POP GOES THE EASEL (1935) -- ThreeStooges.net

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Released March 29, 1935
Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly

Columbia
18 min. (Short Subject)

The Stooges are out-of-work vagrants looking for jobs, but run afoul of a shop owner who thinks they're thieves and calls for the police. The boys duck into a nearby art school, and are mistaken for new art students. The art world is quickly rocked with havoc, culminating in a wet clay fight with patrons and fellow students.

Moe's daughter Joan, and Larry's daughter Phyllis, appear in the hopscotch scene with the Stooges running from the cop.

Joan Howard has supported her father's legacy by appearing at numerous Stooges conventions, Fan Club meetings, and film festivals over the years. In her status as a supporting actress, Joan joined ten other actresses who worked with the Stooges, at a costar reunion held on Feb. 17, 2007 in Burbank CA; see The Three Stooges Journal # 121 (Spring 2007) for the story and photos.

Unfilmed/edited scenes found in Jules White's final shooting script, including an alternate version of the climatic clay fight scene, were transcribed in The Three Stooges Journal # 101 (Spring 2002).

Avg. Rating:

[9.12/10]

Cast List

Jerry Howard
Curly

Moe Howard
Moe

Larry Fine
Larry

Al Thompson
Man in car

William J. Irving
Man panhandled by Curly

Grace Goodall
Rich woman in car

Billy Engle
Storekeeper

Louis Mason
Detective

Joan Howard Maurer
Girl playing hopscotch

Phyllis Fine Lamond
Girl playing hopscotch

Bobby Burns
Professor Fuller

Phyllis Crane
'The Hunt' model

Leo White
French artist

Ellinor Vanderveer
Dignified woman

Jack Duffy
Bearded man

George Ovey
Little bald man

Ernie Young
Man in top hat

Doris McMahon
Model

Jack Kenney
Laughing art student

Bobby Callahan
Art student

Blanche Payson
Art student

Charles Cross
Art student

Arthur Rowlands
Art student

Delos Jewkes
Art student

Lew Davis
Art student

Neal Burns
Art student

Unidentified POP GOES THE EASEL 1
Boy with ice cream cone

Unidentified POP GOES THE EASEL 2
Woman hiring secretary

Unidentified POP GOES THE EASEL 3
Bum

Unidentified POP GOES THE EASEL 4
Workmen

Unidentified POP GOES THE EASEL 5
Art students

Production Crew

Jules White
Producer

Del Lord
Director

Felix Adler
Story and Screenplay

Henry Freulich
Photography

James Sweeney
Film Editor

Stooge Businesses (1)

Stooge Goofs (25)

Boom Mike Visible
At the beginning of the short after Moe gets hit in the head by his placard and is whistling for Larry and Curly, you can see the shadow of the boom mike in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Boom Mike Visible
A shadow of a boom mike is visible behind the stooges on the sidewalk just before the split to grab the brooms to start sweeping.

Boom Mike Visible
A shadow of the boom mike is visible above Curly's head to the right as Moe drags Larry away by the hair after being rescued from the open window.

Crew Member Visible
A crew member can be seen in the reflection of the window where the little girls are playing hopscotch.

Crew Member Visible
A crew member is visible in the window of the "Sheet Music Store" in the scene when the boys enter and exit the Art Studio the first time.

Cut in Film
There is a cut in the film right before the stooges run out of the narrow doorway and trip up the cop with the broomstick,

Disappearing Cigar
When Curly comes from behind the curtains dressed up as a woman, the detective has a cigar in his mouth, but it's suddenly gone in the next shot.

Disappearing Man in Background
When Moe gives the sign to the other peasant and leaves, you can see a man in the background coming across the street and walking to his car while putting his coat on. Then in the next shot, the man and his car in the background are suddenly gone.

Early Preparation
After Curly says "You're the cause of this!, Moe says "What about it?!, then Curly is supposed to hit him in the face with clay. But Moe can be seen closing his eyes in anticipation way before the hit.

Falling Tie
As Moe is asking Larry and Curly if they found a job, his tie accidentally falls off.

Here's Your Sign
When the man Moe gave his street sign to gets a job instead of him, Moe punches himself. The man throws the sign out of the car window, facing up, with the writing facing one way, but when it hits Moe a second later, it's still facing up, but turned around 180 degrees.

