Pleased to Mitt You

The second entry in the Glove Slingers series was the second and last appearance of Shemp Howard as Uncle Pat. For this short, the casting and story line of the series was changed drastically. The character of Terry is now a college-bound young man. The character is now played by David Durand, who is a pretty likable hero on screen. This short actually appears as an extra on the DVD of Golden Boy, although I think the first entry with Noah Beery Jr. would have been a better choice.

John Kellogg plays the role of Diggins, a rival who has a grudge against Terry for stealing his girl. To get even, he steals Terry's college money and he, Pat, and Chuck track him down at a restaurant, where a wild fight ensues.

Fear not, Shemp was still active in the Columbia shorts department after this entry and eventually would have his own solo series before joining Moe and Larry as the third stooge in 1946.

Shemp Howard is relatively restrained in this Columbia short. By and large Big Boy is actually the lead comic and Shemp supports him. Frankly, that's the way I prefer Shemp. He's fine in small doses, but let him loose with his tics and noises and bluster and I don't like him.

Here, with Williams to take the brunt of the Jules White gags -- the standard one here is when they eat a feather oven mitt -- it's actually about two young men, competing for a girl. One is heading off to college and a bunch of youngsters come over for a party, with almost a score of them in one shot.

It's a pretty good comedy, in no small part because in 1940, the budget of a Columbia short would still support a few niceties like a cast. After the War, inflation would eat into those budgets. For the moment, though, it was still enough. Enjoy it while it lasts.