SUMMARY: Running Time: 17 Min. (Black & White)
Directed by Del Lord, Felix Adler’s script lifts Pygmalion (though unacknowledged). Two snooty professors make a $10,000.00 bet – does heredity really trump environment or is it vice-versa? Recruiting bumbling rubbish workers Larry, Curly, & Moe, Professor Nichols has two months to somehow polish them into debonair gentlemen for a swanky high society party. Chaos ensues.
Moe: Moe Howard
Larry: Larry Fine
Curly: Curly Howard
Professor Nichols: Robert Graves
Mrs. Richmond: Grace Goodall
Professor Richards: Harry Holman
Dance Instructor: Geneva Mitchell
Nichols’ Daughters: Betty McMahon & Phyllis Crane
Dance Partner: Blanche Payson
Duchess: Kathryn “Kitty” McHugh
Butler: Bud Jamison
Party Guests: James C. Morton, William J. Irving, Arthur Rankin, Celeste Edwards, Mary Dees, Robert McKenzie, Harriett DeBussman, Gail Arnold, Don Roberts, Billy Mann, & George B. French
REVIEW:
Predating 1964’s My Fair Lady (and Trading Places by nearly a half-century) think of Hoi Polloi as ‘My Fair Stooge!’ While the premise is all too familiar, the Stooges spin it like any contemporary fairy tale spoof. The inspired gags work largely because the Stooges are in their prime.
Yet, it’s awkward to see Moe preemptively slap around Larry & Curly too much, as if whacking either of his pals for no reason is actually funny. Moe’s stated goal of utilizing ‘corrective behavior’ before whatever mischief they cause is frankly among this episode’s few misfires. The other cringe-worthy gag is a mutual slap-fest between Curly and his abrasive female dance partner. Despite some lapses in good taste, the Stooges mostly shine, and, during individual moments, Larry & Curly score far more solo laughs than Moe does.
As this series is prone to do, the script relies on a formulaic last chuckle. This stock gag works well enough for Hoi Polloi, but it would be recycled too often as an abrupt finisher for later Stooge adventures. Unlike its middling remakes, the hilarity powering Hoi Polloi makes for a terrific joyride with the Stooges.
Note: Curly’s last Stooge film would be a 1946 re-make of Hoi Polloi entitled Half-Wit’s Holiday.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
Note: Besides a potential double-feature with 1983’s Trading Places, Hoi Polloi also serves up a Stooges’ high-society hat trick of 1935-36, along with Ants in the Pantry, and Slippery Silks.
