3 Dumb Clucks

3 Dumb Clucks
Directed by Del Lord
Produced by Jules White
Written by Clyde Bruckman
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Lucille Lund
Frank Mills
Eddie Laughton
Cy Schindell
Al Thompson
Harry Tenbrook
Lew Davis
Cinematography André Barlatier
Edited by Charles Nelson
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • April 17, 1937 (1937-04-17) (U.S.)
Running time
16:49
Country United States
Language English

3 Dumb Clucks is the 22nd short subject released by Columbia Pictures in 1937 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are in jail when their mother sends them a letter. The letter states that their father (Curly Howard, pulling double duty as both himself and his father) has just become rich via an oil well and is planning to leave their mother and marry young gold digging blonde Daisy (Lucille Lund). The Stooges break out of jail and set off to try to stop the wedding. But since Curly and his father look exactly alike, Daisy ends up marrying the wrong man. The Stooges manage to escape the clutches of the criminals trying to kill them for their father's oil money, and rescue their father.

Production notes

Filming for 3 Dumb Clucks commenced between January 31 and February 5, 1937.[1] It is a send-up of the feature film Three Smart Girls.[2]

This is the third of sixteen Stooge shorts using the word "three" in the title, however, 3 Dumb Clucks is the only one to use the number "3".[2] It was reworked in 1953 as Up in Daisy's Penthouse, using minimal stock footage from the original.[2]

In the scene where the Stooges are trying to break out of jail, Larry tries to get the oil canister to work and it squirts into Moe's face. The rubber hose used to shoot the water out of the nozzle can be seen running down Moe's right sleeve.

During the scene where Curly's father arrives for his wedding, two of the gold digger's henchmen dispose of him by throwing him down an elevator shaft. The prop men had padded the bottom of the shaft to cushion Curly's fall, but neglected to cover a protruding 2" x 4" panel. Curly was thrown down the shaft quickly, and landed head-first on the 2" x 4", tearing his scalp open. As the Stooges were workhorses at Columbia Pictures, Curly was not taken to the hospital. Instead, the studio physician was rushed to the set to apply several stitches to Curly's scalp. Some fresh hair was glued over the wound, and with a healthy dose of painkillers, the slightly wobbily Stooge was back in action within a few hours.[3] The patch can be seen in an earlier scene where Curly is trying on hats.

References

  1. Pauley, Jim (2012). The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations. Solana Beach, California: Santa Monica Press, LLC. p. 258. ISBN 9781595800701.
  2. 1 2 3 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 105. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
  3. Howard, Moe. (1977, rev. 1979) Moe Howard and the Three Stooges, p. 101; Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0-8065-0723-1

External links

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