Bride and Gloom

Shemp wants to be married to Jean Willes, but Christine McIntyre keeps popping up and wrecking the moment, along with her husband, Dick Curtis in this, the last solo Shemp Howard short comedy before he returned full-time to the Three Stooges series.

It's based in part on Charley Chase's silent LIMOUSINE LOVE and his partial remake. THE AWFUL GOOF. It's considerably less racy than the first version, in which Charley finds a nude Viola Richards in his car, much to the amusement of all the men; later versions are much more disapproving in the way that the Code would call for.

Several of Shemp's Columbia shorts are based on shorts that Chase did for Columbia. MR. NOISY, for example, was based on Chase's THE HECKLER. His over-the-top, tic-filled reactions, certainly offer a different form of comedy!

Shemp is a car salesman (a great occupation for him) who cannot get to his wedding on time and keeps getting in scrapes with the same couple through no fault of his own. This is the final Shemp Howard short before he rejoined his brother Moe and Larry Fine to become "the Third Stooge". In this short, Shemp seems to be a bit restrained and we do not get many of his hilarious ad libs. Not that he plays it straight, but he is nowhere as wild as in the previous year's "Mr. Noisy". Dick Curtis is Shemp's nemesis, while Vernon Dent and Emil Sitka contribute their welcome supporting performances. Okuda and Watz, in their book on Columbia comedies, consider this short to be one of the best in the Shemp series. It is pleasant and fast moving, but it does seem to soften both Shemp's character and the slapstick a bit.

In the 1940s, Shemp Howard made a string of shorts for Columbia Studio--the same company that his brothers Moe Howard and Curly Howard worked with for many years as the Three Stooges. This was Shemp's last short for Columbia before re-joining* the Stooges.

Many of the solo films Shemp did for Columbia followed a familiar theme--Shemp is accused of cheating on his wife though he is completely innocent. And, in many of these films there's also a jealous husband waiting to pound the stuffing out of Shemp! "Bride and Groom" follows this sort of pattern.

The story begins with Shemp arriving very late to his wedding through no fault of his own. And, while it looked really bad, when he does arrive he arrives with a half-naked woman in the back seat! He's innocent...but things sure look bad for him. Despite this, the bride follows through with the wedding...but that doesn't stop her from being jealous. And, when Shemp's job takes him back to the home of the half-naked woman, things sure look like they're gonna turn out badly for the Shempster!

In many ways, the film actually looks a bit like a Laurel & Hardy film...such as "The Music Box". The only thing I don't understand is how ANY woman would be attracted to Shemp or think he was capable of attracting a pretty girl!! Overall, enjoyable...a bit morethan usual actually.