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Shemp Cocktail: A Toast To The Original Stooge |
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Shemp Cocktail: A Toast To The Original Stooge
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by Passport
Sales Rank: 22717
Price: $14.99
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Much has been made of Moe, Larry and Curly – and rightly so – but Shemp Howard was a comic master too often overlooked, with a solo career that far outshone that of the other Stooges. Apart from costarring in many classic Three Stooges shorts, Shemp appeared opposite such fellow comic legends as W.C. Fields, Ed Wynn, Bert Lahr, and Abbott & Costello, as well as such luminaries as John Barrymore, William Powell, Jack Haley, and The Andrews Sisters. <P> This long-overdue 2-disc spotlight on Shemp – one of the first and one of the last Stooges and brother of Moe and Curly Howard – contains two early ‘30s solo Shemp shorts; a trio of Shemp’s Three Stooges shorts; a live TV Camel Comedy Caravan with Shemp, Larry, and Moe; the complete 1942 feature Private Buckaroo, starring Shemp and The Andrews Sisters; the 1949 feature Africa Screams, starring Abbott & Costello and Shemp - and more, including outtakes from Africa Screams and sequences from the 1935 drama Convention Girl, in which Shemp plays it straight as a smalltime hood! <P> But the real treasure is a remarkable, revealing, and very intimate look at Shemp Howard’s life and career featuring exclusive interviews with Shemp’s daughter-in-law, Geri Howard Greenbaum; Geri’s sister, Diane Silvers; and Shemp’s granddaughter, Jill Howard Ullo. These touching, humorous and fascinating firsthand reminiscences are supplemented by rare, never-before-seen home movies, personal photos, and priceless memorabilia from Geri, Jill, and Shemp’s second granddaughter (and namesake), Sandie Howard Isaac. A well-deserved salute that is a must for fans of the Three Stooges and classic comedy! <P> Disc One <P> Henry the Ache (1934) – Bert Lahr (THE WIZARD OF OZ) is King Henry in a parody of the then-current Charles Laughton film, with Shemp as one of his lackeys. (17:12) <P> Knife of the Party (1934) –Shemp is the leader of a different group of Stooges (four instead of three) who have to work at a hotel to pay their bill. (20:00) <P> Convention Girl (1935) – Sequences from a rare drama starring Rose Hobart (DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE), in which Schemp plays a straight role – a small-time hood who resorts to extortion and attempted murder! (10:00) <P> Private Buckaroo (1942) – Shemp is an Army drill sergeant, Dick Foran (THE MUMMY’S HAND) is a new recruit, and The Andrews Sisters provide musical accompaniment in this wartime delight. (68:10) <P> Africa Screams (1949) – Shemp and future Stooge, Joe Besser, provide strong support in this jungle-themed Abbott & Costello classic (including outtakes!). (80:00) <P> Disc Two <P> The Brideless Groom (1947) – Moe and Larry help Shemp get married immediately so he won’t lose out on his inheritance. Hold hands, you lovebirds! (16:35) <P> Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947) – Shemp, Moe and Larry have "pressing business" in a dry-cleaning store but get mixed up with bank robbers. (16:53) <P> Malice in the Palace (1949) – Shemp, Moe and Larry are restaurateurs who run off to a faraway land in search of the Rootin Tootin Diamond. (15:42) <P> Camel Comedy Caravan (1950) – A rare, live kinescope with Shemp, Moe and Larry as TV executives (!) who harass Ed Wynn on his television show. (28:07) <P> Bonus: <P> Remembering Shemp - An intimate look at Shemp Howard’s life and career featuring exclusive interviews with Shemp’s daughter-in-law, Geri Howard Greenbaum; Geri’s sister, Diane Silvers; and Shemp’s granddaughter, Jill Howard Ullo. These touching reminiscences are supplemented by rare, never-before-seen home movies, personal photos, and priceless memorabilia. (approx. 45 mins.)
Viewer Reviews
What a disappointing DVD. The only saving grace was the bonus feature: Remembering Shemp, but even that got tedious with repeated footage continually going on throughout the feature. How many times do you have to see Shemp waving a hanky around? 6 or seven times? The quality of all the shorts are terrible, the worst being the Camel Comedy Caravan with what looks like a cat's coughed-up furball on the upper left-hand corner of the screen during the whole show. Though it was nice to see some of Shemp's early work, with the way the are wonderfully restoring the Three Stooges, you are better to wait until the volumes come out with Shemp in them before you waste your money on this DVD.
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Shemp Cocktail: A Toast To The Original Stooge
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