Make 'Em Laugh (The Funny Business of America)
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NERTSERY RHYMES (1933)
- This is the first film appearance of Curly.Source: Ted Healy & His Stooges filmography
Added by archiezappa on 2009-05-30 02:34:35
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Paparazzi/newsreel footage promoting THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY (1933), of the Stooges and Primo Carnera, may have been in theatres earlier than NERTSERY RHYMES. If confirmed, this would actually be Curly's first released film appearance. - This was the first time Ted Healy & The Stooges appear in Technicolor.
- The original and technically proper title of the song "The Turn of a Fan" as intended for the musical revue feature "The March of Time" (MGM, 1930) was "The Fan Episode". The singer is Lottice Howell.
WOMAN HATERS (1934)
- Marjorie White was killed in an automobile accident shortly after the production.Source: The Three Stooges Scrapbook
Added by archiezappa on 2009-03-22 07:44:06
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Ms. White died 8/21/35, more than a year after filming WOMAN HATERS. - This was the debut of supporting actor Bud Jamison, who also had the honor of being the first to perform the eye-poke routine in a Stooges short.
- The only Stooge short directed by Archie Gottler.
THE BIG IDEA (1934)
- The Radio Rogues went on to star in three short subject films at Columbia in 1935.Source: The Columbia Comedy Shorts, by Ted Okuda & Ed Watz
Added by archiezappa on 2009-06-02 02:46:32
Status: Confirmed - This was the final MGM short subject starring Ted Healy & His Stooges.Source: Ted Healy & His Stooges filmography
Added by archiezappa on 2009-06-02 02:51:27
Status: Confirmed
PUNCH DRUNKS (1934)
- Curly was fighting against a real pro boxer in this short and received a bloody nose and a cut lip!Source: MR77190
Added by Dunrobin on 2009-03-22 11:24:28
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: 'Killer Kilduff' was played by actor Al Hill, not a professional boxer. But yes, Curly reportedly did receive a bloody nose and cut lip.
THE CAPTAIN HATES THE SEA (1934)
- This is the Stooges first feature film appearance for Columbia Pictures.
- The long shot of the ship, The San Capeador was used as stock footage for the ship in the 1949 Three Stooges short DUNKED IN THE DEEP (and its 1956 remake COMMOTION ON THE OCEAN) but the scene was reversed, making the lettering on the ship read backwards.Source: THE CAPTAIN HATES THE SEA (1934)
Added by Rich Finegan on 2009-08-07 12:47:11
Status: Confirmed
THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS (1934)
- Before shooting the scene where the players tackle the stooges and the cameramen, Moe insisted that doubles be used or they would not shoot it at all. Director McCarey had doubles on the set within an hour, and after the scene was shot, the cameramen and two of the stooges' doubles had broken arms and legs! The exception was Curly's double, who had heavy padding.Source: Moe Howard & The Three Stooges, by Moe Howard
Added by xraffle on 2009-03-22 02:44:15
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Credit goes to- MR77100 - Curly broke his leg after riding down the dumbwaiter.
- Larry lost a tooth when actor Joseph Young socked him in the jaw.
- The second and final Stooges short directed by Raymond McCarey.Source: Raymond McCarey (crew)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-09 07:07:11
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Ray McCarey directed many of Shemp's solo shorts at Vitaphone in the '30s, and also directed Shemp in the RKO feature film MILLIONAIRES IN PRISION (1940).
HORSES' COLLARS (1935)
- The only short to be directed by Clyde Bruckman.Source: HORSES' COLLARS (1935)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-19 01:08:30
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: An alcoholic, Bruckman's once prolific directing career was derailed by on-the-job problems caused by his illness. In 1934, he was fired from MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE by [ironically] W. C. Fields, who himself took over; however, Bruckman received the onscreen credit due to directors' guild regulations.
PARDON MY SCOTCH (1935)
- Moe suffered broken ribs after falling off of a table. Filming resumed after his recovery
- The theme music, "Listen to the Mockingbird," was written by the same composer, Septimus Winner, who also crafted "Spelling Bee" (later adapted as "Swinging the Alphabet" in VIOLENT IS THE WORD FOR CURLY).
