Bubble Trouble (1953)

"Bubble Trouble" is an American 16.5-minute live action short film from 1953, so this one has its 65th anniversary next year and if you take a look at the people who worked on it in front of as well as behind the camera, then you will find names that make it obvious that here we got another Three Stooges short film and I am not just talking about the lead trio. This is from the days when Shemp had not only taken over from Curly, but Curly had already died sadly and Shemp's death wasn't too far away either. All the Stooges are in their 50s in here. It is a remake of an older Stooges short with some alterations here and there, but as a whole it is really close. In here they are in trouble with the guy they got their lease from, but his wife is more fond of our three "heroes". And an invention may actually bring them glory as they may have come across a miraculous elixir that provides its user access to the fountain of youth. No surprise the antagonist wants his share of it too. Comedy here is typical Stooges and there are some okay moments in here I guess. However, as a whole it was simply done in the past already and comes short in terms of innovation. Besides, it needs to be said that the effects here, such as the woman's transformation, are extremely disappointing. Méliès had done better half a century earlier. So all in all the flaws are bigger than the pros I must say and while I am not one of those Shemp haters, I cannot give the gang a thumbs-up here. I may be a bit biased as I have probably never been the greatest Stooges lover, but this one gets a negative recommendation. Only watch it if you love the Stooges.

Directed by Jules White, "Bubble Trouble" is a fine and funny Three Stooges short. A remake of "All Gummed Up" (1947), it contains much stock footage from that short as well. Most of the Stooge remakes from 1953 to 1956 are not nearly as good as the originals, but "Bubble Trouble" is one of the few exceptions, and there are two reasons for this. First, "All Gummed Up" actually ENDS with the bubble-gum-on-the-cake gag, leaving the short somewhat out of balance (as one Stooge author wrote, it was a sign of poor judgment on the part of Jules White). Second, the original short has the Stooges' grouchy old landlord Amos Flint (wonderfully played by Emil Sitka) transform into a baby when he tries the boys' fountain-of-youth serum. So Jules White must have figured that "Bubble Trouble" would be a lot funnier if the bubble gum gag was placed in the middle and if Flint transformed into a talking gorilla. White was correct in his assumption.Undoubtedly the main highlights of "Bubble Trouble" are the two key gags mentioned above. In another classic Stooge moment, the boys mix all kinds of weird ingredients to make their serum, and they shake up the concoction in an old boot (a gag used in other Stooge shorts as well). And please, let us not overlook the contributions of Emil Sitka as the hilarious Amos Flint (whether a human or a gorilla) or Christine McIntyre as Flint's wife Cerina, who turns into a lovely young woman upon tasting the boys' serum. McIntyre even gets a chance to use her beautiful soprano voice, as she does in a few other Stooge shorts, too; when Cerina proudly carries her cake out of the back room, she sings the first two lines of "I'll Take Romance," written by Ben Oakland and Oscar Hammerstein II.To summarize, "Bubble Trouble" is a must for all Three Stooges fans.

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team! One of the most different Three Stooges shorts is Bubble Trouble. In this short are Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, and Victor Travers. The acting by these actors are good especially by McIntyre and Sitka. There are many funny scenes here that I think most Three Stooges fans will love! In My opinion this one of the most different Three Stooges shorts. There is another similar Three Stooges called All Gummed Up. I recommend both of these shorts!

Even though I haven't seen this stooge short in about 2 years, it's a pretty short even though we don't get to see the new footage until the last 4 or 5 minutes of the short and that's when it becomes a classic (I never cared for All Gummed Up and I think that short was Shemp's weakest of the 1940's).In the original Emil Sitka shrank after trying to drink the fountain of youth but in this short, he becomes a gorilla and grabs Moe and starts banging his head on the floor and his head becomes a squashed pancake and Moe and Larry suggest that the gorilla needs a mate and they get Shemp to try it and Shemp shoves it inside Moe's mouth and he does a chimp impersonation.Not of one of the better remakes from the 1953-56 period but the gorilla scene makes it a classic, 2.25 out of 5 stars.