And Ed Bernds seemed to get out of Columbia at just the right time, as it wasn't too long after this short that the decline with Jules White using stock footage in many of the shorts would start. And I've always been a Jules White fan, but I admit that the quality of the stooge shorts went downhill starting in 1953.All that aside, "Gents" is a great one and perhaps--in my mind--Emil Sitka's greatest performance in a stooge comedy, as poor Uncle Phineas, who seems to get bumped and knocked around more than the human body can endure. And watch for that great knee-shot he takes in the closing minutes of this short, heh.A great three stooges comedy--Ed Bernds went out on a high note.

This is one of Shemp's best and the first time I saw it, I really didn't think much of it until I saw it again a year later.The stooges are trying to pay their rent by remodeling an apartment and they aren't making good progress. Shemp then gets a telegram that his Uncle Phineas is coming to visit (along with $6,000,000.00). A woman then asks for a cup of sugar. Shemp leads her into the kitchen and she trips on a pile of cake batter on the floor, losing her dress. Rocky Dugan (her husband) then has the stooges in his clutches and almost disposes of them.I think that this stooge short is underrated and should be in the top ten Stooge classics. To be honest, I thought the part when Rocky Dugan hurts Shemp was painful to watch. I hope they had Joe Palma or someone stand in for him on that part.

"Gents in a Jam" is the last Three Stooges short directed by the dependable Edward Bernds (before his and producer Hugh McCollum's falling-out with producer/director Jules White), and the title is very appropriate for all the trouble the Stooges endure.Without revealing every single gag in the short, let me just state a few highlights (if you have not yet seen "Gents in a Jam," don't read this commentary). Moe, Larry, and Shemp go through plenty of great gags in trying to spruce up their apartment as a clever way of paying their rent, but, as expected, they foul up and make a gigantic mess of things; perhaps the funniest gag of all is that of Shemp making a cake, with an appropriate sound effect as the cake batter flies in the air and lands on Moe's head. Additionally, "Gents in a Jam" offers Stooge fans a special treat: Beloved character actor Emil Sitka portrays arguably his best physical role in this short as Shemp's rich, aging Uncle Phineas (Sitka was only in his late thirties at the time, yet he had played old men numerous times on stage and with the Stooges). When Phineas pays the Stooges a visit, he gets shoved, pushed, kicked, trampled, and knocked silly, when all he wanted was a quiet, peaceful visit.In conclusion, Three Stooges fans will surely get a big bang out of this wonderfully funny short. The directing style of Edward Bernds has taught us to never overlook the supporting actors, as they receive a share of the spotlight as well.

Excellent, fast-paced short dealed with Moe, Larry and Shemp facing eviction from their landlady, and the only bright prospect being a financial rescue by Shemp's rich Uncle Phineas (hilariously played by Emil Sitka in a stand-out performance). One of the last really outstanding Stooge shorts featuring Shemp, before increased budgetary restrictions by Columbia forced the team to rely on a significant use of stock footage from earlier films.