Goof on the Roof (1953)

7/10

SnoopyStyle6 June 2023

Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard are caring for a friend's house. The friend is coming home after getting married and he's installing a TV antenna on the roof. The boys decide to install it themselves and use the money to get him a wedding present.

It's a lot of random Three Stooges hijinx. Shemp is just not as funny as Curly. There are some fine Stooges work going on although nothing special. I kept waiting for the roof. When Shemp actually gets up there, it's a little disappointing. I was expecting a slanted roof where the Three Stooges can each slide off. I guess it's too much to build that set, but the comedic potential is infinitely greater. Forget the house. A slanted roof could have been a Stooges classic.

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9/10

The quintessential Stooges short

Raine-810 October 2001

For those of you who don't know what "quintessential" means, it basically means, the most perfect example of something; in this case, what the Stooges is all about. And this short is definitely that. It takes a fairly simple premise (the Stooges try to do something nice for their friend, Bill, but all hell breaks loose when they get to work at it) and expands it into a non-stop series of hilarious gags, situations, and pratfalls. In particular, look for Larry looking into a hole in the wall (into which he has dropped the knob for a TV set) with a lit match in his hand. Moe berates him for "playing with fire" and, as a result, inadvertantly tosses the match into the wall's hole and the boys then must deal with both putting the TV set back together and preventing the house from burning to a cinder! When Shemp attempts to put the TV antenna on the house's roof, their efforts do not fare any better. And, of course, when Bill finally arrives home, he does not take kindly to their errors. If you're unfamiliar with the Stooges, this is one short you should view above others. It's a classic! RECOMMENDED.

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10/10

Shemp's last great film

stev770819 April 2001

The Three Stooges putting together appliances? Whew. That would be crazy. And that's precisely what takes place here in 1953's GOOF ON THE ROOF, which unfortunately was the great Shemp Howard's last great short. He suffered a stroke around the time this film was made, so his remaining shorts it was apparent he was not well. On top of that, most of them were lame remakes. But this short was brilliant. Funny from beginning to end, and the treasure is the logic the boys use throughout the film. "Hmmm, I need a longer arm or a shorter wall...Hmmm, Shorter wall!" This is stoogery at its best, as truly nothing goes right, despite the good intentions by the boys, but that's how things go I guess. EXCELLENT SHORT!

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9/10

Shemp's Last Great Short, With A Grim Backstory

abbazabakyleman-9883411 November 2019

This 1953 Stooges entry is the last of the great comedies they made and it was also the last film written by Clyde Bruckman. Bruckman started out as a gag writer for many of the screen's best comedians, W. C. Fields, Buster Keaton, etc. Unfortunately, in later years, Bruckman's alcoholism had worsened and had a tendency to "borrow" gags from several other movies, that sometimes resulted in lawsuits, particularly Harold Lloyd, who had successfully sued Bruckman in 1946 for borrowing a gag involving a magician's coat in the 1942 Stooges short Loco Boy Makes Good. As a result, his career was affected by it and it never bounced back, but did find work writing for The Abbott & Costello television series in the early 1950s, but again continued to borrow plot elements from other films that he was subsequently fired. In January 1955, a despondent Bruckman borrowed a pistol from his longtime friend Buster Keaton, claiming he needed it for a hunting trip, but instead he drove to a restaurant in Santa Monica, went inside a restroom stall and shot himself with the gun. A sad farewell to a once-legendary comedy writer.

All that aside, this is still an entertaining short, where the Stooges try to install a television set for their landlord and instead destroy the entire house in the process. The first half where they clean up the house is the best, thanks to a pesky bar of soap and numerous fallen buckets of water.

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9/10

One of the last great Shemp shorts!

Shep-42 December 2014

This has to be one of the best of the Three Stooges shorts that aren't overplayed repeatedly. By 1953, many of their short films were remakes and contained reused footage from earlier shorts. But like a breath of fresh air, this short contains all new footage. The Stooges get maximum laughs out of simple sets and household items. Comic genius ensues when they "only" have things like buckets and dutch doors to use as props. The feather duster gag is the visual highlight of the film! They are trying to set up a new TV and install an antenna on the roof for a friend. With friends like the Stooges, you sure don't need enemies, but you might need a new house!! Enjoy this high point of the Shemp era.

