Poor ol' Shemp does have more than his unfair share of naysayers. As you know, I rank him myself, as the deepest and most layered of Stooges. I hold fast to his inherent character complexities, as I hold fast to this being the reason that he is overlooked in favor of his little brother Curly, all too often.
Brideless Groom has something for both sides of the Shemp Howard fence. It is at once an opportunity to enjoy his own personal tour de farce, and it also serves as an equal opportunity to see him get his nose for real busted by the lovely Christine McIntyre. The blonde bombshell of Stoogery plays Miss Hopkins here, one of the women Shemp pursues as a potential wife so that he might cash in on his inheritance of half a million 1947 bucks. The injury happens as she pummels him in a classic situation misunderstanding, ending with him prat-falling through a door.
Let me here all at once digress and delve.
This short is very, very slapstick heavy for the Shemp era. Because of this, even the ant-Shemp among we Stooges fans tend to enjoy this offering. The plot is an already familiar one for its time that, as mentioned, involves the death of Shemp's uncle, the ensuing inheritance, and its caveat. Shemp must be married to collect - and married in a hurry - seven hours to be exact. This is possibly in homage to Seven Chances, Buster Keaton's 1925 flick that is borrowed from heavily here. This is a time-sensitive scenario where the ticking clock acts as a very important and comedic character.
Moe: Do you remember your Uncle Caleb?
Shemp: Do I? That old tightwad. He'd steeal flies from a blind spider.
Moe: Well he just died and left you 500 bucks
Shemp: Why that old skinflint (double take) 500,000 bucks? (cries) Poor uncle Kaleb. Like I was saying, he was a swell guy. Give ya the shirt off his back and throw in the buttons, too.
Here we see the verbal give and take that Shemp offers Moe, who must have reveled in the opportunity thereof, because he always longed to be more of an actor. "Sure, and Chaplin wanted to play Hamlet." Moe Howard lamented at the close of his illustrious career.
Larry gets to show some non slapstick chops here, as well:
Larry: You just got seven hours to get yourself a bride.
Shemp: it can't be done, no woman is interested in me.
Larry: Maybe not, pal. But if ya look real hard, you might find one interested in a half a million bucks!
Shemp: Maybe ya got something there...
Moe and Shemp's phone booth scene is a must see gag that highlights Shemp's physical talents, one of which is his quite ugly, and chock-full of trademarked character, mug. There is a subtlety in Shemp's slap-stick that I completely adore.
Speaking of gags, Brideless Groom features longtime Stooges foil and almost-Stooge, Emil Sitka's famous "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" (The line is engraved on Sitka's headstone.) My dad referenced this line often, as to why he always held my mother's hand. It was so that they couldn't hit each other as easily.
All along, Shemp is pursued by his enamored student, as he is a Professor of Voice, the tone-deaf Miss Dinkelmeyer portrayed by Dee Green - which I talk about here. Of course, at the short's end, the gal gets the guy and the Three Stooges show a women's rights tilt far beyond their years.
Brideless Groom is a woman's world wherein women chase men as they see fit, and unapologetically so. A penniless Shemp sadly strikes out, but a potential half-millionaire Shemp is prey to be stalked by strong-willed women with their own worldly agendas.
A brilliant side-gag here unfurls as the women fight over Shemp's inheritance. As Larry is about to knock out a dame with the butt of a gun, Moe offers his famous, "You wouldn't hit a lady with that." He then takes the gun and gives him a larger one, adding, "Use this it's bigger." Equal Rights meet Gun Rights and The Three Stooges show their social libertarian bent. I swoon.
Watch this romp with delight, and follow it up with Husbands Beware, which uses stock footage from here. We do all know of Fake Shemp, no? My word...
All told, fence-sitters in the Shemp highly contested arena of such, are very likely to land in the far greener Pro-Shemp grasses after viewing Brideless Groom. Or well they should.
Final Grade B+