Income Tax Sappy

This is a classic. Even though Shemp doesn't get as much screen time as many would hope, Benny Rubin as Mr. Cash, Moe, and Larry make up for it big time. In the scenes Shemp is in, he shines. It confuses me why Shemp doesn't get that much screen time. Even though he had a stroke in 1952, he recovered within weeks of it. I guess director Jules White and writer Abner Singer wanted Moe and Larry to shine more for once. There are so many classic lines and exchanges in this and Moe is especially hot tempered. This short is a must-have for any stooge fan who likes Shemp or the episodes he was in.

Grade: A+

"Income Tax Sappy" is one of the last good Three Stooges Shorts. It is notable for several reasons. It was one of only a few released that year that did not contain stock footage. It was also one of the few "all-new" episodes released after Shemp Howard suffered a minor stroke.

Most notably, however, is that "Income Tax Sappy," much like other "all-new" episodes released late in Shemp's career, had a different look and feel to it. According to author Jeffery Forrester in his 1981 book "The Stooge Chronicles", these episodes were an attempt by Columbia to freshen up things a little bit. Columbia's reasoning was that audiences were getting a little tired of the standard Stooges routines. The viewer will notice that in episodes like "Income Tax Sappy", and "Goof on a Roof", the settings are much more middle-class (at least how TV and the movies showed the middle-class in the 1950s). The apartments in these shorts are actually rather up-to-date and spiffy! The earlier portrayals of the Stooges, as barely-employed low-lifes, would have seemed awfully dated by this time.

Did this attempt by Columbia work? Well, yes and no. "Income Tax Sappy", while okay, does not rank up there with the best of the Shemp episodes like "Brideless Groom" and "Fright Night." Though the Stooges give it their best, it was clear that things were winding down.

"Income Tax Sappy" is a gem of a short. Everybody's performance in this is as great as ever and almost all the gags are top notch. The premise: The stooges decide they can cheat on their income tax in ingenious ways and conclude that if they can do it, they can teach others to do it too. With this new "tax-cheating" establishment, the Stooges become rich culminating in a VERY fancy dinner party which their guest, Mr. Cash (played by the wonderful Benny Rubin) attends much to his eventual consternation (it is not wise to cut off your dinner guest's beloved beard). Among the funniest gags: Shemp doing the old "Human adding machine" bit, Moe tangling with a foot-long sandwich which suddenly develops a mind of its own and bites back, and all the Stooges' attempts to appease Mr. Cash (not to mention conceal the fact that they have given him a close shave) who finally reveals himself to be an undercover man from the IRS! If you love the Stooges, this short will leave you in stitches!

The only Three Stooges short I like better than INCOME TAX SAPPY is HEAVENLY DAZE. INCOME TAX SAPPY is my second favorite of all Three Stooges shorts. The plot is funny and not all about income taxes. I love this short! The only part that I didn't like, which was kind of gross, as a scene where Larry has a zipper on his stomach. But otherwise a VERY enjoyable short. The funniest part is when the stooges run into the kitchen and throw a pie at the IRS agents.

**** out of 4 stars.

Larry prepares a foot long hot dog for Moe. He slathers it with a liter of mustard and says to himself, "and I knoooooooow he's gonna like that!". As he takes the hot dog to serve to Moe, he grabs the jar of mustard as he reminds himself, "He might want a little mustard!" Welcome to "Income Tax Sappy," where cheating on their income tax has made the Stooges into millionaires (the national economy must have been very strong in the early 1950's). The IRS, of course, gets wise. They send over Benny Rubin in a phony beard and a phonier German accent, and the sting operation is on. Shemp displays his ardent love for mashed potatoes and gravy ("I looooooooves gravy!") by shoveling copious quantities of each onto his dickey, which amuses the maid. The jig is up for the Stooges right after Herr Rubin gets the predictable face full of those very same mashed potatoes and gravy. It's good to see Vernon Dent as one of the T-men who come after the Stooges. All in all, there's food fighting, mayhem, and a good dose of Moe handing out the physical abuse to Shemp and Larry. Alas, if only Shemp had not claimed those 14 bartenders as dependents on his W-1040.