Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise

When researching the supporting cast behind The Three Stooges films, fascinating biographies emerge about secondary actors who have their own interesting backgrounds. Take for instance Dorothy Comingore, who played April Jenkins in October 1939's "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise," the only short Moe never hit Larry-not even once. Dorothy's role was brief; she's one of three daughters of Widow Jenkins' (Eva McKenzie), who sold her property on the cheap to some shysters who knew there was oil beneath her land. The famished Stooges walking by Mrs. Jenkins' house were offered a full meal, and in return they offered their services. While trying to fix a water pump in back, they discover oil, a scene where Moe suffered an eye injury from the pump's oil spurge. "Gazing up the opening," Moe wrote in his autobiography, "I jiggled again and then looked up a third time. Suddenly, a blob of assorted gunk got me right in the eye, it took hours to clean me up for the next scene." Medics had to extract the mess out of his eye.

Dorothy Comingore would later co-star with Orson Welles in 1941's "Citizen Kane," as Susan Alexander, the mistress, then wife of Charles Foster Kane. Dorothy, who took the name Linda Winters earlier in her acting career, drew rave reviews for the part that many found was a parody to actress Marion Davies, the actual mistress to newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst. Wrote journalist Kathleen Sharp: "The star also had acquired a powerful enemy - the 78-year-old Hearst. The media mogul so hated Dorothy's portrayal of his mistress that he used his chain of newspapers and radio stations to smear the young woman." Such smears included her membership to the Communist Party, which limited her movie opportunities to only three appearances after "Citizen Kane." Comingore died in Stonington, Connecticut, in December 1971 at 58, debilitated from a broken back several years prior to her death.

Oily to Bed, oily to Rise (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Very funny short has the Three Stooges broke, hungry and looking for food but thankfully Curly starts wishing for things and getting them. They end up at the farm of a woman when they strike oil there but she's sold her deed to some bad guys so the Stooges must try and get it back. This is certainly one of the better shorts in the series as we get one big laugh after another. There are many highlights here including a hilarious bit of dialogue coming from Curly as the boys are about to drive off a cliff. Other great scenes include the boys trying to saw a log, them messing up the water pump and of course Curly's "chicken fit" at the start of the film. This here is a perfect example of why the Stooges were so funny as we get plenty of rough violence, zany dialogue and of course the boys are as dumb as ever.

Larry, Curly, and Moe are tramps on the road. They come to a farm house where the owner offers them food for work. It goes badly. Meanwhile, crooked oilmen are looking to buy up properties on the cheap. The boys mistakenly steal the oilmen's car. They stop at a farm where kindly Jenkins lady offers to feed them. Her pump is out and the boys vow to fix it. They find oil instead. The unexpected riches is all for naught as mother Jenkins had just sold the property to the crooked oilmen. The boys drive off to stop the oilmen from registering the deed when it's actually in the car that they're driving.

It's Stooges fun. I like the logs scene with Curly. I like Moe getting sprayed with oil and Curly even more. Curly riding the oil is one of the best Stooges visual stunts. It does rush through a lot in the end but that works comedically too. It's a very good Stooges short.

A few familiar faces appear in this Three Stooges short subject where the boys make an interesting discovery of oil on the property of a widow with three marriageable daughters. Funny thing is these daughters certainly didn't look desperate enough to consider Howard, Howard and Fine as husband material.

One of the best visuals in a Three Stooges movie occurs here when after taking apart a pump and cleaning it out the boys strike oil. They make it look so easy, but as the gusher explodes out of the pump, Curly who had been sitting on it is carried up by the force of the gusher and is sitting on top of it. Don't worry, but that Stooge ingenuity gets him down.

Dorothy Comingore two years away from being Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane plays the widow with the marriageable daughters. Two of the swindlers who try to cheat Comingore of her farm are perennial western villain Dick Curtis and future B picture lead James Craig.

Oil wildcatters the world over wondered what they were doing wrong after seeing this.

Craaazy plot the Stooges re-did many times, and had a blast with it -- striking OIL. May have inspired the producers of the BEVERLY HILLBILLIES years later on tv. Who knows?

Moe, Larry and Curly are down on their luck. No jobs, no money no nothing. However, they bring some good fortune to widow Jenkins (who happens to have three pretty daughters!). Some dirty crooks swindled her out of her land. By accident(?), the Stooges discover her land is filled with oil. LOTS! LOTS! Now it's up to the goofy guys to chase down the desperadoes and get the deed.

Stooge Footnote; Moe claimed the gunky stuff in the old water pump consisted of whipped cream, chocolate, asbestos chips, linseed oil and ketchup, and whatever else the prop team could squeeze in? Amazing.

The same gunk probably was used as filler in all the pies and cakes the Stooges got creamed with for years. The globs of whipped cream ruled, and somehow looked even more gooey in black and white.

Director Jules White lets the guys go wild, and Curly, as usual, steals the scenes and has the best lines. Why not? The widow's daughters are played by Dorothy Comingore (June), who co-starred in CITIZEN KANE, Lorna Gray (May), who appeared in several famous movie serials, and Dorothy Moore (April), known for playing Blondie's sister in the BLONDIE movie series.

Always big bad guy Dick Curtis is fun, playing one of the nasty villains.

Remastered on Columbia dvd, generally by decades, 30s, 40s and 50s episodes. Thanks always to METV for running these oldies every Saturday. Makes our weekends.