A Gem of a Jam

The Stooges are office cleaners mistaken as doctors by bank robbers. The leader has been shot in the arm and the Stooges are forced to operate! Will they get out of this "Gem of a Jam"?

"A Gem of A Jam" proves the old saying that the sum of the parts are greater than the whole. There are individual scenes that shine: the Stooges do their classic bit, the "Cossack Dance." The scene with Curly being "operated" on instead of the bank robber offers some hilarious results, and when Curly falls into a tub of plaster, prepare to laugh. And don't forget the welcome comic antics of Dudley Dickerson.

Viewed together, however, "A Gem of a Jam" doesn't add up. The bank robber plot is dropped in favor of making Curly look like a ghost. There is not much of a cohesive whole to this film; modern viewers may cue past moments of sluggishness for genuine laughs.

Some funny moments, but not a Stooge classic. 6 out of 10.