After the passing of Shemp Howard, the Three Stooges reloaded, bringing in Joe Besser (ex-The Abbott & Costello Show), an old friend of Shemp's, to take the vacant spot.
The first outing, unfortunately, is also one of the lesser lights of the Stooge filmography.
"Hoofs & Goofs" takes a poke at reincarnation. In this case, the boys' sister, Birdie (Moe in drag in a dual role), supposedly had passed on, and has been reincarnated as a horse, much to Joe's delight, but it causes problems for the guys when the horse is expecting.
Ruth Godfrey White was the voice of Birdie the horse, physically performed by "Tony the Wonder Horse".
You might think the Stooges jumped the shark with Besser, as he was replaced for the movie series by Joe DeRita, who was a better fit. There's a reason why, in the 80's, the Jump 'N' The Saddle Band didn't name check Besser in the lyrics to "The Curly Shuffle".
Rating: C-.
The funny thing about Joe Besser joining the Stooges was that he didn't like to get hit. Larry Fine would often take the physical abuse for Joe. Why even join the Three Stooges if you don't to take part in physical comedy?
ReplyDeleteTo Besser, it was just another job. After his run with the Stooges, Besser went back to television, including a 2 season gig with Joey Bishop.
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