Gents Without Cents (1944) User Reviews

A great Three Stooges short

[Jim-500 · 9/10 · 31 October 2009]

This is a wonderful example of the boys in their prime. It's quite different from most of their shorts in that it has a healthy amount of straight vaudeville and variety numbers, as opposed to an intricate storyline. They're down-on-their-luck actors who get a lucky break and end up going to Broadway. It was a hackneyed plot, even in 1944.

What makes this special is seeing the boys' authentic vaudeville routines showing that they not only could bonk each other around but also sing and dance. Their harmonies are handsome and their movements deft. Vaudeville is a lost art form and it took tireless, multi-talented people to pull it off. Speaking of talent, the addition of the dance team Flo, Mary, and Shirley provides even more life to the short, with their amazing acrobatics (and good looks). And this is one of the few stooge shorts where the ending actually makes sense and ties in with the rest of the story.

One needs to remember that in 1944, the world was at war, and a lot was needed to keep the morale up at home. This short is an example of that: singing, dancing, acting, and jokes aplenty make this a wonderful way to document how the country was feeling back then. And if you can relax and allow the stooges to showcase more examples of their creativity than just slapstick, you'll have an enjoyable ride.

"Slowly I turn, step-by-step, inch-by-inch..."

[jhaggardjr · 9/10 · 14 March 2002]

"Gents Without Cents" is another funny Three Stooges short film featuring the Three Stooges at their very best. The Three Stooges were at their best when Moe, Larry, and Curly were together (I never cared much for the films featuring Shemp or any of the other stooges that starred opposite Moe and Larry). Curly was the real deal in these Three Stooges short subjects, and "Gents Without Cents" is living proof of that. Here, the stooges play actors who act like burlesque comedians trying to find a job. They do find a job, along with three female dancers (and gymnasts), and are forced to put on a show. Uh oh, did Curly just say Niagara Falls?

Three dazzling women makes this entry a big success!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 3 March 2018]

Curly Howard (Curly), Moe Howard (Moe), Larry Fine (Larry), Lindsay Bourquin (Flo), Betty Phares (Shirley), LaVerne Thompson (Mary), Judy Malcolm (secretary), Eddie Laughton (Manny Weeks), John Tyrrell (Manny Weeks), Eddie Borden, Bobby Burns, Lew Davis (workers in audience), Lynton Brent.

Director: JULES WHITE. Screenplay: Felix Adler. Photography: Benjamin Kline. Film editor: Charles Hochberg. Art director: Charles Clague. Producer: Jules White.

Copyright 11 September 1944 by Columbia Pictures Corporation. U.S. release: 22 September 1944. 1,727 feet. 19 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: The boys team up with three lovely acrobats.

COMMENT: That wonderful old vaudeville routine, "Slowly I Turned", gets a great work-out here in this unusual but highly entertaining Three Stooges offering, which also incorporates a surprisingly happy song from the boys and an eye-popping acrobatic dance from the three dazzling girls. Aside from a slow slot in a bath-tub, the pace is fast and breezy.

It makes sense to see "Gents Without Cents"

[jimtinder · 10/10 · 30 June 2003]

"Gents Without Cents" on the surface may seem like another Stooge comedy for an indiscriminating audience, but underneath it emerges as one of their finest comedies of the World War II period.

The Stooges play entertainers trying to get a booking with promoter Manny Weeks (John Tyrrell). They meet up with three ladies who also have an act. Can they all convince Manny to give them a shot in his show?

"Gents Without Cents" includes two classic Stooge routines. The first is when they audition in Manny Weeks' office. They do their "rat-tat-toodle-toodle-day-day" song and show that they were capable of more than slapstick. Second, the film features their all-time classic "Niagara Falls" routine.

