My Episode Review on The Three Stooges: Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise · 11:09pm Oct 9th, 2022
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for the first installment of this year's "Spook Spectacular", I'm gonna give you guys my take of the Three Stooges's "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise".
Here's the rundown of it:
The Three Stooges are hapless tramps who are down on their luck and constantly on the move. But, their luck soon changes when Curly finds himself to be a whizz for wishes, because whenever he'd wish for something...the wish would come true!
In the midst of this, three con artists swindle a widowed farmer named Mrs. Jenkins for her land. The reason for why is because, unknown to Jenkins, her land secretly contains oil.
After completing my analysis on "Three Dumb Clucks", I decided to review "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise" since it was later given a direct remake starring Joe Besser. I watched the episode 3 times in preparation for reviewing it, mainly because I didn't get started on making the analysis right away due to other commitments in life.
Now that I'm finally analyzing this Three Stooges short, I'd like to start off by saying that there was one particular flaw I noted:
In the scene showing the car between the parts where Curly points it out and the Stooges run to it, you can see the reflection of the Stooges running towards the car if you look closely. I have no idea why Jules White couldn't shoot an actual scene with the car without the reflection or if he ever did, but for me...it was impossible to ignore.
Other than this little nitpick, though, "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise" is still what I'm happy to classify as another one of the Three Stooges's finest works.
For instance, the direction by Jules White, and the story by Andrew Bennison and Mauri Grashin, were marvelous.
Everything about the overall story was incredibly well-worked and fun, as well as perhaps one of the Stooges' most original of shorts. I loved how the whole "Curly becoming a wishing wizard" part of the story was executed, and the timing of it all was so cleverly written that you wouldn't even think Curly getting the things he wished for was merely a coincidence or accident. I also enjoyed how the plot transformed from being about the Stooges merely trying to turn their luck around to helping Mrs. Jenkins and repaying her for her kindness.
Plus, the humor throughout the short was hilarious. Every joke landed with a fluency and timing that caused me to laugh no matter what. One of my favorite parts was when the Stooges were trying to fix the pump and all the gags that took place as they did.
The acting and characters were wonderful as well.
As with the previous Stooges shorts I reviewed, the Three Stooges themselves were a real treat to watch. The trio portrayed their onscreen personas with Oscar-worthy results, and they practically owned every scene they were featured in. Every comedic-timing they had was perfect, and the way they got themselves into their material and took on the physical-comedy gags was amazing. The three characters themselves had dynamic developments, which is a great bonus.
The supporting cast and characters were brilliant too. Everyone featured looked like they were having a great time being a part of this project, and the characters all had personalities and quirks to be instantly memorable. Eva McKenzie played the part of Widow Jenkins with undeniable warmth, and Dick Curtis, Eddie Laughton, and James Craig played the part of the three con artists perfectly.
In conclusion, "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise" isn't 100% perfect due to the flaw I noted at the beginning, but it's still an absolutely splendid member of the Three Stooges filmography.
So, I rate "Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise" 4½ out of 5 stars.
nyuk nyuk nyuk!