house until he gives permission, which eventually makes the national news and soon letters from across the country are coming to them. The father finally gives his okay and the group decide to take one of the letter's offer of a new house. The only catch is that they have to build it themselves. This was an extremely bland short for the trio because of some rather lazy writing, which constantly goes for the routine joke instead of trying anything new or original. The first half of the short works the best as we get a few minor laughs mainly with the girl's father who at one point accidentally gets beat up by the boys. The second half is just rather bland as we get the boys trying to build the house but end up fighting amongst each other more. The reaction to girls have to their fighting is boring and things really don't pick up until the very end when the house is done.

"Corabelle," "Florabell" and and "Dorabell".....where else but in a Three Stooges flick would hear those names? Where else would three guys ask, for the 100th time, "Will you marry us," and get a reply, "Oh, this is so sudden."

Of the girls, the plump "Corabelle" (Betty Mack) is the best. When she hugs you, start counting the broken ribs! She played the "heavy" in a number of Three Stooges shorts and was always funny.

The boys need permission from the girls' father before they will agree to marriage. "Mr.Bell," played by James C. Morton, is adamant in saying "No!" I recognized Morton's gruff voice. He, too, was in a number of Three Stooges shorts including the famous "Disorder In The Court"

This story gets ludicrous fast as the boys go on a sit-down strike until the old man gives in.....and it gets national attention in the newspapers!!! "Persistent Lovers Win Nation's Sympathy As Gifts Pour In" blares one headline. Are you kidding me? It must have been a slow time for news.

Anyway, it gets wilder and wilder as the boys get married (drawing names out of hat) and then try to build a house. There are some classic slapstick scenes in here, such as with Curly and the cement. It's total insanity.....just the way we Three Stooges fans like it.

This isn't there best short but its funny. The stooges get married and go on a honeymoon but first they have to build a house. The funniest part was when Moe was chasing Larry around and Curly was smoothing cement and Moe and Larry kept running through it.

This is, in my humble opinion, the best short the 3 Stooges ever made. The boys go on a strike inside their fiancees' home until their father relents and lets them marry his 3 daughters. Due to all their new found notoriety, a construction company donates a do-it-yourself pre-fabricated home which the boys set out to build after they do get married. Needless to say everything turns out wrong - the bathtub is on the side of the wall and the stairs lead to nowhere. The house collapses when one of the wives unintentionally pulls out a beam. This short was based on a silent by Buster Keaton called One Week. It also contains my all time favorite quote by Moe after Curly's feet get stuck in cement and he decides to use explosives to free him and Curly protests he'll get blown up - "Don't you know that dynamite always blows down?".