Three Loan Wolves

Infobox Film
name = Three Loan Wolves


caption =
director = Jules White
writer = Felix Adler
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Beverly Warren
Harold Brauer
Jackie Jackson
Joe Palma
Wally Rose
cinematography = George F. Kelley |
editing = Edwin H. Bryant
producer = Jules White
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US July 4, 1946
runtime = 16' 40"
country = USA
language = English
preceded_by = "Monkey Businessmen"
followed_by = "G.I. Wanna Home"
amg_id = 1:147586
imdb_id = 0039028

"Three Loan Wolves" is the 93rd 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

Told in flash back, the Stooges tell their son (Jackie Jackson) how he came to have three fathers. The Stooges, owners of a pawn shop, owe money to the gashouse protection society, a bunch of loan sharks. To complicate matters, a lady (Beverly Warren) leaves a baby in the shop as part of a plan to sell a phony diamond and the Stooges (primarily Larry) wind up caring for the kid. The trio manage to defeat the crooks and when they finish telling the story, the kid goes off to find his real mother. Then Larry got punished by Moe and Curly.

Curly's illness

"Three Loan Wolves" was filmed near the end of Curly Howard's career. The 42-year-old comedian had suffered a series of minor strokes several months prior to filming, and his performances had been unpredictable. By the time of "Three Loan Wolves", he had lost a considerable amount of weight, and lines had creased his baby face. In fact, co-stars Larry Fine and Moe Howard look stocky by comparison.

While director Edward Bernds devised ways to cover Curly's illness, Jules White simply shifted the action away from him by giving additional lines of dialogue to Larry Fine. With "Three Loan Wolves", White made Larry the main character (Larry's first time in the spotlight since the Stooges inaugural short for Columbia Pictures in 1934, "Woman Haters"), with nearly the entire film revolving around him.

Curly also tried desperately to maintain his high-pitched voice, but was clearly unable to. Several scenes are heartbreaking to watch, as the once-superstooge had been relegated to a line here or there. [Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). "The Three Stooges Scrapbook", p. 77, Citadel Press. ISBN: 0806509465 ]

Notes

*The theme reverts back to thesyncopated, jazzy version of "Three Blind Mice" previously used on "Gents Without Cents", "Three Pests in a Mess", "Booby Dupes" and "Idiots Deluxe" instead of the revamped, 'sliding strings' version used during this period.
*Actress Beverly Warren appeared at a 2002 Three Stooges convention in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and reported that Curly's illness was not discussed on the set. She added that filming was completed at such a rapid pace, she rarely saw Curly or Moe (as she only shared screen time with Larry). [User Oanabay; present at 2002 convention]

References

Further reading

*"Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"; by Moe Howard [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806507233] , (Citadel Press, 1977).
*"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).