- Three Pests in a Mess
Infobox Film
name = Three Pests in a Mess
caption =
director =Del Lord
writer = Del Lord
starring =Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Christine McIntyre Brian O'Hara Vernon Dent Snub Pollard Victor Travers Heinie Conklin
cinematography =Benjamin H. Kline |
editing =Henry Batista
producer =Hugh McCollum
distributor =Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|USJanuary 19 , 1945
runtime = 17' 41"
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:142054
imdb_id = 0038167
preceded_by = "No Dough Boys "
followed_by = "Booby Dupes ""Three Pests in a Mess" is the 83rd
short subject starring Americanslapstick comedy team theThree Stooges . The trio made a total of 190 shorts forColumbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.Plot
The Stooges are inventors desperately trying to obtain a patent for their fly catching invention. Whilst learning they must catch 100,000 flies to get their patent, their conversation is overheard by several crooks across the hallway. Unfortunately, the crooks think Curly has $100,000. A flirtatious woman (
Christine McIntyre ) who is part of the nest of crooks corners the gullible Curly and tries to finagle the non-existent money out of him. When he confesses that the 100,000 are indeed flies and not dollars, she turns against him, and has the crooks go after the Stooges.The trio take cover in a sporting goods store where Curly accidentally shoots a
mannequin . In their infinite wisdom, the Stooges believe they have killed a real human, and go about trying to bury the "body" in a nearby pet cemetery. Unfortunately, the cemetery's night watchman (Snub Pollard ) sees the Stooges prowling around and informs cemetery owner Philip Black (Vernon Dent ), who happens to be attending a masquerade party with his partners. The owner arrives at the cemetery, replete in the spookiest outfits possible, and scare the bejesus out of the Stooges.Theme Music
"Three Pests in a Mess" officially replaces the driving version (completed with accordion) of "
Three Blind Mice " with the syncopated, jazzy version of "Three Blind Mice " first heard in "Gents Without Cents ", as the Stooges' theme song. The new version is now is the key of F, while the key of G was previously utilized. The syncopated version would be used for two more films, before being replaced once again for "If a Body Meets a Body ".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 = 257
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]Notes
*"Three Pests in a Mess" is a reworking of the 1941
El Brendel comedy "Ready, Willing But Unable ".
*Curly's "Call for Philip Black" actually mimics the popular 'Call for Philip Morris'cigarette advertisements of the period.
*A prop man dug a hole and covered it with rubber to achieve the effect of Larry sliding under the door at the cemetery. They quickly pulled him under, and filmed the shot as a speed shot. [Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). "The Three Stooges Scrapbook", p. 246, Citadel Press. ISBN 0806509465] ]References
Further reading
*"Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"; by Moe Howard, (Citadel Press, 1977). ISBN 0806507233
*"The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons"; by Michael Fleming (Broadway Publishing, 2002). ISBN 0767905563
*"One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures"; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry, (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006). ISBN 1581823630
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