Ants in the Pantry

Infobox Film
name = Ants in the Pantry


caption =
director = Preston Black
writer = Al Giebler
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Clara Kimball Young
Bud Jamison
James C. Morton
Douglas Gerrard
Lew Davis
Harrison Greene
Isabelle LaMal
Anne O'Neal
Vesey O'Davoren
cinematography = Benjamin H. Kline |
editing = William A. Lyon
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US February, 1936
runtime = 17' 39"
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:144024
imdb_id = 0027301
preceded_by = "Three Little Beers"
followed_by = "Movie Maniacs"

"Ants in the Pantry" is the 12th 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 are pest exterminators who decide to drum up business by planting mice, moths, and ants in an unsuspecting house. They select a fancy mansion where a high society dinner party is being held. After successfully infesting the house with pests, the trio are predictably hired to clean up their own mess without interrupting the party. One highlight is the piano recital, whereby the "Blue Danube Waltz" is being played. A chorus of cats {in the piano!} replies, bewildering the audience and the pianist. Chaos ensues inside suddenly when a mouse enters the piano, agitating the cats. The Stooges are forced to get the offending pest off the piano, destroying it with hilarious results. Eventually, the guests take to the boys and find their antics absolutely hilarious.

Creepy crawlers

The title "Ants in the Pantry" is a pun on the phrase "ants in the pants."cite book
last = Solomon
first = Jon
authorlink = Jon Solomon
coauthors =
title = "The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion"
publisher = Comedy III Productions, Inc
date = 2002
location =
pages = 77
url = http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Three-Stooges-Filmography-Companion/dp/0971186804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201570359&sr=1-1
doi =
id =
isbn = 0971186804] This seemed appropriate, as Moe Howard later recalled that a nest of ants actually worked their way in his pants:cquote|There was a scene where we were having trouble selling our services, so we complain to our boss, who tells us, 'If they don't have any bugs, "give" them some.' We got the idea and went from house to house throwing moths in with minks, mice on the floor, and ants in the pantry. During the shooting, I hadn't noticed that a small container of red ants had broken apart in my pocket and the little devils were crawling down my back, in my hair, and into my pants. It was insane. All through the scene I was scratching and squirming and slapping myself on the neck and face and on the seat of my pants. Elated, director Preston Black shouted, 'Great Moe. Keep up that squirming!' It was very funny—to everyone but me.cite book
last = Howard
first = Moe
authorlink = Moe Howard
coauthors =
title = "Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"
publisher = Citadel Press
date = 1977, rev. 1979
location =
pages = 81
url = http://www.amazon.com/Moe-Howard-Stooges-Pictorial-Entertainment/dp/0806507233/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206817654&sr=1-2
doi =
id =
isbn = 0806507233]

Notes

*This is the first short directed by Jules White's older brother Jack White, who used the pseudonym "Preston Black" on all his directorial efforts with the team. Supposedly, this was because White wanted to hide his finances from his then-divorced wife.
*This is the first short in which Moe attempts to kiss a woman and accidentally kisses Curly instead, followed by Moe screaming, "I'm poisoned!" and striking Curly. This would be a recurring joke in Stooge shorts.
*In the scene where a mouse goes down one of the invited guest's neck, not knowing what it is causes the guest to go into an impromptu reckless 'dance'. The Stooges exploit this by joining in and turning it into an staged 'cossack' dance — a gag they used whenever some similar situation occurred.
*"Ants in the Pantry" was reworked in 1951 as "Pest Man Wins".

Quotes

**Manager: "Where are those three loafers?"
**Secretary: "They're in there, talking politics."
**Manager: "Politics?"
**Secretary: "Yeah, I just heard one of them say, 'Let's have a New Deal.'"
**" [Cut to the Stooges playing cards.] "

**Moe "(to Curly):" "Cut the cards."
**" [Curly pulls out a cleaver and chops the deck in half - an old gag also used by Harpo Marx in 1932's "Horse Feathers"] "
**Moe: "Oh, you don't trust me, eh?"

**Moe "(pointing to a bear trap Larry is carrying):" "What's that thing for?"
**Larry: "You never can tell. We might meet up with a bear."
**Moe: "Yeah...meet my bare hand."
**" [Moe slaps Larry.] "

**Sophisticated woman: "If you gentlemen will exterminate them without letting my guests know, I shall reward you handsomely."
**Curly: "You can depend on us, toots."
**Moe "(to Curly):" "What do you mean getting familiar with the dame?"
**" [Moe nudges Curly aside.] "
**Moe "(to the woman):" "Don't pay any attention to him, babe.

**Man: "Get to work at once, and above all, don't be conspicuous."
**Moe: "Hey! If that 'conspickerus' means what I think it does, I'm apt to punch you right in the nose!"
**Curly: "Pipe down! It's derived from the Latin 'nookinus spicker anglus'."
**Moe: "What school did you go to?"
**Curly: "Oxford!"
**Moe: "Then you better go back to high shoes."
**" [Moe stomps Curly's foot.] "

**Curly "(angrily, after Larry fed him rat poison):" "What does he think I am, a rat?"
**Moe: "Yeah...what about it?"
**Curly "(shyly):" "Well, you don't have to tell everybody."

**Larry "(after getting poked in the eyes):" "I can't see! I can't see!"
**Moe "and" Curly: "What's the matter?"
**Larry "(opening eyes):" "I've got my eyes closed."

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).