The Three Stooges: Three Sappy People.
Released: 1939
Dir.: Jules White
The Christmas of 1987 was a special Christmas for me. For it was the year I gave my dad the ultimate Christmas gift. The gift of the The Three Stooges, on VHS.
This release featured three of the Stooges short comedies, Playing the Ponies, An Ache in Every Stake, and Three Sappy People. All of them are gems, with the Stooges in their prime.
Every Christmas dinner was at my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Ted’s house on Berryman Ave., in an old part of the city, a small, wonderful two-story home from the 1930s. Of course, mom was from a large family, so there were a lot of us. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and this year we welcomed the Three Stooges. All in a nice compact space.
There is no telling how many times dad and I watched the tape during the day, but we brought it to Christmas dinner. After we stuffed ourselves many of us retired to the living room and fired up the VCR. Every square foot of space was taken up, cousins sprawled on the floor, the couch and chairs crammed to capacity, and a Christmas tree. The ladies for the most part stayed in the dining room, to gossip or something.
Anyway, for the next 50 minutes the laughter did not stop. We’re not talking simple laughter; this was full on belly laughs. And I will never forget my grandfather, a longtime union man, proclaim, ‘These guys are so stupid!’ Well, that just brought on the laughs even more. And yes, Grandpa was laughing as much as us, he just may have been trying to rationalize the actions of Curly, Larry, and Moe. I will never forget that Christmas.
The final short on the tape is Three Sappy People, and it would also prove to have an inspiration to me, as I was in film school at the time.
Calling Dr. Ziller, Zeller and Zoller
Three Sappy People is about millionaire J. Rumsford Rumsford (Don Beddoe) and his concern for his much younger, fun-loving wife Sherry (Lorna Gray), whose behavior is little more than eccentric. Rummy’s pal, Dr. York (Forbes Murry), recommends the psychiatric team of Drs. Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller, whose methods are extreme, but they do get results.
At the offices of Drs. Z. Ziller, X. Zeller, and Y. Zoller, the telephone switchboard is acting up, so telephone company troubleshooters, Moe, Larry, and Curly, are dispatched to resolve the problem. Needless to say, the Stooges are mistaken for the good doctors, and they are off to the Rumsford Estate, where they will be paid handsomely.
The Stooges vs. the Upper Class
The Stooges make many forays into the world of the upper class, often as part of a wager to make low class boobs into gentlemen, or as laborers destroying an elegant home. But this is the one time they are mistaken for world class psychiatrists, and their unorthodox antics are completely accepted. Which leads to the argument, who are the crazy ones?
Personally, I don’t think Sherry Rumsford is crazy. She’s full of energy and really enjoys having a good time. When Ziller, Zeller, and Zoller arrive she’s about to leave to go for a submarine ride. Until she finds out the doctors are more fun. What is Rummy thinking? Heck, I’d like to hang out with Sherry. Her good-nature and positive outlook is addictive, as is her smile and laugh.
Madness Abounds.
Three Sappy People is also a bit of a slow burn installment in the Stooge filmography. Time is spent establishing the characters of the Rumsford’s, with very witty dialogue and sight gags. Establishing that they too are almost as insane as Curly, Larry, and Moe.
We meet the boys as trouble-shooters for the phone company. I have no idea how they attained this position, but hey, there it is. Once mistaken for the doctors, they fit right into the Rumsford’s world. Rummy’s friends do look down on the Stooges a bit, but Rummy is a desperate man, so who can’t pass up the opportunity to watch three world class psychoanalysts at work.
Dinnertime is also that slow burn process, as the boys struggle with table manners and haut cuisine. All three are defeated by hot tamales. This naturally leads to a pastry fight that builds in intensity until dinner becomes a free for all. Sherry is having a blast, and Rummy shockingly declares her cured. The Stooges score $1500 for their efforts. A rare occasion where The Three Stooges end up ahead of the curve.
Inspiring a Student Film.
A few months after that epic Christmas I was slowly developing an idea for a short film as part of a college project, set to film in the fall. I had wanted to make a black and white film, and I was struck with the idea of not only making a 1940s set film, but making it look like it was made in the 40s.
Part of the challenge was that the film had to be no longer than 5 minutes. And I had lots of inspiration working on me, including Three Sappy People. My film, titled From Here to Micronesia, was a comedy, centering on a wealthy, yet eccentric young woman who has come up with a plan to defend mainland America by using grain elevators as armed fortresses. Naturally the Nazis would like a gander at those plans, and so it goes. Obviously, the eccentric woman was inspired by Sherry, minus the slapstick. And my establishing shot of her boyfriend’s estate was straight out of Three Sappy People.
Now don’t go looking for From Here to Micronesia on any streaming service, it only exists on a VHS tape, safely stored in an undisclosed location.
The Stooges Win!
Three Sappy People is a Three Stooges short where the boys came out on top, which didn’t happen often. Rummy gratefully pays the Stooges $1500. Today (2023) that would be worth over $31,000. Well earned. I think the boys kicked a goal.
Three Sappy People is also one of those occasions where the Stooges don’t have an advisory. An authority figure, usually Vernon Dent, who has it out for the boys. But here the Stooges are called into help. And help they do, to help make us laugh.
Three Sappy People is on DVD from the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment release The Three Stooges Collection Volume Two: 1937-1939. Or on the YouTube.