It is interesting to note that "Gents Without Cents" was filmed without the "Niagara Falls" routine. The scene with their "Niagara" performance was meant for the 1943 Columbia feature "Good Luck Mr. Yates" but was edited out of the final print. Luckily, the scene was saved and was inserted into "Gents Without Cents" seamlessly when the rest of the short was filmed in mid-1944.

It is wonderful to see Curly in great form here, handling his lines and scenes with precision. When the Stooges made another "variety" film in 1946, "Rhythm and Weep," Curly had had a stroke and the results were not the same.

"Gents Without Cents" stands out among a crop of generally weak 1944 Stooge shorts. 10 out of 10.

Good one with Curly!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 12 August 2005]

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!

This is one of My favorite Three Stooges shorts with Curly! All Appearing in this short are Lindsay Bourquin LaVerne, Betty Phares, Judy Malcolm, Eddie Borden, Lynton Brent, Bobby Burns, Lew Davis, Eddie Laughton, and John Tyrrell! This one is so hilarious! Curly has a great performance here and in My opinion its one of his best. I strongly recommend this Three Stooges short!

An excellent 'short'

[oscar-35 · 13 December 2012]

*Spoiler/plot- Gents without Cents, 1944. The Stooge boys team up with three acrobatic dancers & singer beauties: Flo, Mary and Shirley for a lively song and dance revue at a local shipyard supporting the war effort.

*Special Stars- The Three Stooges: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard. Lindsay, Laverne, and Betty, all girl revue.

*Theme- Laughter gets the work done fast and well.

*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W, Columbia Pictures, film short, WW2 era. The shipyard performances was to reproduce the large celebrity driven war bond drives of the war years that produced billions of dollars lent to the US Govt by working civilians to help pay for WW2. The Stooges perform the classic stage comedy sketch, 'Niagra Falls', other famous stage artists now in films like Abbot and Costello did the same on film. Large unmistakable camera shadow lands on the rifle flag as the camera 'dollys in' to read the flag's printing. In the sequence with the black baseball bat, you can clearly see it's made of rubber and Larry reacts like hit with the bat when it never comes close to his head. Larry gives the wrong line when Larry speaks in unison with Moe in the 'Nigra Falls' sketch. Larry says wrongly 'inch by inch' instead of the right line 'step by step'.

*Emotion- A rather crazy & fun film with the high energy of The Stooges multiplied by the 3 girl stage group. The film's scenes and actors work well together and the shipyard revue was a great showcase to see their huge performance talents of both groups. An excellent 'short' once seen the viewer wishes it was a standard length feature film. Give us more!

worth a look for "Slowly I Turned"

[cinefool · 6/10 · 10 June 2005]

One of the better stooge shorts from a period when the quality and budget of their films was declining, "Gents without Cents" will forever be immortalized for the boy's rendition of the old vaudeville staple "Slowly I Turned" (a.k.a. "Niagra Falls"). Here they collectively essay a role that most reflects what they really were -- seasoned comic players who managed somehow to bring verve and added dimension to timeworn and/or second-rate material. Their performance of this old skit is definitive.

Incidentally, I have always wondered if it was strictly coincidental that Abbott and Costello revived "Slowly I Turned" in the same year, 1944, for their MGM romp "Lost in a Harum". I don't know the answer, but it would certainly please Moe Howard (who intensely disliked Abbott and Costello) to know that the version in "Gents without Cents" is considerably better than Bud and Lou's.

Marriage at Niagara falls...don't say such word!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 8/10 · 1 December 2019]

The episode Gents Without Cents came out officially in Brazil, unfortunately just seven packet DVD, all remainder we still waiting for, the Stooges had a great time on this short, no one chase them, no crook around, just three wonderful dancing girls proposing marriage, they looking for a job as actors and also entertainers and got a change when the top billing show didn't show up, then they replace in great style as a true acting on a fabulous tale over a friend who stolen his girl before they go to Niagara, this words means trouble when someone talk about, meanwhile the fantastic athletic performance of the three girls, regarded as best show on The Three Stooges career, funny and a breathtaking choreography ever, amazing short!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1972 / How many: 4 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

