Army Daze

Jules White hired Joe Besser, best known as "Stinky" on the "Abbott and Costello Show" and Stooge replacement for Shemp, for a series of two reel comedies. After completing six films, White remade the first four. This film uses a good amount of stock footage from "Aim, Fire, Scoot". Besser is "teamed" with radio comedian Jim Hawthorne. With his low key style, Hawthorne is very funny and helps the comedy. I only wish the original film was available for screening. "Army Daze" was part for a package of shorts Columbia released through Screen Gems for the television market. This package of about 200 non-Stooge comedies met with lukewarm response. They are, however, available for viewing. Besser seems to be more at home in these solo outings, since he never really fit in well with Moe Howard and Larry Fine. This film presents the same old Jules White fast and violent slapstick. For Stooges fans, this is an opportunity to see Besser shine.

In the years before Joe Besser became the Stooge who replaced Shemp Howard, Joe worked for Columbia making short comedies. At least half of these shorts were remakes of previous Columbia short comedies. A few are even remakes of films Besser made for the studio!! In the case of "Army Daze", Columbia remade a Three Stooges film "Boobs in Arms" as "Aim, Fire, Scoot" as a solo film for Besser and then remade it with Besser just a few years later! So, you have a remake of a remake of a remake...and it's the poorest of the three mostly because much of this film is actually taken directly from "Aim, Fire, Scoot"...and I mean they didn't reshoot it...they just reused the old footage.

I scored "Aim, Fire, Scoot" a 4....though this might have been generous. I can't see giving "Army Daze" anything more than a 2 since it IS "Aim, Fire, Scoot"!