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Pick a Peck of Plumbers (1944)
Standard, but funny thanks to Shemp
Shemp Howard was already a veteran of the Columbia Shorts Department by 1944. In this short, he is teamed with Swedish dialect comic El Brendel, who had his own series of shorts at the studio since 1936. By this time, Brendel was teamed with Harry Langdon in a series of shorts until the comedian's death in October 1944 from a cerebral hemmorage. Brendel's contract with the studio was subsequently terminated, as a result.
The standard plot as Shemp and El as vagrants who are given 48 hours to come up with $100 for wrecking a policeman's motorcycle. They get job as assistant plumbers, despite having no knowledge. They then go to a mansion where they proceed to wreak havoc trying to find a missing ring.
Shemp would soon after highlight his own series of two-reelers for the studio, but this short is decent thanks to his performance.
Glove Slingers (1939)
A nice debut entry for a promising series
In 1939, Columbia had started a new series of two-reel comedies called The Glove Slingers that followed the adventures of aspiring boxer Terry Kelly, his uncle Pat Patrick, and trainer Chuck. The role of Terry was played by four different actors through the series' run and the shorts were mostly story-driven with the usual slapstick gags thrown in.
The first entry has Terry (played by a young Noah Beery Jr.) who has a fondness for boxing, something that his religious mother (Dorothy Vaughan) is strongly against. When Pat and Chuck arrive for a surprise visit, Terry is thrown into an upcoming match with his girlfriend's brother Charlie Benson (Cy Schindell). Though Mrs. Kelly does not approve fighting of any kind, she discovers that the local priest has two tickets to the match and she cannot pass that up.
This short is entertaining and features a lot of other Columbia contract players in small roles: Dick Curtis, Richard Fiske, Victor Travers, etc.
Moving (1988)
Richard Pryor's on the move with belly laughs
In the mid-1980s, Richard Pryor's longtime drug addiction began to affect his physical appearance, he began to look sickly and pretty frail on screen. Despite the fact, this was Pryor's last starring role in a feature film. This comedy has quite a few laughs.
Arlo Pear is a mild-mannered engineer from New Jersey who is given a new job position in Boise, Idaho. His family is not happy with the idea, but have no choice but to go with it. Unfortunately, things fall apart quickly: their teenage daughter tries to sabotage every open house that happens, the three movers hired to transport the belongings to the new house actually steal them, and Arlo hires a young man with multiple split personality disorder to drive his priceless Saab to the house.
The cameos in the film are worthwhile, as well. Randy Quaid as crazed army veteran neighbor Frank. Dave Thomas as Arlo's friendly boss, Rodney Dangerfield as a loan officer with a serious gambling problem, Morris Day as a young man smitten with Arlo's daughter, and Dana Carvey as the multiple personality maniac.
Definitely worth watching.
Stir Crazy (1980)
The best pairing of Wilder and Pryor
Though Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were first teamed together in 1976's Silver Streak, it was not necessarily a pairing as Pryor didn't appear until 45 minutes into the movie, but this film showcases the actors' true comedic talents.
Wilder and Pryor are Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe, are two out-of-work losers in NYC who decide to start a new life out in California. Along the way, their van breaks down in Phoenix, Arizona and decide to become mascots for a local bank to drum up extra cash before continuing their trip, but two bank robbers steal their costumes and rob the bank, leaving Slip and Harry to take the blame. The two are sentenced to 125 years in prison as their useless lawyer tries to research the case more carefully.
Harry and Skip find that the prison surroundings are very difficult and as they are constantly abused (verbally and physically) by the scowling guards and the inmates. The warden, however, gains sympathy for the two, providing Skip will ride in the annual prison rodeo.
The film itself, includes a lot of memorable moments, particularly the character of hulking inmate Grossberger, Pryor's mysterious appendix operation in the prison hospital, and the rodeo sequences itself.
The film also includes early appearances by Barry Corbin as the warden, Craig T. Nelson as the gruff head prison guard, Joel Brooks as the boys' attorney Len Garber. JoBeth Williams as Len's comely social-worker cousin, and Jonathan Banks as a vicious fellow inmate that is given special treatment.
Definitely one of the great Wilder/Pryor comedies.
'Fraidy Cat (1951)
Funny remake of a classic Stooges short
In 1949 until 1956, Joe Besser was signed on by Columbia to star in 10 comedy two-reelers for the studio. In this one, Besser is unofficially teamed with local radio comedian Jim Hawthorne as Besser's straight-man. The short itself is a scene-by-scene remake of the 1943 Stooges short Dizzy Detectives as Besser and Hawthorne play detectives who go after a gorilla trained to rob an antique store after hours.
It was remade, yet again, in 1955 as Hook a Crook.