THREE PESTS IN A MESS (1945) -- ThreeStooges.net

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Released January 19, 1945
Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly

Columbia
15.33 min. (Short Subject)

The Stooges are trying to get a patent on their rather unusual fly-catching device, but they calculate that they need to catch 100,000 flies to pay for the patent. Some crooks overhear them, and misunderstand, thinking that the Stooges are the winners of the $100,000 sweepstakes.

When the crooks start chasing the Stooges, the boys hide in a sporting goods store. Curly accidentally shoots a store mannequin, and thinking it's the real thing, the Stooges panic and try to get rid of the body. They try to dump it in the alley, but a cop comes along and chases them away for trying to "dump garbage." They then decided to bury the body in a pet cemetery, but a night watch man hears them and calls the owner, who comes over with a couple of his friends from a costume party to terrify the Stooges.

THREE PESTS IN A MESS is a partial remake of the 1933 Paramount short SAILORS BEWARE! starring Walter Catlett, Eugene Pallette, and Dorothy Granger.

Avg. Rating:

[8.58/10]

Cast List

Jerry Howard
Curly

Moe Howard
Moe

Larry Fine
Larry

Brian O'Hara
I. Cheatham

Christine McIntyre
Con woman

Robert Williams
Cheatham's partner

Victor Travers
Patent Office man

Johnny Kascier
Man in window

Paul Kruger
Cop

Snub Pollard
Cemetery guard

Vernon Dent
Philip Black

Heinie Conklin
Devil

Unidentified THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Joe, skeleton

Production Crew

Hugh McCollum
Producer

Del Lord
Director

Del Lord
Story and Screenplay

Benjamin Kline
Director of Photography

Henry Batista
Film Editor

Charles Clague
Art Director

Stooge Businesses (1)

Stooge Goofs (6)

Stooge Mayhem (Avg. 1.75)

Stooge Quotes (1)

Stooge Routines (7)

Drink gushing through holes in chest or head
After getting stabbed or shot in the stomach or head several times, a Stooge takes a drink of water or liquor, and the drink gushes forth from the holes in his chest or head.
Also used in: FIDDLERS THREE · TRICKY DICKS
Human calculator
The third Stooge acts like a calculator when the Stooges need to add a few numbers up, and usually when he's done, the third Stooge pulls an actual paper out of his mouth or jacket with the final calculations on it.
Also used in: NO CENSUS, NO FEELING · CACTUS MAKES PERFECT · SING A SONG OF SIX PANTS · INCOME TAX SAPPY · SPACE SHIP SAPPY
If it ain't, don't answer me
When a villain creeps up behind a Stooge, the Stooges fearfully asks for the other Stooges, then says "Is that you? If it ain't, don't answer me!"
Also used in: MERRY MAVERICKS
Mistaking somebody's head for a door
When a Stooge is supposed to knock on a door, he isn't looking while doing it so he accidentally knocks on somebody's head instead of the door.
Also used in: CALLING ALL CURS · BOOBS IN ARMS · THREE SMART SAPS · IDLE ROOMERS · G. I. WANNA HOME · CRIME ON THEIR HANDS · DOPEY DICKS · LOVE AT FIRST BITE · BABY SITTERS JITTERS · MUSTY MUSKETEERS · HOT ICE · MUSCLE UP A LITTLE CLOSER · FIFI BLOWS HER TOP
Neverending shirts
A Stooge pulls one shirt off, only to reveal another shirt under it. This keeps going on and on until he finally gets to the last shirt.
Also used in: FROM NURSE TO WORSE · CORNY CASANOVAS · RUSTY ROMEOS
Pantlegs rising up
When the Stooges see something scary, the bottom of their pantlegs rise up in fear.
Also used in: IF A BODY MEETS A BODY
Undertaker, skeleton, and devil costumes
Three men dress up as an undertaker, skeleton, and devil and try to scare the Stooges out of a place.
Also used in: SPOOK LOUDER ·

Stooge Trivia (1)

Fan Reviews (11)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2001-09-29 14:51:00 by Shemp_Diesel
Edited 2014-11-22 12:54:20 by Shemp_Diesel

Curly's "2 Hearts" scene with Christine & his crazy Tarzan yell as he bangs that silly looking chest plate he's wearing is reason enough for 3 pokes. The rest of the short is spotty at best. Moe delivers probably his best "Whats-da-matta-wit-you " during the graveyard scene when Curly bearhugs him after being frightened by the mannequin hand.

7 pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(7)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2008-04-07 13:09:43 by Moe Hailstone
Edited 2008-04-07 16:09:58 by Dunrobin

I feel like typing out some reviews, and I'll start with this short.I recorded this on VHS a good 15+ years ago, and at the time I didn't think that it was censored. After watching this again from an uncut version via the Internet, I noticed a few things.

- The black face gag between Moe and Larry. I can see why it was cut, but it sure was funny to watch.

- Two different scenes were extended (not sure why) on my VHS version. One was where the caretaker of the cemetery hides in the bag and kicks Curly. Instead of kicking him once, they show it three times! Two with the kick and Curly making a noise and then the third time with Curly talking to the person in the bag. The second difference was with the phone ringing and Philip Black waiting to hit Curly. Instead of one ring, the swing and a miss, and then the famous yell that Curly gives, we hear the phone ring twice, and see two misses before the page is spoken.

The short started out great, but really dragged on during the Cemetery scene.It wasn't bad, just lost some of the humor towards the end. Felt more like a scary movie instead of a funny Stooge short. Christine McIntyre was beautiful as always, and Vernon Dent was great too. 3 eye pokes from me.

