Pick a Peck of Plumbers (1944) User Reviews

I'll take nearsightedness any day over a bad Swedish accent.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 11 January 2019]

Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges had opportunities to appear in feature films and shorts without his long-time partners, and in this one he is paired with one of the most annoying comics in film history: El Brendl. I'm certainly not a fan of the violent comedy that the Three Stooges put out for decades, but I'll take those over the annoying cheerful way that El Brendl expresses himself with that annoying Swedish accent, especially when he declares "Yumpin' Yimminy". Here, the two take on jobs as plumbers, and obviously are so stupid they wouldn't even know how to turn off a sink.

Of course there is a traditional Shemp Howard bit of violent comedy, but it is done in ways that actually are funny, especially when he attempts to fill up a tool chest and the tools bounce back at him and hit him in the head because of a rubber tire inside the chest. I delighted in seeing El Brendel get knocked on the noggin several times, but that's for completely different reasons. When they go to a woman's house to help her find her ring that she accidentally knocked down the drain, it's more visual humor and plenty of laughs as long as El Brendel doesn't speak. Thanks to Shemp, however, this ends up being funnier than I expected, especially when I found myself laughing and anticipation of an obvious gag coming up.

Ed Brendel AND Shemp Howard?!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 4 June 2018]

The teaming of Ed Brendel* and Shemp Howard in Pick a Peck of Plumbers" is odd. Brendel's shtick was pretending to be Swedish and he played Swedes in a ton of films (much like John Qualen). As for Shemp, well, he played total idiots...and the pair would seem to have little in common. Yet, for some strange reason Columbia Pictures thought that pairing the two would provide some laughs. Whether or not they were correct, I was curious about the teaming.



The film begins with the pair in court. They need to find jobs as soon as possible and take jobs working as plumbers....even though they know nothing about it. Not surprisingly, they end of making a huge mess of things...EXACTLY like the Three Stooges did several times in other Columbia shorts. In fact, it was almost indistinguishable for a Stooges film...apart from being SLIGHTLY less violent! An odd curio but not a particularly inspired or original film.

*FYI, Brendel wasn't Swedish but was born in the States from Irish/German parentage.

Mutually Assured Destruction

[boblipton · 3/10 · 9 June 2019]

El Brendel and Shemp Howard are two plumbers summoned to a house to find a diamond ring lost in a sink in this typical, ham-handedly executed Columbia comedy short.

Most of the Jules White comedy-of-destruction gags are on view here, including setting people on fire, drowning them -- the gas and water lines are substituted for each other -- and things thrown in people's faces -- here it's supposed to be mashed potatoes --amidst cheap props, loud sound effects, and shooting errors that should have been reshot, like the crew member's backside when the camera catches a glimpse of it -- except for Mr. White's contempt for his audience.

Comedies of pure destruction amuse some people vastly. As you might guess, they don't amuse me.

Shemp solo...

[simeon_flake · 4/10 · 20 March 2017]

Apparently, when Shemp Howard ventured to Columbia Pictures to star in his own series of shorts for the comedy department, Jules White and the crew were not sure what do do with the once and future stooge.

Also, there was a dark period in American comedy history when "Dialect Comedians" were considered all the rage--explaining why Shemp was teamed with the comically challenged Swede, El Brendel. Just thinking about "Dialect Comedians" gets my mind going to dark places, like the woefully unfunny "Gobs of Fun" from Shemp's early Vitaphone days.

Aside from Benny Rubin--who I'm not sure was just classified as a dialect comic--the whole shtick does very little for me; much like this short. Fortunately, for Shemp he was given much better material not long after this--such as "Where the Pest Begins."

4 stars

Standard, but funny thanks to Shemp

[goofonaroof · 8/10 · 7 August 2018]

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.

Yumppin Yimminy!

[gattonero975 · 8/10 · 14 June 2020]

This amusing but awkward short was a pleasure to see. It was done by the same team that does The Three Stooges short so it is no surprise to see many of The Three Stooges foils in uncredited parts like John Tyrrell ,who had a dual role as the judge and a plumbing customer, Al Thompson as the proprietor of the plumbing store and Heine Conklin as the groundskeeper at the house where Shemp and Ed wreak havoc. Also of interest Was that in the background there is an uncredited Joe Palma who we all know double for Shemp in quite a few shorts when Shemp had passed away and Columbia needed to fulfill the contract with just Moe and Larry for a time being. it is basically a Three Stooges scenario situation but what just Shep and his Lackey causing the shenanigans instead of the actual Three Stooges. There's is even a shot that should have been reshot but they let it stay as is when the water from upstairs falls on the lady and her friends playing bridge you can actually see in the background one of the crew members if it wasn't Jules White himself move out of the way trying not to get splashed by the water!