Cash and Carry (1937)

metaldams · **on:** October 12, 2013, 10:08:32 AM

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028697/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/25

One of the greatest Three Stooges shorts. This is the short where as characters, the boys are their most likable. Early on it's established that they are poor, hungry, and live in a shack in the city dump. They run into a young boy who needs an operation on his leg and his older sister living in their home. Once they realize the siblings dire circumstances, they allow them to stay in their home, in spite of the fact the Stooges don't have it so well themselves. Then they find the can with 62 dollars which they could've easily used for themselves. When they find out it's for the boy's operation, not only do they give it back, but they offer to invest it. Again, even being poor themselves, the boys look out for the welfare of others in this short, making this an unusual Stooge film.

CASH AND CARRY is not just all story and character, this is a Stooge short we're talking about here, so there's plenty of good slapstick that enhances the story as well. The scene where they are digging the big who in the ground is extended Stooge slapstick at its finest. The Three Stooges and tools is always a winning combination. My favorite exchange is when Larry pokes Moe in the eye with a shovel, and Moe pokes Larry after an "eye for an eye" remark, and then slaps Curly in the mouth after a "tooth for a tooth " remark. Brilliant set up, I got a huge laugh out of it.

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but over ten years ago, whether it was here or on the old C3 board, I remember Sonny Bupp, or at least somebody claiming to be Sonny Bupp, made a post. He joked that yes, he's still alive. Maybe I'm dreaming, but I swear it happened. Sonny of course also played Charles Foster Kane's kid in Citizen Kane, one of the many Citizen Kane/Three Stooges connections.

Overall, an all-time favorite of mine.

10/10

Shemp_Diesel · **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2013, 10:51:17 AM

Cash and Carry to me has always been good, not great. I get what you are saying Metal about the stooges characters being written as extremely likeable, but to me it seems a bit heavy handed at times & I think the stooges are at their best when they are not being so altruistic. A little petty larceny here & there and some bending of the law never hurts.

Of course the whole short doesn't bleed syrup & there is some mighty fine stooge mayhem that occurs once the boys go digging for treasure. Definitely the highlight of the film.

Overall I rate it a solid 7...

JazzBill · **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2013, 08:40:35 PM

I had a lot of fun doing the research on this one. First, I came across a Three Stooges review site posted by a couple of guys called zillis. They gave a big shoutout to someone named "Metaldams78". I think I know that guy. Then I ran across this.

Here's another short I didn't realize was so good till I took a good hard look at it. But then again, how can you go wrong when Del Lord and Clyde Bruckman are involved. The boys are in top form and you see a little softer side of them. They are doing the best they can to help a little boy get an operation. Bits I like are Curly trying to catch the motor that blew out of the car. I also like Moe pulling Curly in the hole after Curly drops the bucket on his head. I thought the ending was a nice touch with the back shot of a F.D.R. look alike. I have moved this one into my top favorites list and I rate it a 9.

metaldams · **Reply #3 on:** October 13, 2013, 08:44:52 AM

Quote from: JazzBill on October 12, 2013, 08:40:35 PM

I had a lot of fun doing the research on this one. First, I came across a Three Stooges review site posted by a couple of guys called zillis. They gave a big shoutout to someone named "Metaldams78". I think I know that guy.

Yeah, I've heard of Metaldams78 before. The poor bastard has a face that looks like mine. Yeah, Zillis had a YouTube Stooge review channel up, I think they stopped only a couple of shorts later than we're at. Those guys loved Phyllis Crane.

metaldams · **Reply #4 on:** October 13, 2013, 08:53:20 AM

Quote from: Shemp_Diesel on October 12, 2013, 10:51:17 AM

Cash and Carry to me has always been good, not great. I get what you are saying Metal about the stooges characters being written as extremely likeable, but to me it seems a bit heavy handed at times & I think the stooges are at their best when they are not being so altruistic. A little petty larceny here & there and some bending of the law never hurts.

Of course the whole short doesn't bleed syrup & there is some mighty fine stooge mayhem that occurs once the boys go digging for treasure. Definitely the highlight of the film.

Overall I rate it a solid 7...