- The photo of the Stooges used in "Horses' Collars" apparently served as the basis for the cartoon drawing of the Stooges (in kilts) on the title card for "Pardon My Scotch;" the poses are exactly the same. The bottle on the title card reads "Old Pibroch" (pibroch is a type of Scottish music) and the distiller is given as "Haggis & Haggis" (a Scottish "delicacy.")Source: Steven R. Wright
Added by Dunrobin on 2011-06-14 03:08:02
Status: Confirmed
DISORDER IN THE COURT (1936)
- When Larry and Curly and playing "Have You Even Seen a Lassie?" on Moe while he has the harmonica in his stomach, the camera cuts to a shot of the courtroom audience. Second from the right in the front row is Solomon Horwitz, Moe's father.Source: DISORDER IN THE COURT (1936)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-02 05:48:52
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Mr. Horwitz can be seen in more than one camera shot during the film. Sol also has cameos in 5 other Stooges shorts. - This is the first short to feature a remodeled logo of "The Columbia Torch Lady."Source: DISORDER IN THE COURT (1936)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-07 10:02:00
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: In use since 1924, "The Columbia Torch Lady" (not the Statue of Liberty) was remodeled for the 1936-1937 release season, adding a pedestal, removing the woman's headdress, enlarging the Columbia name with chiseled block lettering, and animating the torch lights.
A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN (1936)
- Remade in 1947 with Gus Schilling and Richard Lane as TRAINING FOR TROUBLE.Source: The Columbia Comedy Shorts
Added by [Unknown] on 2011-01-05 03:25:56
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN was a remake of SHOW BUSINESS (1932), one of Hal Roach Studios' Thelma Todd & Zasu Pitts comedy shorts, and directed by Jules White.
FALSE ALARMS (1936)
- Moe's father, Solomon Horwitz, is visible as a passerby on the sidewalk. After Moe and Larry arrive at the false alarm called in by Curly, Solomon passes in the background, walking from right to left and wearing a white hat. This occurs while Curly quotes, "I got ya out, didn't I?"Source: FALSE ALARMS (1936)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-02 06:23:15
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Mr. Horwitz can also be seen as a passerby after the car crashes into the streetlamp pole.
SLIPPERY SILKS (1936)
- During the pastry fight, the supporting cast ran out of cream puffs! They had to scrape every ounce of cream off the floor, along with the dirt and sawdust, to finish the short.Source: Moe Howard and The Three Stooges (1977)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-03-30 12:54:42
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: One of Moe's exaggerated tales, borrowed from an old Mack Sennett Studios story. Studio regulations and the particularly the actors' union would have prohibited such a situation. Director Del Lord and prop man Ray Hunt were well-prepared for the pastry fight.
3 DUMB CLUCKS (1937)
- During filming, Curly fell down the set's prop elevator shaft, hit his head on a 2x4, and suffered a severe cut on his head.Source: The Three Stooges Scrapbook
Added by xraffle on 2009-03-22 02:50:08
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: The wound was tended to with spirit gum, and covered with makeup. Filming continued. The cut can be seen as a dark blemish on Curly's scalp, particularly the haberdasher scene.
THREE LITTLE SEW AND SEWS (1939)
- In the final scene where the Stooges play angels, they were hung by piano wire for a special effects shot. Larry was the lightest of the three, so hung above Moe and Curly. Afraid he might fall, he asked Del Lord to make him the low man. When they prepared to shoot, Larry was hoisted to the high spot and screamed. Lord responded, "You are up there and going to stay up there until we finish the goddam shot!" Larry stopped whining and the shot was completed.
OILY TO BED, OILY TO RISE (1939)
- During the scene where the stooges are fixing the pump, Moe actually got a blob of the "oil" stuck in his eye.Source: Moe Howard & The Three Stooges, by Moe Howard
Added by xraffle on 2009-03-22 03:21:42
Status: Confirmed
YOU NAZTY SPY! (1940)
- This was the first short to feature the Columbia logo and the Stooges heads together during the opening credits, although the long intro to the "Three Blind Mice" theme would be cut off with the next short.
- This was the first American comedy film to parody Adolf Hitler.Source: STOOGES: THE MEN BEHIND THE MAYHEM
Added by ProfessorStooge on 2010-09-28 05:09:23
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: It was the first released to theaters. Charlie Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR was in pre-production much earlier. - Toward the end of almost all of Moe's Hitler impersonations, he finishes with "In pupik gehabt haben." In Hebrew this means "I've had it in the bellybutton!" Also, "Beblach" means "Beans" in Hebrew.Source: The Three Stooges Book of Scripts Vol. 1
Added by BeAStooge on 2010-11-02 11:33:05
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Submitted by member "CannedCoin."Note: Beans was Helen Howard's nickname for her husband Moe.
FROM NURSE TO WORSE (1940)
- This was the first stooges short to utilize old footage --- it features the traffic sequence from DIZZY DOCTORS.Source: FROM NURSE TO WORSE (1940)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-25 12:46:37
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: BACK TO THE WOODS (1937) used footage from WHOOPS, I'M AN INDIAN (1936); A DUCKING THEY DID GO (1939) contains footage from A PAIN IN THE PULLMAN (1936).
SO LONG MR. CHUMPS (1941)
- Omitted from the final script was one scene where a street policeman notices the Stooges and Pomeroy's girl crying. A double-talk routine develops as to why each person is crying.Source: The Three Stooges Journal # 119
Added by archiezappa on 2009-03-23 09:19:40
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: The scene was filmed, edited from the final release.
IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE (1941)
- This is the last appearance of supporting actor Richard Fiske, who was killed in the war in France in 1944. Source: Richard Fiske (cast database)
Added by MR77100 on 2010-03-06 10:54:58
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Although Fiske appeared in 1943's DIZZY PILOTS, that was stock footage; PIE AND PIE was indeed his last work with the Stooges.
THEY STOOGE TO CONGA (1943)
- Due to its violent content, TV stations do not air this short.Source: The Official Three Stooges Encylopedia
Added by ProfessorStooge on 2010-01-15 07:14:37
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: A story that has been told enough times that it has passed into accepted Stooge-mythology, and unfortunately reported as fact in at least one book. While a few local stations may have withheld it for violence issues from time-to-time over the past 50+ years, that has never been an established practice. Local market syndication packages have access to it, and continue to air it, e.g., Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, others.
THREE LITTLE TWIRPS (1943)
- This was the second and final short to be directed by Harry Edwards, and for good reason. Supposedly, the actors and actresses he picked could not act. When problems on the set erupted, he would put the blame on the Stooges themselves. As a result, he was relieved of his duties as director and never worked with the Stooges again.Source: Moe Howard and the Three Stooges
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-03 11:33:06
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: Yes, the 2nd and final short directed by Edwards, whose issues arose from general unreliability caused by alcoholism. But the unnamed director with an eye for ladies, as discussed in Moe's book, is not Harry Edwards, nor does the passage make mention of the director being terminated. In fact, the womanizing, buck-passing director that Moe was talking about was Jules White.
DIZZY PILOTS (1943)
- This is the last appearance of supporting actor Richard Fiske, who was killed in the war in France the following year. Source: Richard Fiske Cast Listing
Added by MR77100 on 2010-02-23 11:55:49
Status: Partially False
Team Stooge Comments: Fiske's appearance in DIZZY PILOTS (1943) was stock footage from BOOBS IN ARMS (1940). The last Three Stooges film he worked on was IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE (1941).
CRASH GOES THE HASH (1944)
- This was the last stooges short to feature Bud Jamison. He passed away in September 1944 at the age of 50.Source: The Complete Three Stooges, by Jon Solomon
Added by xraffle on 2009-03-22 03:25:53
Status: Confirmed
IF A BODY MEETS A BODY (1945)
- This short is often marred for being the beginning of the "ill Curly" era, with his deep voice and delayed reactions. His health would decline even further in the following short when his skin became pale. Source: IF A BODY MEETS A BODY (1945)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-30 09:04:08
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: A couple of Curly's 1944 appearances also hint at oncoming health problems, particularly THE YOKE'S ON ME.
MICRO-PHONIES (1945)
- The "Sextet From Lucy" really is from Lucia di Lammermoor, a dramma tragico (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. This opera was based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor. The opera premiered on 26 September 1835.Source: The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Broadcast Information Center
Added by FineBari3 on 2011-01-03 02:15:21
Status: Confirmed - If you look carefully, you can see that the disc playing the "Sextet from Lucy" is on the Columbia label -- and an old one at that (from the 1910s or 1920s.)
Source: S.R. Wright (via email)
Added by Dunrobin on 2021-04-20 08:29:36
Status: Confirmed
BEER BARREL POLECATS (1946)
- The last short to feature supporting actor Eddie Laughton. He was born the same year as Curly, and died the same year as Curly!Source: Eddie Laughton (cast)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-18 01:18:15
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: In stock footage, Laughton also appeared in PEST MAN WINS (1951).
RHYTHM AND WEEP (1946)
- The pill gag was originally written to have Curly pop the pills into his own mouth, but his physical coordination was poor due to his failing heath. The gag, then, had to be changed and Moe ended up popping the pills into Curly's mouth.Source: The Complete Three Stooges, by Jon Solomon
Added by xraffle on 2009-03-22 03:35:20
Status: Confirmed
SLAPPILY MARRIED (1946)
- A remake of the 1943 Andy Clyde short A MAID MADE MAD. Monte Collins and Ellwood Ullman still share story credit.Source: SLAPPILY MARRIED (1946)
Added by [Unknown] on 2010-11-24 11:10:19
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Other sources include viewing A MAID MADE MAD (1943).Story credits usually reference the original story/screenplay contributors, but not always; union requirements generally make this a studio's obligation.
HOLD THAT LION! (1947)
- This was the only time in Stooge history that the three Horwitz brothers appeared in a short together. Source: HOLD THAT LION! (1947)
Added by MR77100 on 2010-02-13 07:17:17
Status: Partially False
Team Stooge Comments: The footage of Moe, Shemp and Curly was reused in BOOTY AND THE BEAST (1953). Curly also filmed a cameo for MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949) but the scene did not make the final cut of the short.