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10/10

One of the best if not the best one with Shemp!

maxcellus467 December 2005

What can I say? The Stooges are house sitting for their friend and want to make everything "nice" for when he cames back home with his new bride. That's the start for anything to go totally wrong, especially when you put these three characters in charge. In the process of "cleaning up" the house, they just naturally destroy it piece by piece. But the real payoff comes when the new television arrives and they approach the unpacking and set up with their usual "all business" attitude only to end up making things worse. Shemp is basically the "title" character, "goof on the roof" when he makes every attempt to nail the aerial to the chimmney, knocking the bricks for same all to pieces. Then he tries to nail it to the roof, crashing through on down to the other two below and totally smashing the "new" T.V. and then uttering those ever immortal words, "I faw down". Don't miss one!

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One of the best... but

Jim-50024 September 2011

This is truly one of my favorite stooge shorts. The premise is one of my favorites: the boys take on tools and other inanimate objects. You know when this happens that nothing will ever go right! The short is one stooge delight after another. The only problem with it is the ending. It's one of the dumbest endings in stooge history and has nothing to do with the rest of the film. It's a shame that such a great short is marred in this way, and that you can't leave it on a note of hilarity. You'd think they could have come up with something much better.

But, all things considered, it's an excellent stooge short and the laughs don't stop.

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10/10

Funny short

nickwells8528 April 2008

Goof on the roof is a really funny short. It's a reworking of Laurel and Hardy's Hog Wild. I love how when the stooges attempt to set up a t.v. antenna for their pal, Bill, the destruction of the house gets worse. This was the last short that screenwriter Clyde Bruckman worked on with the stooges. He committed suicide January of 1955, which a year and a half after this film was released. Sad, because he was the best that the stooges had and has a lot of credits under his belt. 10 months after Bruckman killed himself, Shemp passed away from a massive heart attack and Columbia and moe and larry had to use stooge foil Joe Palma to fill in for Shemp in his last 4 films. Anyway, if you want to see a good short with Shemp, I recommend Goof on the roof. It is funny!

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10/10

hilarious!!!

plok25318 June 2000

This is one of the funniest Stooge shorts! Moe, Larry, and Shemp try to prepare a house for a friend and his wife, who will be moving in soon. As usual, the stooges wreck everything, and everything backfires on them. The gags on this short seem to work even better than they do on other shorts! You'll crack up while watching it!

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9/10

The best of the latter-day Shemp shorts.

BlackJack_B16 January 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Goof on the Roof is one of The 3 Stooges best shorts and definitely the best of the latter-day Shemp Howard entries. It's also one of the few Stooges shorts that features minimal interaction with other characters. It's all Moe, Larry and Shemp for about 15 minutes.

The boys are sleeping in their onesies when the doorbell rings and they find out that their roommate Bill has gotten married and wants them to move out. Bill also wants them to pay for the installation of a new TV Bill ordered for himself and his new bride. The Stooges decide to install the television themselves and give Bill and the Missus the money as a gift.

Hilarity ensues as the Stooges attempt to clean the house. Buckets of water, a stubborn door, a feather duster between the ears and Moe eating a soap and mustard sandwich and downing it with vinegar are among the slapstick comedy moments of the first half.

When the television arrives, the real damage to the home occurs as Larry lays waste to a wall while looking for the TV knob, Shemp destroys the TV looking for his Cracker Jack ring and Moe gets electrocuted. When Bill and the Missus arrives, they won't recognize the place.

With the constant slapstick of this short, the laughs keep coming. It is a gas seeing Shemp with a bucket over his head from slipping on a bar of soap or the door knocking him down. If you're looking for a surefire short dose of comedy, Goof on the Roof delivers.

Never try to repair your television yourselves, folks.

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A lot of fun!

slymusic6 April 2010

Warning: Spoilers

During an era when the Three Stooges were cranking out mediocre stock-footage remakes, the completely original "Goof on the Roof" was a welcome relief, and a pretty funny one at that. Moe, Larry, and Shemp attempt to spruce up their friend's house and end up with one blunder after another, and it just gets worse and worse.

My favorite scenes: After Moe slips on the soap and falls head first in the bucket of water, Shemp takes part of Moe's ruined jelly sandwich, smacks Moe's face with it, and spreads the jelly around. Shemp tries to install a television antenna on the roof, but he winds up falling through the ceiling. In trying to straighten out the control knob for the television set, Larry turns a wall into a "Swiss cheese" and sets it on fire.

If you can forgive the bad feather duster gag, "Goof on the Roof" is a highly enjoyable comedy. The fun and the hijinks don't stop for even one minute!

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