Fright Night

Shemp makes a welcomed return to The Three Stooges, though Curly's stroke was a terribly unfortunate incident. Shemp (with Moe) was one of the original 1922 Stooges (Shemp left in 1932) and here, in 1947, he shows that he still had it. "Fright Night" starts off somewhat slow but, from the night of the fight (just under halfway through the short) till the end, the short is a lot of fun, and Shemp's performance is hilarious. With his return, Shemp brought the Stooges to a more out-of-place human level, whereas Curly was pure animal. Shemp's gruff old uncle-like attitude made him much more accessible than Curly, and Shemp was also a much better actor (Curly always sounded like he was reading his lines). This short catches The Three Stooges returning to their original lineup, and the shorts were much better for it.

When Clyde Bruckman devised the scenario for FRIGHT NIGHT, it featured Curly Howard's character since he was still one of the Three Stooges. By the time filming began, he had left the team due to illness and Shemp Howard replaced him. There's no indication in the resulting film, however, that Shemp was shoehorned in at the last minute. Without trying to imitate his brother Curly, he asserts himself as a Stooge, his buffoonery smoothly meshing with Moe Howard's browbeating and Larry Fine's flakiness. It's no surprise that Shemp effortlessly interacts with his partners as if he's been with them for years. After all, he had been with the team before Curly stepped in.

In FRIGHT NIGHT, the Stooges are fight managers who try to elude gangsters. Director Edward Bernds deftly executes the slapstick without resorting to tasteless violence. The short is peppered with funny gags, particularly a sequence where Moe manipulates an unconscious thug like a puppet to distract a pursuing thug. FRIGHT NIGHT also benefits from a well constructed and evenly paced storyline that generates suspense as well as humor.

All the Stooges perform admirably, but Shemp dominates the film. He is a comedic dynamo, conveying a delirious energy that belies his middle age. His broad mugging may not appeal to everyone, but those who enjoy this kind of comedy (like me) will find Shemp's performance highly adroit and diverting.

Overall, FRIGHT NIGHT is an enjoyable short that showcases the Three Stooges's comedy to good advantage and provides an impressive debut for Shemp Howard as a member of the team.

This short subject has our three goofballs as fight manager to Dick Wessell known in the ring as Chopper. After a sampling of their training methods which include an unwilling Shemp sparing with Wessell the guys put their hard earned dough om their guy.

Imagine their chagrin when the gamblers tell them tat they have to tell their guy the smart money is on his opponent and people don't live long crossing up smart money. he guys couild lose more than a bankroll.

After trying to reverse their training t all does work out rather nicely in the end. In filmland there is a special province for the 3 Stooges.

At east most of the timer.

As good as Shemp is in his short-subject debut with the stooges, it seems to me that the writers and director were going easy on him in that he isn't given much to do. In fact, Moe and Larry don't have much to do, either.

Sure, Shemp has plenty of ring time in the beginning of the flick when he's sparring with Chopper. And he does his hilarious "I've got a little brother this big" bit. But throughout the movie, the action has the stooges merely reacting to what the other characters--Chopper, his girlfriend, and the thugs--are doing, rather than interacting with themselves. For me, it makes for an uninteresting show.

One exception is when Larry unknowingly bangs Moe on the head with a large piece, and then brags about it to him before Moe gets his revenge. This sort of slapstick is woefully missing from Fright Night.

And I always wondered why they named it Fright Night. No ghosts, no goblins, no mysterious houses--just a boxing match!

The boys are fight managers and their lone boxer is "Chopper" (who looks about 40, and as much a boxer as I am). After some early shenanigans they have Chopper do some sparring with Shemp (who isn't thrilled about doing this). To make matters worse, the pretty "Kitty" comes into the gym, Chopper is smitten and really wants to impress her...and Moe and Larry accidentally tie Shemp's right glove to the ropes.

What comes next is a massacre, but it's pretty funny. Afterward The Chopper leaves with the bimbo dame and hoods come into the gym. They represent "Big Mike" and tell the guys that their man is not going to win the upcoming fight against Gorilla Watson. "Why," they ask. "Because Big Mike said so." Then they leave and the boys don't know what to do. "We have every last cent we own bet on the Chopper," says Larry.

They decide to literally sweeten up their fighter, feeding him pies and cream puffs all day and letting him hang out with Kitty.

A few crazy things happen, the fight is called off and Big Mike and his hoods wind up chasing the Stooges all around a warehouse. In all, a decent episode.....entertaining but no big laughs. Maybe because I've seen these episodes many times for 50 years.

Shemp's appearance was his first in a long time, taking Curly's spot after the latter suffered a stroke, ending his career. I always liked Shemp, but Curly's shoes were impossible to fill.