I don't think it's heavy handed at all. They pretty much get to the point of the kid's problems fairly quickly and some comic situation, like Curly's attempt at math or them going to the bank and learning of the 104 year interest growth, stems from it. I guess we all have a different threshold for these things, but to me it strikes a nice balance. You feel sorry for the kid, but it never dwells on too long at any given moment.

Shemp_Diesel · **Reply #5 on:** October 13, 2013, 09:18:49 AM

Different strokes, I guess. Like I said before, it just seems a little odd when the stooges are being portrayed as do-gooders. I think I have the same problem with Nutty But Nice, but I'm sure we'll get to that later.

And I almost forgot one of my favorite exchanges from this short; canned coin...

JazzBill · **Reply #6 on:** October 13, 2013, 09:45:16 AM

I don't think I would have liked to see the boys being do-gooders in every short. But for a couple shorts it seemed a nice change of pace.

Lefty · **Reply #7 on:** October 13, 2013, 09:46:47 AM

"Walla Walla with an 'X'." I would not be surprised if the city is mostly known by this Stooges short outside the Pacific Northwest.

"Cash and Carry" is a good short. The best scenes involve the Stooges digging around in the old house. Sometime around 2041-2042, the $62 will have grown to $500. Well, it would have done that in the 1980s before the bank deregulation came along. Now it would take until the year 2525.

"Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post." Oh, sabotoogie, eh?

Kopfy2013 · **Reply #8 on:** October 15, 2013, 10:41:19 PM

I agree with metal. It is a great short because of the subject matter. It is different than most of the shorts. Variety helps make this short and it is a memorable short because of that.

Moe pulling Curly into the hole is my highlight also 'I'll make a note of that!"

falsealarms · **Reply #9 on:** October 16, 2013, 12:30:50 PM

I'm not a big fan of the pathos, but the rest of the short is so good that it's still an upper-tier Curly-era offering.

Larrys#1 · **Reply #10 on:** December 18, 2013, 12:04:14 PM

Funny episode. I always like seeing the stooges digging for gold. Funny part where the stooges bring the money to the bank and the teller says to them they have to wait 104 years for it to grow to $500 and when Moe says they can't wait that long, Curly is like, "Why not? Time marches on!" Curly hammering on the X on the wall was especially funny... the building falling on Moe's head and trapping him in the wall and then Curly tears the building down causing Moe and Larry to slide down. And Curly finding that "first step that everyone tells you to watch out for." And Larry is like, "Well don't lose it." A lot of funny lines in this episode. It's also funny when the stooges dig for the money and finding themselves trapped in the hole just when the dynamite was about to blow up.

My only complaint was that I found the beginning a bit slow. And I didn't care for the whole stooges as do-gooders, like others have said.

9/10

Paul Pain · **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2014, 04:19:11 AM

Quote from: Lefty on October 13, 2013, 09:46:47 AM

"Walla Walla with an 'X'." I would not be surprised if the city is mostly known by this Stooges short outside the Pacific Northwest.

"Cash and Carry" is a good short. The best scenes involve the Stooges digging around in the old house. Sometime around 2041-2042, the $62 will have grown to $500. Well, it would have done that in the 1980s before the bank deregulation came along. Now it would take until the year 2525.

"Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review your post." Oh, sabotoogie, eh?

Garfield and Friends constantly makes Walla Walla jokes.

Paul Pain · **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2016, 03:41:51 PM

A good short. This short introduces a new side to the Stooges: a nurturing, almost father-like, attitude toward the "children" (Harlene Wood was in her 20s despite being portrayed as a teenager here). We have them agree to do a little nicety for the children, and this is just a little slice in the grand scheme of typical Stoogedom on either side. We get to see "FDR," the destruction of a house, robbing from the U.S. treasury... what more is needed? There isn't a single thing to dislike as we even get unique gags, like Moe getting caught in the wall, Curly trying to catch the engine, etc.

10/10

Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80 · **Reply #13 on:** November 17, 2017, 10:21:57 PM

One of my Top 10 favorite Curly shorts, I loved how we get a chance to see the tender and more compassionate side of the Stooges yet they still remain their funny selves, I also loved the digging scenes where Larry and Curly were constantly hitting Moe with the tools (although by accident) along with the scene where a beam falls on Moe's neck while his head was inside the wall, I've thought the ending was one of the happiest we get to see in a Stooges short (I love movies and shows with happy endings).