Magically Appearing Clay Spot
At the outset of the wet clay fight, it is between Moe and Larry. Curly's artist robe is clean. Larry throws a wad at Moe who ducks and the wad splats on Curly's forehead. The shot shows the splat, but also a dark wet stain on the breast of his artist robe. During the entire sequence, Curly was never struck with a clay blob on the breast of his robe. The spot just magically appears.

Magically Appearing Door
When the Stooges are finished painting the floor, there is a solid wall behind them with the pictures still mounted. Larry asks "How are we gonna get outta here without ruinin' this paint job?", and the camera cuts to the cop in the hallway as he reaches to open a door. The scene cuts back to the Stooges and there is suddenly a door painted on the wall, and it opens to admit the cop.

Missing Part
After the man says to Curly, "I wouldn't worry about it; it still tastes the same, he and Curly both turn their heads and look at something off-screen with strange looks on their faces, but it cuts to the next scene before we can see what they were looking at.

Missing Part?
When Curly throws a blob of clay, it cuts to the next shot and we see it hit a model. Something must've been cut in between those two parts because the same model could be seen in the background right behind the Stooges when the clay was thrown, and Curly didn't throw the clay toward the model, so how did it hit her?

Missing Scene
When Larry asks "How are we gonna get outta here without ruinin' this paint job?, the door behind the Stooges is not painted. Then the camera shows the detective opening the door from outside and when it shows the Stooges again, the door behind them is suddenly painted. According to a comment by BeAStooge on the message board, a scene explaining the painted door was cut from the final print.

Model Trying Not To Laugh
In the scene when the boys first start slinging clay at each other, you can see the woman modeling in the background trying not to laugh several times.

Moe Slipping
When the Stooges are running through buckets, Moe accidentally slips on the last bucket.

No Footprints
When Larry asks "How are we gonna get outta here without ruinin' this paint job?", the door behind the Stooges opens and the cop appears. The boys then race across the freshly painted floor followed closely by the cop. The very next scene shows the Stooges dashing into a wardrobe and emerging dressed as women. Neither the boys OR the cop left any "wet paint" footprints on the floor when entering the room.

Repeated Shot
At the early stages of the wet clay fight, Larry accidentally splats Moe again. Moe retaliates by splatting Larry, who then throws a wad at Moe, and Moe ducks. The next shot shows the wad of clay splatting Curly on the forehead, then Curly pulls the wad off. This shot is repeated several cuts later when the first art student throws a wad of clay at the boys.

Rough Editing
As Curly introduces Larry as his sister, immediately afterwards, as Curly says, "And this..", it cuts to a close-up of he & Moe, where he continues to say, "..is my mother." But, notice his lip movements after introducing Larry. He actually appears to continue to say, "And this is my mother", before it cuts to the close-up, but there's no audio to follow his silent lip movements.

Sudden Wardrobe Change
The Stooges run from the cop into the wardrobe and they come out dressed as women. They schmooze the cop until they are discovered, then run away. After a very brief scene showing the Art Instructor speaking to a patron, the next scene shows them running into the studio dressed in their original artists robes.

Wet Floor
After the detective wipes the paint off his face, he starts looking for the Stooges and the actor playing him accidentally slides on the wet floor and almost falls over.

Wrong Voice
When the Stooges are dressed as women, Curly talks in a feminine voice, but when he introduces Larry as his sister Crumette, he accidentally speaks in his normal voice.

X-ray vision?
When the cop sneaks into the art class for the first time, Moe yells, "The cop!" even though the cop hadn't even opened the door yet! How did Moe know the cop was on the other side of the door?

Stooge Mayhem (Avg. 5.25)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2001-09-27 13:46:00 by Shemp_Diesel
Edited 2014-11-28 16:51:33 by shemps#1

This one has it all--the stooges panhandling, running from the law, mixing with the upper crusters of society, and, of course, a big pie fight. Ok, so technically it was clay--but that's only a minor technicality. Plus, it's the debut of the great Del Lord behind the director's chair. In short, stooge heaven....

8.5 pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2010-12-18 21:38:44 by benjilbum

I love the early ones. Larry was once asked why their early films were so great, and his reply was "one word: Curly".. However they all shine here. Funny dialog and sight gags galore. The boys manage to f**k up everything they get involved with, and an art school is no diffrent. Highlights are: Chrysanthemum. Girls laughing at the boys playing hopscotch. The very cute art model (great legs). Midnight on the Ocean. Stooges as non-American students. Shufflboard. The boys in drag. Curly's Mae West impersonation. And the big clay fight of course. All the Stooge films have a surreal quality to them, but the early ones moreso.

