Sing a Song of Six Pants

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Sing a Song of Six Pants is a 1947 short-subject comedy film starring the Three Stooges (Moe, Larry, and Shemp). It was directed by Jules White and written by Felix Adler. Also appearing in the film are frequent Stooge co-stars Vernon Dent (as a detective who cheats the Stooges out of their reward money) and Cy Schindell (as one of the thief's henchmen).

In this short, the Stooges run a tailor shop that is about to be repossessed by the Skin and Flint Finance Corporation. When the Boys hear about a big reward for fugitive bank robber 'Terry "Slippery Fingers" Hargan (played by Harold Brauer), they think that catching him might end their financial woes. Hargan conveniently ducks into their shop and leaves a suit with a safe combination in its pocket. After his girlfriend (played by Virginia Hunter) fails to retrieve the combination, Hargan returns with his henchmen, and a wild mêlée follows. The Stooges miss out on the reward but wind up with the crook's bankroll to pay off their debts.

[edit] Trivia

The title is a takeoff on Sing a Song of Sixpence, the classic English nursery rhyme.

Six Pants was remade in 1953 as Rip, Sew and Stitch, using a great deal of footage from the original.

The name of the tailor shop is 'Pip Boys,' a parody of the auto service chain Pep Boys. Also, the Stooges' names on the store window are written 'Lary (sic), Moe & Shemp,' paralleling the traditional listing of the Pep Boys' names as 'Manny, Moe & Jack.' (Note that Larry's name is for some reason spelled with only one 'r.')

Director Jules White 'guest-stars' as the voice of the radio announcer.

Six Pants is one of four Stooge shorts that fell into the public domain after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s (the other three being Malice in the Palace, Brideless Groom, and Disorder in the Court). As such, these four shorts frequently appear on cheaply produced video or DVD compilations.