The few remaining Curly episodes are as good as ever, but it doesn't take much to see that his health is failing. The last few Curly shorts are rather scaled when compared to previous shorts, leaving "Half-wits Holiday" as the only real stand-out. However, the short is more noteable as being the one where Curly suffered from a stroke on the final day of shooting, leading to his retirement from the group. He was later replaced with Shemp who, ironically enough, was the guy Curly had replaced years earlier.
When it comes to Curly replacements, Shemp is, without question, one of the best. It really helps that Shemp was an original Stooge; the chemistry is evident in the new group's first short together and carries on throughout the rest of their run. While I wouldn't go as far as to call these episodes "classics," the addition of Shemp infuses new life into the trio. Some of the plots are retreads of previous shorts, though with Shemp, there's enough of a difference that they're enjoyable.
Considering how big of an event this was in the history of the Stooges, I was expecting to see some sort of feature highlighting either Curly's life or how the group changed with the inclusion of Shemp, who before joining the group had a fairly successful solo career. But, as with past entries into the series, the cupboard is bare. I still can't believe there isn't some Stooge-ologist or someone out there who can't do a small retrospective on the group.
While not a "must own" volume in the set, The Three Stooges Collection: Volume Five: 1946 - 1948 is still a good buy for fans looking to complete the set or at least interested in one more year of Curly.
