The teaming of Ed Brendel* and Shemp Howard in Pick a Peck of Plumbers" is odd. Brendel's shtick was pretending to be Swedish and he played Swedes in a ton of films (much like John Qualen). As for Shemp, well, he played total idiots...and the pair would seem to have little in common. Yet, for some strange reason Columbia Pictures thought that pairing the two would provide some laughs. Whether or not they were correct, I was curious about the teaming.
The film begins with the pair in court. They need to find jobs as soon as possible and take jobs working as plumbers....even though they know nothing about it. Not surprisingly, they end of making a huge mess of things...EXACTLY like the Three Stooges did several times in other Columbia shorts. In fact, it was almost indistinguishable for a Stooges film...apart from being SLIGHTLY less violent! An odd curio but not a particularly inspired or original film.
*FYI, Brendel wasn't Swedish but was born in the States from Irish/German parentage.