Listen, Judge

Infobox Film
name = Listen, Judge


caption =
director = Edward Bernds
writer = Elwood Ullman
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Shemp Howard
Kitty McHugh
Vernon Dent
Emil Sitka
cinematography = Ellis W. Carter |
editing = Edwin H. Bryant
producer = Hugh McCollum
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US March 6, 1952
runtime = 16' 06"
country = USA
language = English
preceded_by = "A Missed Fortune"
followed_by = "Corny Casanovas"
amg_id = 1:146517
imdb_id = 0044839

"Listen, Judge" is the 138th 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 repairmen who are on trial for stealing chickens, but are found not guilty. However, Shemp opens his suit jacket, resulting in a live chicken flying out of his grip and into the face of Judge Henderson (Vernon Dent). The boys then flee the courtroom, and pursue some work.

The trio comes upon a lady customer (Kitty McHugh) whose doorbell is in need of repair. The Stooges manage to ruin most of the house while working on the wiring, ultimately clobbering the chef (Emil Sitka) who is preparing dinner at the customer's house. The irate chef abruptly quits, resulting in the Stooges being hired to prepare dinner for her husband's birthday party. To their shock and horror, the party in question is for none other than Judge Henderson, and their lady cutsomer is the Judge's wife.

Now frantic, the trio try their best to make the dinner at least partially edible. All hell nearly breaks loose when the birthday cake they prepare is accidentally pierced, deflating in the process. The cake is then "re-inflated" using town gas through the gas stove's connection.

During the party, Judge Henderson blows the out the candles, and the gas-filled cake explodes. The judge angrily realizes who the new "help" are, and the Stooges are forced to leave in a hurry.

Notes

The plot of "Listen, Judge" is a hybrid of plot devices borrowed from several Stooge films featuring Curly Howard:
* The chicken stealing sequence in the courtroom is from "A Plumbing We Will Go".
* The doorbell repair sequence is from "They Stooge to Conga".
* "John Hamilton" from "Adventures of Superman" guest stars in this episode.
* The food preparation sequences and exploding cake (comprising the second half of the film) are from "An Ache in Every Stake". [Solomon, Jon. (2002) "The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion", p. 401; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804]

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 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).