"Swing Parade of 1946" is a film that is probably known only to Three Stooges aficionados, and indeed, the boys are given ample time to do their stuff, even though they are not the most prominent stars in the picture and Curly's failing health at the time put a damper on the famous slapstick trio. This rather obscure film focuses on the excitement of nightclub entertainment, with some great big band swing music for accompaniment, even if a majority of the big bands were drying up by 1946. Two of the featured songs are, in fact, well-known jazz standards ("Stormy Weather" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street"), but all the other songs are completely forgettable and cause the film to drag somewhat. In fact, the singing of "A Tender Word Will Mend It All" by bandleader Will Osborne and Marie Finch (Mary Treen) is probably the only bad & embarrassing moment in the film.
Highlights: The colorful personality and dazzling presence of saxophonist/singer/dancer Louis Jordan absolutely steals the show, as he & his Tympany Five perform the fantastic jump tunes "Don't Worry About the Mule" and "Caldonia." The best musical moment for the somewhat shy, naive, overreacting Carol Lawrence (Gail Storm) is her fine rendition of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" as she auditions for nightclub owner Danny Warren (Phil Regan) while the Stooges listen approvingly (and in real life, Curly and Larry were especially fans of jazz). The young Windy Cook is very entertaining with his wild impressions of cars, trains, motorboats, airplanes, ginger ale bottles, and saws. While searching for a watch that slipped down a drain, the Stooges flood the basement of the nightclub, with Curly performing a variation of the maze-of-pipes routine that he started in the Columbia Stooge short "A Plumbing We Will Go" (1940). As waiters, the Stooges give a few customers a hard time; Moe insists to one customer that he have roast beef instead of roast turkey, and Curly sits down with an annoyed couple who haven't had their order taken for over thirty minutes. The boys also humorously eject an elderly gentleman (Russell Hicks), whom they think is a process server, from the club, not knowing that he is the father of Danny Warren!
"Swing Parade of 1946" is indeed a special treat, with the two best acts being the Three Stooges and Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Also, watch for Edward S. Brophy as the well-meaning, yet hot-tempered, headwaiter Moose; Brophy worked with the Stooges (and their mentor Ted Healy) twice before in the 1933 MGM shorts "Beer and Pretzels" and "Hello Pop!"
Highlights: The colorful personality and dazzling presence of saxophonist/singer/dancer Louis Jordan absolutely steals the show, as he & his Tympany Five perform the fantastic jump tunes "Don't Worry About the Mule" and "Caldonia." The best musical moment for the somewhat shy, naive, overreacting Carol Lawrence (Gail Storm) is her fine rendition of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" as she auditions for nightclub owner Danny Warren (Phil Regan) while the Stooges listen approvingly (and in real life, Curly and Larry were especially fans of jazz). The young Windy Cook is very entertaining with his wild impressions of cars, trains, motorboats, airplanes, ginger ale bottles, and saws. While searching for a watch that slipped down a drain, the Stooges flood the basement of the nightclub, with Curly performing a variation of the maze-of-pipes routine that he started in the Columbia Stooge short "A Plumbing We Will Go" (1940). As waiters, the Stooges give a few customers a hard time; Moe insists to one customer that he have roast beef instead of roast turkey, and Curly sits down with an annoyed couple who haven't had their order taken for over thirty minutes. The boys also humorously eject an elderly gentleman (Russell Hicks), whom they think is a process server, from the club, not knowing that he is the father of Danny Warren!
"Swing Parade of 1946" is indeed a special treat, with the two best acts being the Three Stooges and Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Also, watch for Edward S. Brophy as the well-meaning, yet hot-tempered, headwaiter Moose; Brophy worked with the Stooges (and their mentor Ted Healy) twice before in the 1933 MGM shorts "Beer and Pretzels" and "Hello Pop!"