Even as IOU

Even as IOU (1942)

** (out of 4)

Mostly forgettable Three Stooges short has the boys running into a single mother and her daughter, both of whom are hungry. The boys decide to try their luck at the horse track when Curly is given a tip..... by a horse.

EVEN AS IOU is certainly one of the lesser Stooges shorts from this period and it really comes across as if it was just rushed into production so that they could get it into theaters as quick as possible. The film clocks in at just 15-minutes and only has a handful of laughs. Many of the gags are simply flat from the word go including a somewhat long one dealing with a fake fish. The few laughs that there are come towards the end when Curly is getting the tips from the "talking" horse. Fans of the Stooges will want to watch this but there are many better ones out there.

Despite all the physical abuse the Three Stooges dished out to one another, the comedians' hearts melted when it came to babies and animals. In the past, Three Stooges films have portrayed Curly's love for dogs, which in real life he had a passion. In September 1942 "Even as IOU," their 65th short film, the Stooges find themselves owners of a washed-up race horse. Fleeing from the police after caught selling fraudulent racing forms, the three find a mother and daughter with their furniture laid out behind a billboard. They've had their house repossessed, leaving them with just a piggy bank of loose change. The Stooges promise to parlay the mother's life savings, going to the track to bet on a long-shot. Their horse wins, but two shysters convince them to buy their talking horse, which turns out to be an aging race horse. Stuck with a bad purchase, the Stooges decide to keep the equine when Curly accidentally ingests a Vitamin Z pill for the horse, which hits home for survivors of Covid-19 when the horse medicine ivermectin was purported to treat the virus ripping through the world in 2020.

Several topical subjects of the WW2 era crop up in "Even as IOU" when Curly mentions to the mother she could take out an "FBI loan." He mistakenly confuses the FBI with the FHA, short for the Federal Housing Administration under President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" where the government made low interest home loans to alleviate the housing crises. Later, while the Stooges accept the challenge to increase the wealth of the mother by taking her piggy bank, the Stooges call it "a lend-lease" transaction. This was the 1941 Lend-Lease Law which had neutral United States supply England as well as other Allied countries equipment and goods so they could keep up with the Nazi war machine.

The Stooges' love for horses is quite evident when the old horse Seabasket (a variation of the legendary Seabiscuit) gives birth to a promising future racehorse, causing the three to hug the baby colt knowing it had the potential of being a prize-winning horse.

Even it being one of most weak on Curly's period, it never disappointed me, every single short from "The Three Stooges" is always under 7 out 10, this time ours friends trying to help an evicted mother and her little child, Curly steals from the kid a piggy bank to try to get some money in a race track, however a crook ventriloquist misleading Curly to put all money in a horse regarded as underdog, luckily the horse ends up being a winner and they get 500 dollars, nevertheless the ventriloquist is back again and sold to them the talking horse, this episode has enough great moments like a tuba's scene, Curly blowing and the sounds out with a bit delay, outstanding and funny!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

Larry, Curly, and Moe fail to get any bets outside the race track. They're on the run from a cop and find an abandoned lot. The furniture actually belong to a destitute mother and her daughter. They've been dispossessed. The boys go back to the race track and get con by two con-men.

Curly is the man. He does an amazing solo act with a musical instrument. I love the idiocy of see-saw and press-pull. It's all stupid and hilarious. It does go completely over the cliff with the ridiculous ending.

In all honesty, when I looked up what feedback this short received on IMDb, I was surprised to find how many were either neutral towards it or disliked it. I really can't understand why that's so, because I thought this was a fun one!

The direction by Del Lord, and the story by Felix Adler, were as entertaining as ever. I mean, yes, the plot may have been all over the place. But, the Stooges's goal to help the family tied everything together PERFECTLY, and it was remarkably character-driven to a tee. Plus, the comedy throughout the episode was nonstop hilarious and brilliantly executed. The jokes revolving around Curly were definitely the best ones, that's for sure.

The performances of the cast and the characters were excellent too. Even though the Stooges did start out to be con men in this short, I love the softer side they showed towards the family and their willingness to help them. Along with that, the Stooge trio once again gave some of their best performances, being so into their material to the point of where their portrayals seemed so real.

In conclusion, "Even as IOU" is another Three Stooges short that I'm proud to have analyzed and come to know, and it's one of the trio's funniest as well. Based on what I've gathered so far, it's also one of the most underrated of the Three Stooges filmography.