I Can Hardly Wait

Infobox Film
name = "I Can Hardly Wait"


caption =
director = Jules White
writer =Clyde Bruckman
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Al Thompson
Bud Jamison
Lew Davis
Adele Mara
cinematography = John Stumar |
editing = Charles Hochberg
art direction = Victor Greene
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US September 24, 1943
runtime = 18' 27"
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:144953
imdb_id = 0036024
preceded_by = "Higher Than a Kite"
followed_by = "Dizzy Pilots"

"I Can Hardly Wait"" is the 73rd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges, who are defense workers, prepare a meal of ham, an egg, and the bone and shell of said ham and egg. While eating, Curly breaks his tooth while attempting to eat the hambone, resulting in a major toothache. Moe suggests he simply get some sleep, and in the morning the toothache will be gone.

The boys situate themselves for bed in a conveniently placed three-tiered bunk bed. Curly naturally receives the top bunk and his ascent thereto is not without mishap. While Curly does finally fall asleep, we are introduced into his dreams where he is still whining on about his current state of affairs. His persistent moaning and complaining about his toothache finally aggravate the other two into action. His fear of dentists leaves the Stooges with precious few options, leaving them to improvise their own brand of home dentistry techniques. These techniques include tying the tooth to the doorknob and violently closing it, tying the tooth to a ceiling light fixture and jumping from a ladder, and lastly, firecrackers.

At their wits' end, Curly is dragged off to the dentist (Lew Davis), who admits to being a butcher. The first dentist is exhausted from wrestling with Curly, so he asks his partner (Bud Jamison) to complete the extraction. However, the second dentist, unware who the actual patient is, knocks Moe cold, and pulls his tooth instead. This understandably angers Moe to no end and he takes it out on Curly, who attempts to defend himself. This flailing action in the dream translates to similar action in his sleep, causing the entire bunk bed to collapse in a heap, on top of his two sleeping compatriots. This, in classic Moe fashion, angers him once again and he gives Curly a solid slug to the jaw. This dislodges the problem tooth and all is well. The boys fall asleep where they lie amongst the bedcushions and splintered wood.

Notes

The film title is officially listed with quotation marks (as "I Can Hardly Wait"), as it represents a phrase Curly repeats throughout the film (see above title card). [Solomon, Jon. (2002) "The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion", p. 233; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804]

References

Further reading

*"Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"; by Moe Howard [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806507233] , (Citadel Press, 1977).
*"The Three Stooges Scrapbook"; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806509465] (Citadel Press, 1994).
*"The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons"; by Michael Fleming [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767905563] (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
*"One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures"; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581823630] , (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).