The Sitter Downers

"Corabelle," "Florabell" and and "Dorabell".....where else but in a Three Stooges flick would hear those names? Where else would three guys ask, for the 100th time, "Will you marry us," and get a reply, "Oh, this is so sudden."

Of the girls, the plump "Corabelle" (Betty Mack) is the best. When she hugs you, start counting the broken ribs! She played the "heavy" in a number of Three Stooges shorts and was always funny.

The boys need permission from the girls' father before they will agree to marriage. "Mr.Bell," played by James C. Morton, is adamant in saying "No!" I recognized Morton's gruff voice. He, too, was in a number of Three Stooges shorts including the famous "Disorder In The Court"

This story gets ludicrous fast as the boys go on a sit-down strike until the old man gives in.....and it gets national attention in the newspapers!!! "Persistent Lovers Win Nation's Sympathy As Gifts Pour In" blares one headline. Are you kidding me? It must have been a slow time for news.

Anyway, it gets wilder and wilder as the boys get married (drawing names out of hat) and then try to build a house. There are some classic slapstick scenes in here, such as with Curly and the cement. It's total insanity.....just the way we Three Stooges fans like it.

Sitter Downers, The (1937)

** (out of 4)

The Three Stooges want to marry their loved ones but their father refuses because, well, because they're the Stooges. The boys refuse to leave his house until he gives permission, which eventually makes the national news and soon letters from across the country are coming to them. The father finally gives his okay and the group decide to take one of the letter's offer of a new house. The only catch is that they have to build it themselves. This was an extremely bland short for the trio because of some rather lazy writing, which constantly goes for the routine joke instead of trying anything new or original. The first half of the short works the best as we get a few minor laughs mainly with the girl's father who at one point accidentally gets beat up by the boys. The second half is just rather bland as we get the boys trying to build the house but end up fighting amongst each other more. The reaction to girls have to their fighting is boring and things really don't pick up until the very end when the house is done.

This is, in my humble opinion, the best short the 3 Stooges ever made. The boys go on a strike inside their fiancees' home until their father relents and lets them marry his 3 daughters. Due to all their new found notoriety, a construction company donates a do-it-yourself pre-fabricated home which the boys set out to build after they do get married. Needless to say everything turns out wrong - the bathtub is on the side of the wall and the stairs lead to nowhere. The house collapses when one of the wives unintentionally pulls out a beam. This short was based on a silent by Buster Keaton called One Week. It also contains my all time favorite quote by Moe after Curly's feet get stuck in cement and he decides to use explosives to free him and Curly protests he'll get blown up - "Don't you know that dynamite always blows down?".

It's springtime. Larry, Curly, and Moe are suitors asking for the hands of sisters Flora Bell, Dora Bell, and Cora Bell. They ask for their father's permission and he's refusing. The guys go on a sit down strike. After three weeks, it becomes a media circus and the father relents. Before their honeymoon, the girls demand that the boys build them a house.

The stunts are bigger which reminds me of Buster Keaton. The house falling down on them is pure Buster. I love the boys but in this one, I appreciate the girls just as much. These girls are not the usual Amazon beauties and they have good comedic chemistry. June Gittelson would do more Stooges shorts. She's the classic giant brute who could beat up the boys. Betty Mack is probably the best of the three in that she's that giant brute and also pretty enough to be pretty. She's like a taller Amy Schumer. Marcia Healy is the one that can be left behind and being the sister would do that eventually anyways. I like this one short.

I saw this with another Stooges short, "Violent is the Word for Curly." By the late 30's they were trying all sorts of forms. "Curly" was based on the Marx brothers form. This is based on a famous Keaton gag.

The three marry sisters (drawing lots), and get a house kit that they assemble incompetently.

There's a Laurel and Hardy precedent and before that the famous Keaton "One Week." That's hilarious and clever. This isn't, except for having stooge women.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.