3 Dumb Clucks

Infobox Film
name = 3 Dumb Clucks


caption =
director = Del Lord
writer =Clyde Bruckman
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Lucille Lund
Frank Mills
Eddie Laughton
Cy Schindell
Al Thompson
Harry Tenbrook
cinematography = André Barlatier |
editing = Charles Nelson
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US April 17, 1937
runtime = 16' 49"
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:143895
imdb_id = 0029665
preceded_by = "Dizzy Doctors"
followed_by = "Back to the Woods"

"3 Dumb Clucks" is the 22nd 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 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 and 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, by literally "dragging" him home to Ma.

Curly's Injury

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. [Howard, Moe. (1977, rev. 1979) "Moe Howard and the Three Stooges", p. 101; Citadel Press. ISBN 978-0806507231] The patch can clearly be seen in the scene where Curly is trying on hats.

Notes

*"3 Dumb Clucks" is a send-up of the feature film "Three Smart Girls".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 = 105
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]
*In this short, the Stooges are trying to hammer something. Curly stands in the middle with the hammer, Moe holds the nail and Larry watches behind Curly. Curly swings back and hits Larry in the face with the hammer, then Curly swings forward and hits Moe's hand instead of the nail. This would be a recurring joke in later Stooge shorts.
*Of the sixteen Stooge shorts using the word "three" in the title, "3 Dumb Clucks" is the only one to use the number "3".
*"3 Dumb Clucks" was reworked in 1953 as "Up in Daisy's Penthouse", using minimal stock footage from the original.

Goofs

*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.
*In the scene when the stooges are trying to break out of jail using Curly's head, Curly's stand-in (with a full head of hair) can clearly be seen.
*In the final scene when the Stooges drag their father home to Ma, you can see that Pa is actually Curly's double.

Quotes

**Curly: "I've got an idea in the back of my head!"
**Moe: "Well, bring it out front."
**"Moe hits Curly in the back of the head"
**Moe: "What is it?"
**Curly: "You knocked it clear out!"

**Moe "(in jail, to Larry)": "It's a good thing they've got an electric chair in this building. Otherwise, I'd kill ya!"

**Moe: "Ma sent us here to keep you from marrying that blonde."
**Curly: "And I aim to do it, too; that's what I aim to do...I aim."

**Moe: "Look at me, I'm as calm as a cucumber. What are you shakin' about?"
**Curly "(shaking nervously)": "I don't know...I'm in a hurry all over."

**Larry "(to Curly)": "Won't Pa sizzle when he finds out you married his girl!"
**Curly: "She's supposed to be his wife, but now she's gonna be his daughter!"

References

Further reading

*"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).