The final Three Stooges short to receive a theatrical release \u2013 although it was not the final short to be produced at the Columbia Pictures studio \u2013 \u201cSappy Bull Fighters\u201d is a rehash of the 1942 \u201cWhat\u2019s the Matador?\u201d, with the silly trio playing entertainers who get hired to perform a comedy bullfight during a lull in a genuine bullfighting tournament.
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Besides using stock footage from the earlier film \u2013 with Joe Besser replacing his predecessor Curly Howard in the brunt of the slapstick \u2013 this short also replicates the 1942 film\u2019s subplot of the Stooges running afoul of the jealous Mexican husband of a lovely se\u00f1ora who befriends them \u2013 in this case, the curvaceous blonde Greta Thyssen who decorated several of the trio\u2019s later films.<\/p>\n
As with the other entries in the Besser-era Stooges flicks, the film struggles to rise to a level of being amusing and falls short in its pursuit of classic comedy \u2013 although Thyssen deserves merit for her va-va-voom appearance and Besser’s gentle humor is a mild saving grace to an otherwise quotidian romp. <\/p>\n
Outside of its historical footnote as being the last of the team\u2019s 190 shorts, \u201cSappy Bull Fighters\u201d is notable for an unbilled young woman who is seen in the first few minutes as a rehearsing dancer at the theater setting where the film begins. This woman has no screen credit, but some researchers insist this is a young Mary Tyler Moore at the start of her career. She can be seen on the far left of the photo at the top of this review \u2013 do you think that\u2019s a pre-famous Mary Tyler Moore?<\/p>\n