User Reviews

I caught this short film this morning on AMC, and yes, it was indeed a remake. However, I liked the sequence involving the devil and his dancing associate, played beautifully by Sylvia Lewis. Her scenes were, to say the least, devilish! She has to be one of the most gorgeous women even to play in a Stooge short.

And of course, the rest of the short is fun to watch as well.

One thing that sticks out for this short is that it premiered in April 1955. Seven months later, Shemp Howard died of a heart attack. In retrospect, there is an element of sadness with this film, given what happened in real life. Still, it is well worth watching, especially for the scenes in heaven!

"Bedlam in Paradise" is OK for a Three Stooges short but it's bizarre, and part of the reason why is because it is a remake, with stock footage, of another oddball Stooge comedy titled "Heavenly Daze" (1948). As a refreshing change of pace, however, Shemp is invisible to Moe and Larry throughout most of this remake, as in the original, and it's kind of nice to see Shemp taking advantage of that.

There aren't many highlights in this particular film, but here are a couple. While in Heaven, Shemp encounters the Devil (brilliantly portrayed by Philip Van Zandt) and dances with a slinky female devil named Helen Blazes (Sylvia Lewis). Moe's and Larry's phony fountain pen invention goes haywire, splatting whipped cream onto themselves and their prospective buyers (Victor Travers and Symona Boniface); the pen itself flies into Larry's forehead and, in real life, punctures his skin!

As stated above, "Bedlam in Paradise" is weird. The premise of Shemp actually dying in the opening scene may not sit well with an audience, since virtually NOBODY dies in a Three Stooges comedy ("Crime on Their Hands" [1948] and "Pals and Gals" [1954] are exceptions). But this short (and the original) is unique in its weirdness, so just accept it for what it is and try to enjoy it.

"Bedlam in Paradise" is a 16-minute black-and-white live action short film from 1955, so this one is already over 60 years old and the mentions of director White and writer Adler are already enough for some to realize that we have indeed another Three Stooges short at hand here. This is from the days when Curly had tragically died already and it soon would be Shemp's time to go, which makes the plot actually way sadder than it was intended to. It came out very similarly, but of course under a different name out in 1948 already and I personally think that should have dufficed. No need for a remake. One of the more intetresting aspects to it is that it has Moe act several characters in the tradition of the (very) old Hollywood days and it is nothing you will see too often in Stooges works. Some of the supporting cast members are people who have worked in several other Stooges (short) films too. Overall, I may have been more generous had this been an original work, but yeah as it's close to being a copy, I just cannot give out a positive recommendation here. Besides, all the pie fight humor in the second half just isn't my thing at all. Sorry folks. If you liked that approach in other Stooges films (yep it is repetitive too), then feel free to watch this one and I am sure you will enjoy it more than I did. I gotta give it a thumbs-down though. Not recommended despite certain scenes and moments and the film's title that don't feel like generic Stooge material.