"Oh, a pair of drawers,"

Anacanapanasan.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2010-11-21 15:11:55 by sages4stooges

I love this classic for many of the reasons already listed in other reviews. One notable but brief snippet features the flaky (and apparently toothless) old guy who asks "Is this the clay department?" and immediately gets hit in the face with clay: the goofy face he makes as he pulls the clay in strands between his hands and big nose is etched in my memory. I also liked the brief flash of feminine vanity in Moe when he's in drag and Curly introduces him as his mother.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2010-07-15 12:22:16 by Final Shemp

A strong offering from the Stooges, Pop Goes the Easel could use some refinement, but winds up satisfying.The opening on the street is classic, as the Stooges beg for food and work."Mister, I haven't tasted food in three days!""Well don't worry, it still tastes the same."The art school scenes are a lot of fun, though I can't help but wish we got a little more action with a paintbrush from the group. Something a little less stick figure and a little more of what the Stooges might try and pass off as art. We get a small taste of that late in the short in which the Stooges blindly place clay on a canvas, and stand in awe at the fact that they actually made something. Larry tries to improve it, only to wind up tossing clay everywhere.I think this portion of the short suffers because the cop jumps in every once in a while and starts chasing our boys. It seems like an unnecessary subplot at this point in the short. Although, I do like the boys in drag; especially Curly's introduction of Moe…"And this is my mother!"Good solid short, but not a great one. But the boys are still just getting started.Final Shemp's Final Word: 3 Pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2007-09-06 09:19:44 by FourthThird

Best. Stooge. Episode. Ever. Period.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2003-05-28 02:08:00 by Dubya_Scott
Edited 2006-03-24 16:30:33 by shemps#1

Great short! I'm an art student (Academy of Art, San Francisco) so I really enjoy this one. I love how the short film moves from the hobo's looking for jobs on the street to a high-class art studio, complete with flying clay! And it's cool seeing Moe's and Larry's daughters in the hop-scotch scene too. I could go on and on about this short, but that would take too long. But it's definately one of my all-time favorites. 4 eyepokes.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-04-25 14:01:00 by [Deleted Member]
Edited 2006-03-24 16:28:55 by shemps#1

I really like the early shorts... there was something more free-wheeling and nutty about them. Maybe the Stooges' screen personalities hadn't fully developed yet, but they made up for it with zany gags that often seemed ad-libbed. Example from this one: Curly "flying" the stuffed bird around, making its wings flap. Then he poses the girl upside-down and draws an upside-down picture for her! The scene with the screwy painter who can't get rid of the "spot" on his canvas is a winner, and so is Moe's solution to the problem!

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-01-11 16:13:00 by Giff me dat fill-em!
Edited 2006-03-24 16:25:21 by shemps#1

I've just re-viewed this one today, and was GUFFAWING at the young lady posing in the clay department when the fight broke out. She gets plastered in the face with white clay, then a couple of scenes later, gets belted in the chest with dark clay! Each time with a wicked look of "I'll KILL the rat who did this" look on her face! Priceless scene!!! "I am a stow-away, and YOU are a stow-away." Edited by - Giff me dat fill-em! on 1/11/2002 4:11:24 PM

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2001-01-11 20:00:00 by Mike Holme
Edited 2006-03-24 16:23:38 by shemps#1

My favorite Curly short. Everyone shines in this, the clay fight is hilarious and a big step in stoogery. My favorite scene though is when the stooges are helping an artist in the worst way they can! 4 pokes

RE: POP GOES THE EASEL (1935)
Posted 2003-10-29 09:11:00 by Benson

I can't forget the first time I took this film home and my kids were taking a look at it while I prepared for them lunch and I heard them roaring with laughter and I entered the room and saw them viewing the clay fight. I can't hold back each time I see Moe getting clobbered by Larry the second time with the clay. Just look at the expression on his kisser. Your liver will swell !

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2000-07-25 04:09:00 by Stooge
Edited 2003-06-30 00:34:00 by Stooge

Great film and it's the first time we catch a glimse of the Stooges wild pie fights (in this case, a clay fight but it's practically the same thing). Also, watch out for Larry and Moe's daughters as the two girls playing hopscotch.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2003-05-11 22:10:00 by [Deleted Member]

One of the best shorts of 1935. The clay fight at the end was the highlight. Just out of curiosity, what was the sound effect used for the clay hitting someone?

