I’m a huge Stooges fan, but the stuff they did after the thirties and forties was pretty bad. No, Shemp was not Curly, but Shemp was pretty funny as well. Sometimes acts have to realize when it’s time to quit. Maybe some of the Stooges needed the money, but virtually all their routines from the fifties on were dreck.
I’m in agreement, basically. The Stooges shorts’ hit a great stride in the mid-to-late-1930s, with the development of their characters and the slick, streamlined production quality of their shorts. By the mid-40s, they were already losing steam somewhat, and the shorts becoming rather slipshod, becoming just a meandering series of gags. But, when Shemp joined, he did perk things up a bit for a few years in the late-40s, especially those shorts directed by Edward Bernds, which were very well structured, almost like little mini-movies. Didn’t last too long though, unfortunately. Things got pretty dire after that.
I’m also fairly fond of Columbia’s Andy Clyde short-subjects from that same mid-to-late-1930s window. Very well done, for the most part. Other Columbia series tend to be pretty hit-or-miss.