tavm Review of Jerks of All Trades

Jerks of All Trades (1949 TV Short)

Jerks of All Trades was a pretty entertaining intial pilot for a Three Stooges TV show

[7/10 · 7 February 2018]

I first read of this Three Stooges-Moe, Larry, and Shemp-rarity in a book from the late '80s called "The Stooges' Lost Episodes". The authors of that book didn't like this TV pilot they made though they did like Larry's performance since he rarely rehearsed meaning his spontaneous take appealed to them more than Shemp's "tired robot-like manner" or Moe being "stiff, overbearing, and screechy, more so than usual". But having gotten used to seeing them being that way during their shorts, I laughed heartily most of the time when just watching this again on YouTube. Also appearing were Stooges patsies Emil Sitka and Symona Boniface who'd pass away not long after this. It's true their film performances, where they have more space either on location or in backlots as opposed to being on a limited stage, are better than this early TV one. Still, much of the material was funny enough to me. So on that note, I recommend Jerks of All Trades for anyone interested in all things Stooges.