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2003-04-25 13:52:00 by stoogespice

Although there are a few non-dialogue that are a little too long, this short is very good. The funniest scenes are when they disguise themselves as "foreign" artists and then like women to fool the cop (I go hysterical when Curly says "And this is my mother!" then gets slapped)! Despite the non-dialogue scenes, this short is very enjoyable and funny to watch!

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-12-24 05:18:00 by Bruckman

One of their true classics: not only one of the best Stooge shorts of any era, but a short which compares favorably with the great comedy shorts by other comedians from the Thirties. Sight gags alternate with hilarious verbal exchanges ("Look at the grouse!") and the clay fight at the end is a meticulously built and timed confrontation which goes into overdrive at the very moment you think all's been forgiven and forgotten. Not a wasted minute from frame one--evading the detective, posing as Frenchified "artistes", falling out windows, playing "shuffleboard" while painting a floor, they're all classic gags. Unlike many early Stooge shorts, which seem a little overplotted, this one comes off as almost an improvisation, spurred on by the thinnest of plot threads--the Stooges trying to evade arrest (not unlike the similar plot motivation of Laurel and Hardy's "Another Fine Mess"). Curly can always be counted on to come up with the right thing at the wrong time: here correctly spelling "chrysanthemum" too late to avoid Moe's vindictive wrath. "What would you do if you held the Queen alone?" "That depends." "Depends on what?" "What time the King is expected back."

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-05-21 12:16:00 by BJR

Really an overrated short IMO, but still a good one. Certain scenes (the clay fight, the Stooges dressed up as women) are hilarious, but like so many other early shorts, this has a strange, slow-paced "feel" and long gaps with no dialogue. That's not good, to me. However, a lot of that is made up for by hilarious exchanges and great gags (such as pouring the paint on the ar-teest's painting).Grade: B+Rating: 7.5/10

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-05-21 08:09:00 by black banana

Classic early short, my favorite one up until this point.Having the Stooges as workmen or as artists is a can't missconcept. The Nonsense and Jewish Stooge dialogue areespecially funny to me, as is the timeless clay fight at the end.The costumes are a riot as well!4 POKES"Gentlemen, I AM AN ARTIST!"

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-04-25 01:02:00 by jaronson

Definately an A+ short. The clay fight was classic. Also, FYI, the woman who was looking at the art towards the end also appeared in the Marx Brothers movie, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, which was also made in 1935.

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-01-15 00:02:00 by [Deleted Member]

Boy, do I feel sorry for the guy who had to clean the set after this one! Whether it was clay, mud, or whatever, the fight was a classic. Curly has some highlights here: "GIMME THAT!" "Look at the grouse!" and spelling chrysantimum(?). And when Moe says "the heel has no soul", Curly looks at his shoes. 4 pokes, an early classic. Darn, I can't think of a signature!

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2002-01-11 20:59:00 by waynesworld

I always wondered what a "grouse" was, & I think its a real bird isn't it? I like the scene where Larry falls from the window & Curly says "I think he took one step too much."Outstanding short, but I don't remember Vernon Dent or Bud Jamison, the usual villans in this one."For Duty & Humanity"

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2001-02-05 05:09:00 by sickdrjoe

These early ones are amazing. The Stooges 'formula' hadn't been perfected just yet; maybe because of that, shorts like this one are more freewheeling and unpredictable. Also, I love the Depression touches in this one (the short opens with the boys holding up signs begging for jobs at passing cars).Moe slapping Curly for correctly spelling 'chrysanthemum' is brilliant: 'Where were you five minutesago?' Even though the later entries had more classic violence, these early ones are great too and should not be overlooked.

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2000-12-26 14:59:00 by Uncle Mortimer

I think it's interesting how some shorts(like this one) 'look' as though they were made earlier than ones made previous. The production quality of this one looks more like 1925, than 1935. Whereas something like "THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS" looks more sophisticated as far as film quality etc.. just an observation. Anyway, this short is great as far as material and comedic acting. And that's the important thing. I agree with the comments below. And, "LOOK AT THAT GROUSE" indeed!!!

Re: POP GOES THE EASEL
Posted 2000-09-15 19:31:00 by Ichabod Slipp

These early ones are bizarre because most of the incidental characters aren't "straight" foils to the Stooges and are a bit nutty themselves: for instance, the artist who mistakes a patch of sunlight for a mistake on his painting, the nearly deaf matron, the model who stands upside down for most of the short. Still, quite funny, especially the drag scene.

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Prod. No.:	163
Shooting Days:	5 days From: 1935-02-06 To: 1935-02-11

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