Rumpus in the Harem

The fact that Columbia Pictures and the bossman at the time, Harry Cohn, actually put Moe Howard and Larry Fine into a position where they had to make a film with Shemp's name and face in the opening credits, even though Shemp had passed on is incredible--and not in a good way.

I get that Moe & Larry were under contract & Cohn wanted to keep cranking out stooge shorts, no matter what--but could the guys get some damn time off to grieve. Apparently not.

And then there's Joe Palma as the immortal "Fake Shemp." An idea that was doomed from the very start, but somehow they still made this short and then made 3 more after this with the "Bogus Shemp." What's wrong with this film--just about everything to be honest. The original "Malice in the Palace" was great, but I find it hard to enjoy the reused footage from that short here in "Rumpus" given the circumstances.

Moe and Larry certainly deserved better.

The first Three Stooges short after Shemp's death, and this is a remake of MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949) with Joe Palma doubling for Shemp (with his back faced toward the camera to hide his face) in the new footage. This remake was terrible. The new footage was weak and poorly written and acted. And Joe Palma doubling for Shemp was pathetic. It was so obvious that wasn't Shemp from the first moment the back of the double's head appeared on screen. Who's idea was this? I feel the Stooges should've just called it quits after Shemp died. The Palma/Shemp's are embarrasing, and the later shorts with Joe Besser are terrible. Plus, it wasn't worth it for Moe to go on with the pain after losing TWO of his brothers in just 3 years. That must've been sad.

This was one of the unfortunate 'dead Shemp' shorts, but is one I've been forgiving of, since I 've always liked the scene in the harem where Moe and Larry are beaten up by the harem girls. Suzanne Ridgeway was a cute actress who appeared in minor roles in many Columbia pictures. She fascinated me as a kid, and it's a treat to see her pop up in other shorts. The original short ,"Malice in the Palace" was superior overall, but I have to admit to a morbid habit of studying the Joe Palma standing as as Shemp scenes. They found more ways to film the back of his head, and to cut in Shemp's 'meep meep'. It's interesting that the next 'dead Shemp' short, also had Moe and larry being beat up by two military women. Maybe it was an easy answer as to how to squeeze a couple of new scenes on an old short, but it was entertaining to me.

Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard are in The Orient (The middle east). Their girlfriends rush into their room in need of money or else they could be sold by the Sultan. The boys run a restaurant, but don't have the money. Criminals have a map to a 100 carrot diamond. There is a curse for the person who touches the jewel first and they convince the Stooges to retrieve it. It turns out that the Emir of Shmow has already taken it. The Stooges go to steal it back dressed as three Santas.

I always prefer Curly Stooge to Shemp Stooge. There is a weird silliness to all the Arabian nights costumes. It only gets more random when they dress up as Santas. Are they trying to make a religious take with Christmas or is it a clash of cultures? Maybe they just had the Santa costumes handy. It's another weird nonsense turn that kinda works. The puppy is also kinda funny. I would like for the boys to have a dumpier restaurant which would be funnier. This is good for a Shemp Stooge short.

This was terribly pathetic! The new footage in the beginning sucks because it is just Moe and Larry waking up and reassuring their girlfriends that they will not be sold into slavery, and their girlfriends' weeping is so annoying. Plus, there is a stupid excuse why Shemp is not in that scene! The only part that is merely okay is the scene in which the guard is chasing the Shemp double in circles.

Grade: D-