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This is the third Joe Besser short I've seen. I'm starting to get familiar with Joe's much-maligned "big baby" character, and actually I find it fairly amusing. The main thing I DON'T like about this short is the very stiff, unnatural dialog -- mostly from Joe -- that's used to explain what's going on. You never saw Curly or Shemp saddled with this kind of crap. It's especially prominent at the beginning of the opening scene and the uranium-hunting scene. The boys do what they can with it, which isn't much. In my opinion it's this tendency, rather than Joe's character, that's the real problem with the Besser shorts.This is somewhat of a remake of "Oily To Bed, Oily To Rise" (1939). What it mainly takes from that short is the "wishing" ability (originally Curly's, now given to Joe) and the scene where the oil is discovered. The original short was funnier primarily because it was written better, not so much because it was a Curly short. Curly did have his usual funny physical humor in that one, but I think the lines "I'm a successful cork!" and "I'm an unsuccessful cork!" are actually funnier in Joe's hands. Another favorite line: "Good night, mother. Wind up the cat and put out the clock." The close-ups of Joe, sitting PERFECTLY STILL while supposedly bouncing on top of a "geezer" (!) of oil, are a problem though!
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