Reviewer's Rating:

(8)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2008-01-23 02:42:06 by Legalize Shemp

This is an oddball of a stooge short but its still really funny and fast paced. The opening scenes with Curly doing his turkey sound were great. The graveyard scenes were just as funny. 1945 seemed to be a good year for stooge films, all but 1 being pretty funny, which is interesting because Curly's health was starting to deteriorate.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2007-12-29 00:34:48 by locoboymakesgood

I just watched Three Pests in a Mess for the first time in probably 10 - 15 years. It was always one of those shorts where I remember bits and pieces but not the whole thing. The initial bit with Christine and the cemetary scenes always stuck out in my end when I thought of the Stooges in general. Having re-watched it, it's just as enjoyable now as it was then. When I was a kid this was always one of my favorites. Plot is really different; not your ypical Stooge outing but it's ones like this that stick out in your mind. Everyone's on their A-game and Curly's "CAAALLLL FOR PHILIP BLLLAACCKKK" is hilariousA solid 4-pokes.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2002-05-09 23:21:00 by [Deleted Member]
Edited 2006-03-25 09:18:08 by shemps#1

Yeah, this one's also a favorite of mine; the graveyard scene is one of those early-childhood memories that came right back to me when I watched the short for the first time in years. It's really obvious that the graveyard is an indoor set, but that makes it funnier in some strange way. Nice bit by Christine here, too, when she comes on to Curly ("Aww, let me see your hearts...") and then starts knocking him around when she finds out that she can't ever see them because he's got that steel bulletproof vest on, underneath about a dozen shirts! This scene's sort of a forerunner of the great "Cousin Basil" routine with Christine and Shemp in "Brideless Groom." I'll make a guess here that most of the younger fans (say, under 30) have no idea who Al Jolson was. Let's just say that what he lacked in talent as a singer, he made up for in sheer volume, and hamminess... The Stooges parodied him a number of times (also in "Uncivil Warriors" and some other shorts).

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2002-07-08 14:08:00 by Del Lord

One of the more frustrating shorts. Starts out well, with the goofy invention/swindlers angle, but then kind of runs out of gas, with the leaden-paced scenes in the pet cemetery seemingly out of step with the first half of the picture. (I must admit here that I'm not a huge fan of "scare" comedy) Still, there are some good bits, especially Curly's scene with Christine McIntyre. I just think it coulda been a lot better.

Reviewer's Rating:

(6)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2002-05-09 23:10:00 by BJR

Definitely a great short, one of the better from 1945.Not quite a classic... but excellent, and indeed, unique. The first half was good, and there was an excellent Moe/Larry interaction that was mentioned earlier... easily the funniest moment of the short. The second half in the pet cemetery trying to dispose of the dead "body" was the better portion for me.To those who haven't seen this, you should really order the FALSE ALARMS tape on VHS, because not only does it include FALSE ALARMS and this short, but also FLAT-FOOT STOOGES, another missing 60 short.Grade: B+Rating: 7.75/10

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2002-05-09 20:04:00 by [Deleted Member]

CAAAALL FOOORR PHILIIIPP BLAAACK!I finally got to see this short a few months ago and I'm just now getting around to saying so!Anyhow, also hilarious is all the hyjinx with the "body". The boys thought Curly shot a real man! Then came the comments about the "man's" stiffness. Later, They get to the cemetery, which they discover is a pet cemeterty. We hear Curly's hilariously appropriate line, "Do you think HE was somebody's pet?" Still later, the "body" kept "jumping" out of the grave and hitting Curly!Great short all around- and one of my all-time favorites with Curly.Larry: You know, fish is good brain food.Moe: You know, you should fish for a whale! (SLAP)

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2001-08-23 20:30:00 by Mike Holme

The best short in Del Lord's period of decline, but I suspect the reason why they were not so good is because he wrote them himself. He was a good director, but he probably wasn't that great of a writer. I thought this short was the exception, this is a great short. The pet cemetery scenes are hilarious and fun to watch. 3 1/2 pokesEdited by - Mike Holme on 9/27/2001 6:40:32 PM

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2001-08-23 04:03:00 by [Deleted Member]

I haven't seen this short in a heck of a long time, but I know it was one of my favorites of all time! They didn't want to just use those halloween costumes once, did they? No, they must've kept them in good enough conditionfrom "Spook Louder" from two years earlier and really loved using them the first time around.This really is a great short. The boys' hyjinx in the hallway reminds me of their hyjinx in the hallway in "Dutiful but Dumb" when they were trying to photograph the newly married couple. I tend to think it was the very same hallway, but I could be wrong.Larry and Moe's "Mammy!"-"Pappy!" interaction was hilarious! ISLIPP- on the ink from that scene. ©2001Edited by - ISLIPP on 8/23/01 4:05:57 AM

Re: THREE PESTS IN A MESS
Posted 2001-01-05 19:54:00 by Uncle Mortimer

Here's one I really wish AMC would play!(A favorite from my childhood.) If your unsure how good Christine McIntyre is, watch the "Show me your hearts!" scene. She's awesome! At the end of that scene, there's a good MOE/LARRY moment. Christine throws a jar of ink at Curly, but it hits Moe in the face. Moe backs into the hallway(looking like Al Jolson). Larry sees him, gets down on one knee and exclaims:"MAMMY!" Moe says "PAPPY" and hits him in the face! I love the 'stiff' in the body bag scene at the Ever Rest Pet Cemetery. (with the hand slapping Curly on top of the head every time he pulls the bag over his shoulder.) The DEVIL, SKELETON & VILLAIN (just like in "Spook Louder")are good too. As far as the abrupt black screen at the end, I don't know why that was done..but I like it; somehow, it seems right for this short.

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Prod. No.:	4022
Shooting Days:	4 days From: 1944-06-22 To: 1944-06-26

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