Back to the Woods (1937 film)

Infobox Film
name = Back to the Woods


caption =
director = Preston Black
writer =Andrew Bennison
Searle Kramer
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Bud Jamison
Vernon Dent
Ethelreda Leopold
Harley Wood
Cy Schindell
Ted Lorch
cinematography = George Meehan |
editing = Charles Nelson
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = May 14, 1937
runtime = 19' 27"
country = United States
language = English
amg_id = 1:143266
imdb_id = 0028600
preceded_by = "3 Dumb Clucks"
followed_by = "Goofs and Saddles"

"Back to the Woods" is the 23rd 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

Set in colonial times, the Stooges are convicted criminals who are banished from England to the American colonies. When they arrive (and after a dancing fling with the governor’s daughters), they find that the colonists are starving because the local Indians will not let them use their hunting grounds without a fee of 5,000 shekels. A down payment was made, but it was not enough. The Stooges decide to go hunting anyway to help out the colony.

Outside of Plymouth, they exchanged their pilgrim hats with coonskin caps, except Curly, who wears a skunk hat. An accidental discharge by Curly’s blunderbuss yielded a turkey, which gave them hope. Then, they spotted what they thought were a group of turkeys and fire their rather overcharged long blunderbusses at the group. The “group” turned out to be Indian headdresses, which agitated the hit Indians. Attempts at retaliatory fire failed as their guns were destroyed by the powder overcharge, and they are chased by the Indians.

The Stooges do all their might to thwart the Indians in a wild goose chase, using a rock, a mudpack, a fish, a hornet’s nest, and a log as ammunition in their tree branch catapult in one instance. But in their escape, Larry is left behind, captured and tied to a tree, ready to be scalped. A passing woodpecker adds to his misery. Curly and Moe eventually rescue him, helped with pieces of hot coals on the Indian’s butts, and they escape in a canoe, “motorboat” style, having accidentally reviving the bopped Indians with water.

Production

*This is the last of the Stooges' films directed by "Preston Black", pseudonym of Jules White's older brother and fellow producer/director Jack White.
*Near the beginning of the short when the Stooges are prisoners, each Stooge drops the metal ball that is being used to restrain him, in succession. When each ball hits the ground, a chime rings. The notes are the G-E-C chime sequence that was (and still is) the same as the NBC Chimes used for NBC radio and later NBC television. This is followed by Curly imitating a radio announcer.
*Larry refers to the WPA, which he identifies as the "Willing Pilgrims Association". This is a reference to the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program that was prominent in the 1930's.
*Curly and Larry refer to Whopper and Rosemont, two very popular racehorses of the era.
*The shot the Stooges leaving in their high speed canoe was taken from "Whoops, I'm an Indian!".
*"Back to the Woods" is the second-longest Stooge short filmed, running at 19 minutes, 27 seconds. The longest is "A Pain in the Pullman", clocking in at 19 minutes, 46 seconds.

Quotes

**Moe "(in old English)": "Shutteth up!"

**Judge: "Order, order."
**Curly: "Order? I'll take a ham sandwich."
**Judge: "Hold thy tongue."
**Curly: "Not tongue, ham!"

**Moe "(referring to the Indians)": "They'll scalp us alive!"
**Curly "(pointing at his bald head)": "Not me!"

**"Larry and Curly are fighting over two women named Charity and Hope"
**Larry "(to Curly, about Hope)": "What doest thou? I saw her first!"
**Curly: "Pish posh and tish tosh. I'll never give up Hope. Why dost thou not take Charity?"
**Larry: "I need not Charity. I'm on the WPA."
**Curly: "WPA?"
**Larry: "Aye, Willing Pilgrims Association."

**Moe "(giving the Governor a note)": "We be sent by his Majesty to defend the colonies. Our credentials, sire."
**Governor "(reading the note)": "Boston Downs, weather clear, track fast. First race, Whopper, two to one."
**Curly "(looking through fake binoculars)": "They're off!"
**Larry: "Who's at the quarter?"
**Curly: "Whopper!"
**Larry: "Who's at the half?"
**Curly: "Whopper!"
**Larry: "Who's at the stretch?!?"
**Curly: "Whopper!!"
**Larry: "Who's the winner?"
**Curly "(matter-of-factly)": "Rosemont."
**Moe: "Who's" the winner?"
**Curly: "Rosemont!" *SLAP!*

**Larry: "We're trapped like rats!"
**Moe: "You gettin' personal?" *SLAP!*

**Curly: "I'll be back before thou canst say Ticonderoga, if thou canst say Ticonderoga."

**Moe: "Alright if were gonna survive will need to hunt our food. I'll get an elk, Larry you get a moose..."
**Curly: "And I'll get a Knight of Columbus!"

References

Bibliography

*"Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"; by Moe Howard [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806507233] , (Citadel Press, 1977).
*"The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion"; by Jon Solomon [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971186804] , (Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002).
*"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).