A Ducking They Did Go

Infobox Film
name = A Ducking They Did Go


caption =
director = Del Lord
writer = Andrew Bennison
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Lynton Brent
Bud Jamison
Wheaton Chambers
Cy Schindell
Vernon Dent
William Irving
Victor Travers
cinematography = Lucien Ballard |
editing = Charles Nelson
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US April 7, 1939
runtime = 16' 16"
country = USA
language = English
preceded_by = "We Want Our Mummy"
followed_by = "Yes, We Have No Bonanza"
amg_id = 1:141676
imdb_id = 0031015

"A Ducking They Did Go" is the 38th 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, once again, unemployed. After an unsuccessful attempt to steal a watermelon from a deliveryman (Cy Schindell), which lands them in trouble with a cop (William Irving), the boys wind up at the offices of the Canvas Back Duck Club. The club, run by conmen Blackie (Lynton Brent) and Doyle (Wheaton Chambers) needs some salesmen and the trio have no trouble getting the job because, unbeknownst to them, the whole thing is a scam. Dressed in duck-hunting gear, Larry, Moe, and Curly invade the police station and barge right into the office of the police chief (Bud Jamison). The Stooges somehow convince him, the mayor, and the entire police department to join up.

By the time the group arrives at the lodge, the "club owners" are long gone, and an old man assures them that there are no ducks to be found. In a panic, Moe and Larry try to solve this dilemma by hurling rubber decoys over the pond. Curly arrives at last with a large flock of ducks ("á la" The Pied Piper of Hamelin) and leads them into the water. Eventually, the old man shows up ranting that he owns all the ducks that were shot, the cops realize they have been swindled and point their guns at the Stooges, who flee the scene.

Notes

*The title "A Ducking They Did Go" is a play on the old children's song "A-Hunting We Will Go."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 = 149
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]
*The closing shot of the Stooges leaping over a bush, and landing on a trio of bucking steers was recycled from the end of "A Pain in the Pullman".

*The pond in which everyone hunts the ducks was constructed on the Columbia lot specifically for this short.

Quotes

**Blackie: "You gentlemen ever sold anything?"
**Curly: "Soiteny, anything we can get our hands on!"
**Moe: "The gentleman said 'sold,' not 'stole.'"

References

Further reading

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