Pretty good but a tad uneven

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 16 June 2007]

This is a decent Three Stooges featuring Moe, Curly and Larry. Unlike their other shorts, this one has the team working for a charity show for workers at a defense plant and so they can do many of their old and familiar vaudeville routines--particularly the "Niagara Falls" bit (also done in 1944 by Abbott and Costello in one of their films). The problem is that the Niagara Falls bit is awfully familiar stuff and the ladies who appear in the show with them are a major distraction. Sure, they are included as love interests for the boys but having them do a majorly lame and dull dance routine in the show was a very flat moment in an otherwise decent short. It's watchable to fans and non-fans alike, but it's not one of their best outings. Still, it beats any of the stuff they did with Joe Besser and Joe DeRita!

The War Effort

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 15 May 2011]

In Gents Without Cents the Three Stooges play three vaudeville entertainers who were trying to rehearse some new material when they keep getting interrupted by falling plaster. Upon investigation Moe, Larry, and Curly find there are three hoofers rehearsing their act named Flo, Mary, and Shirley. With that kind of coincidence you know they'll hit it off.

Before long they're doing their act as the girls do their's in front of a shipyard audience. It's all for the war effort as long dead vaudeville acts actually did find war workers needing some entertainment on their lunch hours here and in real life.

The women, Lindsay Bourquin, Laverne Thompson, and Betty Phares actually do a nice combination of acrobatics and dancing. And the guys get to do the famous "NIGARA FALLS"...."slowly I turned" routine adapted for three.

It's all quite nice and a salute to the vaudeville origins of all these guys though not as an act.

The Stooges and their girls

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 2 November 2019]

Moe, Larry, and Curly are three struggling performers. There is a ruckus coming from the apartment above them. They find three beautiful dancers named Flo, Mary, and Shirley. The guys are given a chance in a revue. When the rest of acts fail to show up, they and the girls fill the time with acts of their own.

The Stooges are the Stooges. The girls' acrobatic jump roping is fun but it would be more fun to include the Stooges. The problem is that girls are very white bread like one of those singing groups. They're not given much of a chance to show any charisma. This is fine Stooges as any with a vibrant Curly can't help but be a good Stooges film.

One of their weaker efforts

[frankfob · 5/10 · 9 May 2008]

Anything with Curly in it is worth watching, which is why I gave it a 5, but overall this one has more minuses than pluses. The musical numbers are lame ("Rat-Tat-Toodle") at best and awful ("Just Stopped in to Say Hello") at worst, the three acrobatic dancers thrown in for the "love interest" aren't particularly good (or all that attractive), and some scenes--the bathtub scene, for example, and the "Hello" musical number in Manny Weeks' office--seem so out of place that you wonder what they're doing there at all. The Stooges' "Niagara Falls" routine is funny, but it's too short (hate to disagree with other posters, but Abbott & Costello did it much better in "Lost in a Harem")--they should have cut out the stupid musical numbers and the World War I skit (which was almost completely unfunny) and lengthened the "Niagara Falls" skit. The girls' stunt dancing is OK at first then starts to get boring.

Other than the "Niagara Falls" skit--which is funny thanks entirely to Curly--this short has nothing much going for it. Worth a watch, but not something you'd want to see again (unlike, for example, their superb "Micro-Phonies", which I never get tired of watching).

A Stooges Variety Show

[Snow Leopard · 28 June 2001]

This is a somewhat different kind of short feature from the Three Stooges, more of a variety show with some of their usual slapstick comedy added in. The boys are struggling singers/actors looking for a break, and are joined by a trio of acrobats (Flo, Mary, & Shirley), who are also hoping for stardom. There are a few slow spots in this one, although some of the non-comic parts are worth seeing. There is also a pretty good running gag that has to do with the comedy routine that the boys have been practicing. Overall, it's not as funny as many of their comedies, but it's worth a look.

