Sing a Song of Six Pants

If a you are stooges purist and only watch the films featuring Curly, make an exception in this case. ranks with "a plumbing we will go' as quintessential stooges. Larry, Moe and Shemp are the wonderful pip boys, tailors. Includes classic scenes where breakfast (pancakes) is cooked on an ironing press and a crooks head is pressed in the same device.

Although I Am not the biggest Three Stooges fan in the world, a little of them here and there can't hurt now, can it? In 'Sing A Song of Six Pants', The combo, consisting this time of Larry, Moe and Shemp, are dry cleaners. After finding a safe combination in a pair of pants and realizing the clothes they dryclean are owned by a local gangster in town, they decide to keep the combination when the gangster's moll shows up. When the gangster himself comes by, then of course all pandemonium breaks loose! You can imagine the rest of the story, and well, the way the guys flesh the thing out, eg more kiddie violence, stupid humor and generally bad behavior then one can tolerate. Although this is of course juvenile, I found myself laughing at spots, so I guess this won me over!

Moe, Larry, and Shemp use comic timing and smooth interplay with each other and with the supporting cast to make this a good comedy that gets a lot of laughs from their standard repertoire of slapstick and gag ideas. The setting in a clothing store is used well, with many of the props featuring in the slapstick routines.

The story has the trio stumbling across a wanted criminal, even as they are in the midst of their own business problems. As usual, the Stooges are oblivious to most of what is going on, and yet that merely serves to make it impossible for their adversaries to outwit them. The effect is always funny, and especially so when combined with a little good slapstick.

It's easily among the better of the features that have Shemp replacing Curly. The pace is good, and the story is amusingly improbable. The material is familiar, but funny nonetheless.

Another great Shemp classic that delivers tons of laughs. Even though it's not my favorite, because it seems like Shemp is attempting to steal some of Moe's style, you are still on the floor laughing from the jokes.

The boys are tailors in this episode. They are in great debt and need a to find a way to pay back the IRS so they can keep their shop. When they hear about a fugitive with a pretty nifty award, they have some hopes. But seriously, what are the chances they'd catch this guy? Well, with the three stooges there, of course they'd have a good chance, only they mistake the robber for a mannequin when he is running from a cop. When the robber is in the clear and goes back home, his pants that Shemp removed for a customer are still there at the shop with a combination for a safe with lots of money in it. He decides to go back with some goons, and our stooges get into another crazy adventure not knowing what they got themselves into.

9/10

This is the first of the Shemp shorts that I've seen, and while some of the gags were not the cleverest I've seen from some the Stooges' earlier works, there were also some pretty good sight gags in this film. Moe comes off as a pretty mean guy at the beginning, and cooking lunch on the linen press was hardly impressive, but the ironing scene was funny, as was the fight scene at the end. Besides that, you just have to love the characteristic sound effects.

A burglar runs into the Stooges linen shop, curiously named Pip Boys, followed by a police officer, who the Stooges promptly begin trying to sell new clothing to. They are not doing very well in their business, and when they discover that the burglar was in their shop and not only is there a reward available for his capture but he also left a piece of paper with a combination written on it, they frantically begin their efforts to cash in on the opportunity.

It's a very simple premise devised as a ploy to allow for some of their characteristic slapstick comedy, but that's what these shorts were made for. I found that the funny parts and the parts that just seemed to fall flat just about evened each other out, and while I tend to be more impressed by earlier works like Disorder in the Court, one of my favorites, Sing a Song of Six Pants is an entertaining short film.