- Scheming Schemers
Infobox Film
name = Scheming Schemers
caption =
director =Jules White
writer = Felix Adler
starring =Moe Howard
Larry FineShemp Howard Joe Palma Emil Sitka
Kenneth MacDonaldChristine McIntyre Symona Boniface Dudley Dickerson
cinematography =Ray Cory |
editing =Harold White
producer = Jules White
distributor =Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|USOctober 4 ,1956
runtime = 15' 54"
country = USA
language = English
preceded_by = "Hot Stuff"
followed_by = "Commotion on the Ocean "
amg_id = 1:149526
imdb_id = 0049722"Scheming Schemers" is the 173rd short subject starring American
slapstick comedy team theThree Stooges . The trio made a total of 190 shorts forColumbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.Plot
The Stooges are inept plumbers at Day and Nite Plumbers. Moe is busy reading "How to Be a Plumber" when the phone rings with a request to find a ring that trickles down the sinkpipe at the home of the wealthy Norfleets (
Emil Sitka andSymona Boniface ). The timing could not be any worse, as the Norfleets are throwing a dinner party to celebrate the acquisition of a $50,000 Van Brocklin painting.Just as the Stooges happily retrieve the ring, Larry knocks it out of Moe's hand, right back down the drain. The Stooges then work their way to basement to find the water shutoff. Larry is assigned to finding the water cutoff and proceeds to dig up most of the the lawn in an attempt to turn off the water. Shemp later surmises that the pipes fail to work properly because they are "clogged up with wires." Shemp and Moe proceed to remove the electrical system from the pipes and connect a water pipe to the freshly available pipe. The cook (
Dudley Dickerson ), who is in the kitchen trying to prepare an extravagant meal for the Norfleets, watches in bewilderment as the stove and chandalier gush water.As the Norfleet's house transforms into
Niagara Falls , two party guests named Mr. and Mrs. Allen (Kenneth MacDonald andChristine McIntyre ) manage to swipe the prized Van Brocklin painting. The Stooges manage, however, to catch onto the Allen's scheme and retrieve the painting, but not before engaging in a pie fight with Mr. Allen. As this is going on, Moe wonders where Shemp is throughout the pie melee. It then is discovered that Shemp is in the upstairs bathroom, trapping himself inside a maze of pipes.Contraptions
The Stooges have invented a lot of gadgets over the years which include the following:
*a cot that anyone can flip in case one cannot get up in the morning
*a phone attached to an extendable piece of metal
*a home made hatchery bin
*a spring to launch food to their customersEnd of the Shemp Howard era
As
Shemp Howard had already passed away, for his last four films ("Rumpus in the Harem ", "Hot Stuff", "Scheming Schemers" and "Commotion on the Ocean "), Columbia utilized supporting actorJoe Palma to be Shemp's double. Even though the last four shorts were remakes of earlier Shemp efforts, Palma's services were needed to link what few new scenes were filmed to the olderstock footage . [Solomon, Jon. (2002) "The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion", p. 481; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804]For "Scheming Schemers", Palma appears for the shot of "Shemp" honking a truck horn. Palma then gathers several pipes, obstructing his face. Palma then gets a line of dialogue — "Hold yer horses, will ya?" — by dubbing in Shemp's voice from the soundtrack of "The Ghost Talks". [Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). "The Three Stooges Scrapbook", p. 263, Citadel Press. ISBN 0806509465 ]
Notes
"Scheming Schemers" is a reworking of "
Vagabond Loafers ", which in itself was a remake of "A Plumbing We Will Go ". Additional pie fight footage was recycled from "Half-Wits Holiday ".See also
*
Fake Shemp 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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