Pal? Did you call me "Pal"? Do U No how long it's been since...

[max von meyerling · 7/10 · 15 June 2008]

A special entry in the Stooges oeuvre, this is a barely plotted presentation of their versions of vaudeville and burlesque standbys. The centerpiece is an superb version of "Slowly I Turn" which is cleverly alluded to several times earlier in the film. It is topped by a short sketch and that's topped by a reprise of "slowly". Forget about plot and just enjoy watching the Stooges as they were when they worked live on stage in their youth. The story, such as it is, is merely a string of set-ups for the Stooges to do their next bit. There is minimal interaction with people and things so this is fairly pure Stooges.

They've done better

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 25 November 2015]

"Gents Without Cents" is a Stooges short film that had its 70th anniversary last year. And if you're good in mathematics, you will realize that this is one of their works from World War II. Consequently, this is a bit more patriotic and political than most of their other movies. Scenes with soldiers are included and on one occasion Moe makes fun of Hitler. There is also something different with the supporting cast. usually, the love interests were actresses that appeared in other Stooges films as well. However, here this is not the case. The trio of females weren't prolific actresses at all and looking at their artistic number, it makes me think they were probably mostly stage actresses, maybe even with a circus background.

There is nothing different with the people who made this film. White and Adler worked on many more Stooges movies and the runtime here is 19 minutes, which is slightly longer than usual. It has sound, but is in black-and-white and it was one of Curly's later works already before he retired only a couple years later. All in all, I was not too impressed by this little movie, even if it is among their most known. Stooges to me are still at their funniest when unpolitical. Not recommended.

Perhaps the Weakest Stooges Short Up to This Point

[Michael_Elliott · 8 September 2016]

Gents Without Cents (1944)

** (out of 4)

Moe, Larry and Curly are practicing their act when the people above them keep making stuff from the ceiling fall. The boys go up there for a fight but are happy when they see that it's three women doing a dance act. Soon the six are trying to get on a talent show.

GENTS WITHOUT CENTS has to be the least entertaining Stooges short up to this point. Throughout the running time there are a few slaps, punches and eye-pokes but there's really not too many scenes that even attempt for laughs. The majority of the running time is devoted to a "show" that the boys put on and there certainly aren't any laughs here. Then you've got the girl's act, which is the most entertaining thing here.

How much violence can Curly take?

[slymusic · 3 October 2007]

"Niagara Falls! Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch!" Slap! Bop! Smack! Punch! That's right, Three Stooges fans, this "Niagara Falls" sketch is probably the most memorable routine the Stooges ever did, and "Gents without Cents" is the film in which this classic sequence appears. Moe, Larry, and Curly are vaudevillians who hope to get their big break into show business. Thanks to their "Niagara Falls" bit, they hit the big time!

Other memorable scenes from "Gents without Cents" include the following. Flo, Mary, and Shirley (played by the dancing troupe of Lindsay, Laverne, and Betty) perform some wild dance stunts at the shipyard. The big band music they dance to upon their initial appearance in this film is also great. And the Stooges do some nice three-part harmonies & World War II impersonations as they audition for talent scout Manny Weeks (John Tyrrell).

As for the rest of "Gents without Cents," I'm afraid it contains quite a few flaws. The Stooges' bath scene is too long; there is a little bit of forced slapstick (characteristic of director Jules White) at the end of the boys' audition in Mr. Weeks' office; Moe ruins the humor of the "Niagara Falls" sketch by unnecessarily shouting "Rivers of blood! Pools of blood!"; the Stooges' army skit is not really that funny; and to top it off, the shipyard set appears to be a fake backdrop. With all that said, however, "Gents without Cents" is still a good Stooge comedy. If you remember only one thing from this short, it would undoubtedly be the "Niagara Falls" sequence, pal. "You called me 'pal'?"