WEDLOCK DEADLOCK (1947)
- The shot of the radio antenna bending while trying to move the radio was reused in the Stooges' short, "Gents in a Jam".Source: Gents in a Jam
Added by Dunrobin on 2022-06-30 09:43:51
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Info provided by S R Wright
SQUAREHEADS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1948)
- The first Stooges short to feature Phil Van Zant.Source: Phil Van Zandt (cast)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-29 01:30:17
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: If Curly had not had his stroke, and the team had starred in
HEAVENLY DAZE (1948)
- The script originally had a musical version of the Ten Commandments but was cut by order of the Hays Office.Source: The Complete Three Stooges
Added by ProfessorStooge on 2009-03-22 10:55:59
Status: Unconfirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Statements in Moe's autobiography, and a publicity still that may or may not confirm the story, have not been confirmed by scripted evidence in Jules White's files at the Motion Picture Academy.
MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949)
- Curly was to have a cameo as a chef, but his scene didn't make the final cut.Source: The Official Three Stooges Encyclopedia
Added by ProfessorStooge on 2009-03-22 09:24:06
Status: Confirmed
HUGS AND MUGS (1950)
- The only short not to be filmed inside the Columbia studios. It was actually shot at Darmour Studios. Added by [Unknown] on 2010-11-25 02:38:40
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: Other post-1945 shorts fall into this category.It was common practice for Columbia's shorts unit to lease soundstage space at other studios, particularly along "Poverty Row" and independents, once the original Columbia Gower Gulch stages were demolished in the mid-1940s. A couple examples include RHYTHM AND WEEP (1946), whose rooftop sequence was filmed at Monogram Studios, and MALICE IN THE PALACE (1949) filmed entirely at Darmour Studios.
THE TOOTH WILL OUT (1951)
- This was the last Stooge short for Dick Curtis.Source: Dick Curtis Cast Database entry
Added by ProfessorStooge on 2010-10-13 07:14:23
Status: Confirmed
HE COOKED HIS GOOSE (1952)
- Sadly, it was during the shooting of this short that Curly passed away.Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-27 12:48:42
Status: False
Team Stooge Comments: During filming, Moe was informed that he needed to relocate Jerome to a new medical facility. Shortly after moving him to Baldy View Sanitarium in San Gabriel, Jerry Howard died. (The day after Jerry's funeral, production began on UP IN DAISY'S PENTHOUSE.)
GENTS IN A JAM (1952)
- This was the final short to be directed by Edward Bernds, and for that matter, anyone other than Jules White. For here on out, the Stooges would become White's sole responsibility until the end of their contract in 1958.Source: GENTS IN A JAM (1952)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-06-12 01:42:40
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: The Stooges' contract ended in December 1957. - The shot of the radio antenna bending as Shemp tries to move the radiois stock footage from Joe DeRita's "Wedlock Deadlock"Source: Wedlock Deadlock
Added by Dunrobin on 2022-06-30 09:37:01
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Info provided by S R Wright
FOR CRIMIN' OUT LOUD (1956)
- Submitted by member Stoogephilia...
In the Miracle Detective Agency sequence, Moe says "Remind me to kill you later" to Shemp, and Shemp replies "I won't have time later" which foreshadows his death on November 22, 1955, several months after this scene was filmed.
Source: FOR CRIMIN' OUT LOUD (1956)
Added by BeAStooge on 2010-07-17 08:01:29
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: FOR CRIMIN' OUT LOUD's new scenes were filmed on June 30, 1955, and were Shemp's 2nd-to-last film appearance before his death in November. New scenes for FLAGPOLE JITTERS were filmed on July 1, 1955.
RUMPUS IN THE HAREM (1956)
- This was the first of the four "phony Shemp" shorts, and shows the most new footage with Joe Palma.
Source: RUMPUS IN THE HAREM (1956)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-18 11:45:41
Status: Partially False
Team Stooge Comments: HOT STUFF contains as much Palma-Shemp footage, if not more.
FLYING SAUCER DAFFY (1958)
- This was the final original stooges short released.Source: Moe, Larry & Joe Filmography (1957 - 1959)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-28 12:49:05
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: It is the last short released which contained an original story, not a remake of an earlier film. The final short released was SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS (1959); FLYING SAUCER DAFFY (1958) was the final short produced.
OIL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1958)
- The only Stooges short that does not contain any supporting actors. Source: OIL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1958)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-05-09 07:20:03
Status: Confirmed
Team Stooge Comments: Although the Stooges are billed as playing all roles in SELF-MADE MAIDS (1950), there is a brief cameo by an extra in the hotel lobby scene.
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963)
- This is the most brief appearance the Stooges made in a feature film.Source: IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963)
Added by MR77100 on 2009-04-19 12:43:47
Status: Confirmed
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