http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/102http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039828/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z1WfCjqqhzMWatch SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS in the link above
For the second week in a row, we are watching a short that is in the public domain. I gather we have all seen this short one thousand times. Since it's one of the four most easily available shorts over the years, I'm happy to say it's a good one, but definitely not a masterpiece like DISORDER IN THE COURT or BRIDELESS GROOM. My overall impression of this short is that just about every part on its own works very well, but Felix Adler could have done a better job making it glue together better. For example, the gag where Moe makes the pancakes on the ironing board and cuts them up with scissors is a perfectly fun and creative sequence on its own. In the context of the story, this happens after the fact that the boys learn their debtors are going to repossess them of their work equipment the next day and that there is a criminal on the loose who can bring reward money. Plenty of possible gag scenarios you can do around that, and in a fifteen minute short, there should be nothing but gags that revolve around this simple premise. Instead, we get bits like this pancake gag that in context of the story, seem thrown in. My other complaint is that for all the good stuff here, it's missing that sweater gag, that maze of pipes, that Elaine on the balcony....you know, that one extra special bit to make this feel more classic.
OK, nitpicking out of the way, this is still an entertaining short. Plenty of good gags throughout including the opening shot of the store windows. Plenty of misspellings and grammatical errors, this is why God created the pause button. My favorites are the way "Lary" is spelled and the word alterations is actually painted "altercations." Leo Gorcey would be proud of the latter. I like the little gag of Larry trying to get the stain out of the pants which turns out to be sunlight, and Shemp's fake leg gag on the ironing board is another creative little bit that may trick a first time viewer. I've always loved the Teddy Hoosevelt and Thomas Hedison bit too, especially the way Larry delivers the latter! For a subtle little gag, and I wonder who else caught this, there's the part where Teri Hargen complains about the Stooges stealing his bank roll from his suit. Watching the scene before, we all know it was his girl who actually did it. Also, an interesting character observation I want to make is that Moe acts adult here and shows real concern when he learns of the ultimatum from his debtor. Shemp is about as carefree and childish as one can be, even later on reading the funny papers!
One of those shorts that holds up better the less you think about it. It's fine entertainment, especially for Stooge fans, so since imperfect Stooges is better than most other things out there, I rate this an....
8/10
PS: Forgot to mention, great reactions from Cy Schindell as he gets the ironing board treatment!