This short gets a 10/10 for me, also wasn't this Elwood Ullman's first short he wrote for the Three Stooges?

Dr. Mabuse · **Reply #14 on:** May 29, 2020, 02:08:24 AM

"Gee, Mr. President, you're a swell guy!"

A genuine anomaly, "Cash and Carry" emerges as a fascinating blend of Stooge slapstick, uncharacteristic sentimentality and New Deal optimism. With Del Lord at the helm, it all works. Excellent cinematography by the great Lucien Ballard. As much as I enjoy the overall short, I'm glad the Stooges didn't make another two-reeler in this vein. Author Rob King discusses "Cash and Carry" at length in his essential 2017 book Hokum!: The Early Sound Slapstick Short and Depression-Era Mass Culture.

9/10

metaldams · **Reply #15 on:** May 29, 2020, 08:38:48 PM

Quote from: Dr. Mabuse on May 29, 2020, 02:08:24 AM

"Gee, Mr. President, you're a swell guy!"

A genuine anomaly, "Cash and Carry" emerges as a fascinating blend of Stooge slapstick, uncharacteristic sentimentality and New Deal optimism. With Del Lord at the helm, it all works. Excellent cinematography by the great Lucien Ballard. As much as I enjoy the overall short, I'm glad the Stooges didn't make another two-reeler in this vein. Author Rob King discusses "Cash and Carry" at length in his essential 2017 book Hokum!: The Early Sound Slapstick Short and Depression-Era Mass Culture.

9/10

I’ll have to look into that book. Thanks.

Daddy Dewdrop · **Reply #16 on:** December 10, 2021, 08:08:04 AM

This one is a bit too maudlin for my tastes, but it has its moments.

#106. Cash And Carry

Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80 · **Reply #17 on:** December 10, 2021, 07:01:36 PM

Quote from: Daddy Dewdrop on December 10, 2021, 08:08:04 AM

This one is a bit too maudlin for my tastes, but it has its moments.

#106. Cash And Carry

The digging scenes and the scenes where Moe was getting hit with the tools is up there with some of my all time favorite Stooge moments.

Samurai · **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2023, 12:47:39 AM

Quote from: metaldams on October 13, 2013, 08:44:52 AM

...Those guys loved Phyllis Crane.

My guess is because they couldn't spell Ethelreda.

Review-wise, I love this one for the mayhem Moe receives...primarily the pick/shovels and the sledgehammer in the head (along with one of the best sound fx with said sledge). Slow start, entertaining finish. And, the FDR guy was eerily convincing.

metaldams · **Reply #19 on:** August 22, 2023, 07:59:56 PM

Ethelreda - Phyllis, can one really go wrong with either?

I know it would have been socially unacceptable at the time, but FDR telling Moe he’s got a new deal and Moe saying, “Here’s the old one” and giving him two in the eye would make me smile.

Samurai · **Reply #20 on:** August 22, 2023, 10:43:42 PM

Quote from: metaldams on August 22, 2023, 07:59:56 PM

Ethelreda - Phyllis, can one really go wrong with either?

I know it would have been socially unacceptable at the time, but FDR telling Moe he’s got a new deal and Moe saying, “Here’s the old one” and giving him two in the eye would make me smile.

I. Cheatam · **Reply #21 on:** September 05, 2023, 12:09:30 PM

Quote from: Larrys#1 on December 18, 2013, 12:04:14 PM

Funny episode. I always like seeing the stooges digging for gold. Funny part where the stooges bring the money to the bank and the teller says to them they have to wait 104 years for it to grow to $500 and when Moe says they can't wait that long, Curly is like, "Why not? Time marches on!" Curly hammering on the X on the wall was especially funny... the building falling on Moe's head and trapping him in the wall and then Curly tears the building down causing Moe and Larry to slide down. And Curly finding that "first step that everyone tells you to watch out for." And Larry is like, "Well don't lose it." A lot of funny lines in this episode. It's also funny when the stooges dig for the money and finding themselves trapped in the hole just when the dynamite was about to blow up.

My only complaint was that I found the beginning a bit slow. And I didn't care for the whole stooges as do-gooders, like others have said.

9/10

I agree.