Jitter Bughouse

DeRita and the Nov-Elites should have been called Joe DeRita and his Stooges. That's really what they were.

DeRita was in the Ted Healy role, while the Nov-Elites were the ultra-low-budget replacement for MGM-era Moe, Larry, and Curly. By the time this came out, the Three Stooges were already well-established, and these guys were 3rd rate impersonators.

That being said, the Nov-Elites had their moments, while the future Curly Joe was a so-so straight man. Having Christine McIntyre and Emil Sitka on board certainly helped. The milk bit was probably the best of a mediocre lot, and the three Nov-Elites' musical routines were OK.

Shemp Howard did this type of thing a decade earlier. 4 out of 10 stars is a fair review.

Long before he became a member of The Three Stooges, Joe DeRita made four short films for Columbia Pictures...the same folks who were making the Stooges shorts at that time. Most of the four films were very enjoyable....but "Jitter Bughouse" is the weakest and least enjoyable of the four. Why? Because in addition to DeRita starring in the film, a trio calling themselves 'The Nov-Elites"....and the Nov-Elites were, at times, rather annoying. More Joe...less Nov-Elites!!

Joe and his friends (the No-Elites) are practicing their music. In fact, this happens again and again during the short and their Spike Jones-like act is a bit tedious. When the film focuses on Joe, it is a bit better.

The bottom line is that the studio should have focused on DeRita OR the Nov-Elites....not both. As a result, the film was occasionally cringe-worthy and you can easily find better.

Well--maybe I'm getting soft in my old age--but I can't say this is the worst thing I ever saw. In stooge terms, I would put this pooch in the same neighborhood as a Dunked in the Deep or Saved By the Belle--that being, it's very bland, but not horrible.

They tried to work in some of the old standard gags one might expect of your typical stooge comedy--in this case, the old worn gag of someone mistaking a powder-puff for a hotcake. Not particularly memorable the way it's done here.

I think I got one good laugh from Joe's adventure with the piano stool--that's it. The Nov-Elites didn't grate on my nerves, but they were not exactly memorable either. Again, the word "Bland" seems the best way to sum them up & this short.

4 stars

Whatever one thinks about Joe deRita's talent and appeal, watching this film will give you a real "behind-the-scenes" feel for his abilities as an entertainer. In terms of low-brow vaudeville and burlesque, he was the "real deal" (for what it's worth), who managed to survive and make a living in the lower-rungs of show-biz.

And that's what I find fascinating about this short..the best, I think, of the 4 solo "comedies" he made for Columbia, which were largely re-cycled (line-for-line in some cases) from older shorts starring the hapless Andy Clyde. "Slappily Married" for instance, is absolutely painful to watch, despite the fact that Ed Bernds..who did such FABULOUS work at this very same time with Moe, Larry and Shemp..was directing.

Despite the obnoxious, grating presence of the "Nov-Elites", Jitter-Bughouse gives us an excellent idea of live COMMERCIAL entertainment in the late '40's, with vaudeville all but dead, and the phenomenal popularity of radio about to begin its decline due to the advent of the TV era. The "Nov-Elites" were a REAL commercial singing/comedy/novelty act, and watching and listening to them (as annoying as it may be) provides a "snapshot" of that genre of Show-biz in 1948.

Then there's JOE DeRITA who, as a USO performer during WWII, served as Bing Crosby's sidekick in several grueling and very dangerous stage tours close to the Nazi front in France. This in itself is notable, and should increase our appreciation of Joe and his career as a performer...whether one finds him funny or not. What's really cool are the couple of brief DANCE bits in "Jitter-Bughouse", where Joe displays his fancy footwork; he was, despite his girth, very agile and light-on-his-feet!

The premise of this short is interesting, but it's clearly a feeble framework upon which to hang the antics and routines of Joe and Nov-Elites; Emil Sitka's reaction shots in the final scenes are really dumb, and serve to illustrate the slap-dash nature of the "mental illness" subplot.

And so, in addition to the actual entertainment value of this short (or lack thereof), "Jitter Bughouse" serves as a curious and fascinating glimpse of the Show-biz industry during this crucial post-WWII era in America. LR.