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Columbia Shorts 1942

64. THREE SMART SAPS

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Rl. July 30 / Prod. No. 532 / 161/2 m / p d Jules White / st scr Clyde Bruckman / ph Benjamin Kline / e Jerome Thoms / C: Julie Duncan (Bella), Julie Gibson (Della), Ruth Skinner (Stella), Bud Jamison (Mr. Hugh the Tailor), John Tyrell (Mr. Stevens), Sally Cairns (Dancing Partner), Eddie Laughton (Guard), Vic Travers (Justice of the Peace), Frank Coleman (Cop) and Frank Terry (Man on the Street)

SYN: The Stooges are about to get hitched when their fiancees, Stella, Della, and Bella refuse to commence with the ceremony because their father, the warden of a city jail, is a prisoner in one of his own cells. The Stooges promise to bail out their soon-to-be father-in-law so that they can continue on with the wedding as planned as soon as pop is sitting pretty. A bit later at the county jailhouse, the Stooges uncover their future father-in-law and discover that Walker, the new warden, is a crook who is operating the jail as a members-only casino (the members are all gangsters and crooks). In order to free pop, the Stooges have to come up with a scheme to expose the corruption. They choose to sneak into the casino and take candid pictures as evidence. Since you can't get in without a "Snoot-suit" (tuxedo) Moe clobbers the first guy he finds that wears his size and steals his suit, while Curly finds one with loose stitching. The stitching falls apart when Curly is out cutting a rug with one of the female members of the club. In the middle of a couple dance numbers, Curly slides over to a nearby curtain wall for repairs (Larry is behind the drape, with a sewing kit). The operation is not quite as smooth as planned, however, when Larry pokes Curly with the sewing needle right in the derrier! On he floor in pain, Curly is helped up by his dance partner, who accidentally rips off his already tattered suit. Meanwhile, Moe has been taking care of the task at hand, and with the necessary pictoral evidence available to hang the whole joint, they vacate. Curly, of course, (in his underwear) follows behind them. With the evidence the Stooges are easily able to expose the corruption, save Pop, and tie the knot as they had hoped.

Quick Hits:

- Three Smart Saps marked screen actress Julie Gibson's first film with the Stooges. She relates her impressions of working with Curly:

"I don't think we exchanged one word. He was just absolutely quiet. Moe and Larry were a lot of fun, more than Curly. Larry would do a soft-shoe and tell funny stories. Moe was smart and cute, kind of a smart-ass, but fun. I was afraid to even say 'hello' to Curly. He was fine when he was with Moe and Larry; but seemed deathly afraid of women. The scene I hated the most was when I had to kiss him. I think I closed my eyes because he was like a piece of wood."

WT: Father's in Jail Again / FN: The premise of the Stooges getting pinched to help someone else also appears in The Noose Hangs High (1948) with Abbott and Costello, and in So Long Mr. Chumps (2/7/41), starring the Stooges. The "Are You Dancing?" gag was originally done in Hoi Polloi (8/29/35). Curly's loosely hemmed trousers' gag was borrowed from Harold Lloyd's The Fresh Man (1925).