Pest Man Wins (1951) User Reviews

equal to the original

[spiders-man2099 · 8/10 · 28 April 2003]

Both this short and it's counterpart ANTS IN THE PANTRY are excellent entries in the long list of stooge shorts. Both are equal in the laughs department and both suffer from somewhat weak endings that deflate the film a bit, with the pie fight ending for this version relying heavily on stock footage from HALF-WITS HOLIDAY & thus, knocking my rating down a bit. Jules White seemed to be developing a fetish for reusing old footage when the 50's rolled around(He also reuses the "Half-Wits" footage in one of those clunkers made after Shemp died(Scheming Schemers).

8/10

Mixture of old footage and new footage, but it works

[GrigoryGirl · 8/10 · 11 December 2022]

This is one of those "cut and paste" Stooge shorts, aka a "new" short with new footage and stock footage mixed into it. It's a remake of an earlier short with Curly (Ants in the Pantry) with Moe, Larry, and Shemp going through pretty much a scene by scene remake for the most part. They even lift pie throwing footage from In the Sweet Pie and Pie and Half Wit's Holiday (Curly's last short). So it's kind of fun to see how much footage is new footage, and how much is stock footage aka footage from other shorts. Despite the cutting and pasting, the short is still entertaining and quite funny. There's a few continuity flubs where the old footage doesn't really "mix" well with the new stuff, but it's still a good short.

Moths, Mice, And Ants (And, Yes, A Custard Cream Pie Right In the Kisser, Too)

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 7 May 2020]

(*Memorable "party guest" quote*) - "You disgraceful vagabonds!"

It seems that for the frustrated exterminators, Shemp, Larry, and Moe working for the Lightning Pest Control Co. is proving to be a colossally futile profession, all around.

But when Larry excitedly shares (with his 2 fellow stooges) his brainstorm scheme about how to improve business (through devious methods) that's when things really begin to look up for our downhearted boys.

For the most part - I was actually quite entertained by this vintage comedy-short from 1951 (and I especially enjoyed the frantic-paced finale that involved lots of pastries being tossed through the air).

One of Shemp's best!

[slymusic · 17 June 2005]

Directed by Jules White, "Pest Man Wins" is one of my two favorite Three Stooges shorts with Shemp, the other being the classic Western "Punchy Cowpunchers" (1950), directed by Edward Bernds. One author noted that the pie fight in "Pest Man Wins" is arguably the wildest pie fight the Stooges ever tackled, what with the background noises of people screaming, the thirty-some pies that made successful hits, and the stock footage from "In the Sweet Pie and Pie" (1941) and "Half-Wits Holiday" (1947), both directed by Jules White.

The pie fight is by far the best part of this short, but there are other highlights as well. When Moe and Shemp escape from upstairs after filling the bedroom and bathroom with their pests (naturally, they "bug" the house so that they can be hired to exterminate them), Shemp accidentally bashes Moe's head with the Stooges' trunk three times. And later on, when a mouse jumps down the back of one of the party guests (played by long-time Stooges foil Vernon Dent), he arises from the sofa and gyrates into a wild and crazy dance; as they have done in other shorts, the Stooges then decide to join him!

Some fans might be put off by the reused pie fight stock footage in this short and in "Scheming Schemers" (1956) and "Pies and Guys" (1958), and that is understandable. Be that as it may, "Pest Man Wins" still contains a remarkable pie fight, so just enjoy it and gain a few laughs from it.

regular Stooges stuff

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 11 March 2024]

The boys plants pest around a mansion hosting a high class party so that wealthy owners would hire the Stooges for pest control. They have to dress as guests while doing the work.

This Stooges short has Shemp. They do a lot of hitting and that's good. It is the usual put-on skit against the snooty upper crust and ends with the standard food fight. I like the silver bit for the other guy, but this is mostly the regular Stooges doing Stooges things. Aside from the usual, they do have a lot of real animals although I'm more worried that they don't hammer a mice by accident while flinging them around on a string.

Do you see spots in front of your eyes....

[simeon_flake · 9/10 · 23 June 2013]

That's the question that Larry asks Moe after giving him a piece of cheese laced with rat poison. "Pest Man Wins" is a rarity in the fact that it's a remake that tops the original "Ants in the Pantry" with Curly.

Now "Ants" was a very good film in its own right, but here in "Pest" the short moves a bit quicker, the redone gags are a little funnier than they were in the original (see the hilarious "Clap and Dance" routine when Vernon Dent gets a mouse down his shirt) and there's a big pie fight at the end.

If I had one quibble with the film is that maybe Jules White reused a little too much stock footage during the pie fight instead of inserting more new shots of Shemp, but as I said it's only a minor gripe.

"Pest Man Wins" is a first rate job. Fans of the stooges should really enjoy this one.

Great one!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 9 August 2005]

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

This is one of My favorite Three Stooges shorts with Shemp! All Appearing in this short are Margie Liszt, Nanette Bordeaux, Emil Sitka, Vernon Dent, Helen Dickson, Mary Ainslee, Symona Boniface, and Heinie Conklin! This one is so hilarious! Shemp has a great performance here and in My opinion its one of his best. There are two others similar like this one called Ants in the Pantry and Termites of 1938! I strongly recommend all three of these Three Stooges shorts!

Second best of the Curly to Shemp remakes.

[crusefamily · 4 October 2001]

THE PEST MAN WINS is one of my top ten Three Stooges films. It's a tough decision between which pie fighting film I like best between PEST MAN WINS or IN THE SWEET PIE & PIE. This short is a remake of the Curly classic ANTS IN THE PANTRY. But Jules White added a great pie fight, which was missing from the original.

Most of the pie footage is really stock footage of HALF-WITS HOLIDAY and IN THE SWEET PIE & PIE. This is a great short and I recommend it to all stooge fans.

**** out of 4 stars.