Ants in the Pantry

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Ants in the Pantry
Directed by	Preston Black
Produced by	Jules White
Written by	Al Giebler
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Clara Kimball Young Bud Jamison James C. Morton Douglas Gerrard Lew Davis Harrison Greene Isabelle LaMal Anne O'Neal Vesey O'Davoren
Cinematography	Benjamin H. Kline
Editing by	William A. Lyon
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	February, 1936
Running time	17' 39"
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Three Little Beers
Followed by	Movie Maniacs
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IMDb profile

Ants in the Pantry is the 12th 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.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Creepy crawlers 3 Notes 4 Quotes 5 References 6 Further reading

[edit] Plot

The Stooges are pest exterminators who decide to drum up business by planting mice, moths, and ants in an unsuspecting house. They select a fancy mansion where a high society dinner party is being held. After successfully infesting the house with pests, the trio are predictably hired to clean up their own mess without interrupting the party. One highlight is the piano recital, whereby the "Blue Danube Waltz" is being played. A chorus of cats {in the piano!} replies, bewildering the audience and the pianist. Chaos ensues inside suddenly when a mouse enters the piano, agitating the cats. The Stooges are forced to get the offending pest off the piano, destroying it with hilarious results. Eventually, the guests take to the boys and find their antics absolutely hilarious.

[edit] Creepy crawlers

The title Ants in the Pantry is a pun on the phrase "ants in the pants."^[1] This seemed appropriate, as Moe Howard later recalled that a nest of ants actually worked their way in his pants:

“

There was a scene where we were having trouble selling our services, so we complain to our boss, who tells us, 'If they don't have any bugs, give them some.' We got the idea and went from house to house throwing moths in with minks, mice on the floor, and ants in the pantry. During the shooting, I hadn't noticed that a small container of red ants had broken apart in my pocket and the little devils were crawling down my back, in my hair, and into my pants. It was insane. All through the scene I was scratching and squirming and slapping myself on the neck and face and on the seat of my pants. Elated, director Preston Black shouted, 'Great Moe. Keep up that squirming!' It was very funny—to everyone but me.[2]

”

[edit] Notes

• This is the first short directed by Jules White's older brother Jack White, who used the pseudonym "Preston Black" on all his directorial efforts with the team.
• This is the first short in which Moe attempts to kiss a woman and accidentally kisses Curly instead, followed by Moe screaming, "I'm poisoned!" and striking Curly. This would be a recurring joke in Stooge shorts.
• In the scene where a mouse goes down one of the invited guest's neck, not knowing what it is causes the guest to go into an impromptu reckless 'dance'. The Stooges exploit this by joining in and turning it into an staged 'cossack' dance — a gag they used whenever some similar situation occurred.
• Ants in the Pantry was reworked in 1951 as Pest Man Wins.^[1]

[edit] Quotes

• • Manager: "Where are those three loafers?"
  • Secretary: "They're in there, talking politics."
  • Manager: "Politics?"
  • Secretary: "Yeah, I just heard one of them say, 'Let's have a New Deal.'"
  • [Cut to the Stooges playing cards.]

• • Moe (to Curly): "Cut the cards."
  • [Curly pulls out a cleaver and chops the deck in half - an old gag also used by Harpo Marx in 1932's Horse Feathers]
  • Moe: "Oh, you don't trust me, eh?"

• • Moe (pointing to a bear trap Larry is carrying): "What's that thing for?"
  • Larry: "You never can tell. We might meet up with a bear."
  • Moe: "Yeah...meet my bare hand."
  • [Moe slaps Larry.]

• • Sophisticated woman: "If you gentlemen will exterminate them without letting my guests know, I shall reward you handsomely."
  • Curly: "You can depend on us, toots."
  • Moe (to Curly): "What do you mean getting familiar with the dame?"
  • [Moe nudges Curly aside.]
  • Moe (to the woman): "Don't pay any attention to him, babe.

• • Man: "Get to work at once, and above all, don't be conspicuous."
  • Moe: "Hey! If that 'conspickerus' means what I think it does, I'm apt to punch you right in the nose!"
  • Curly: "Pipe down! It's derived from the Latin 'nookinus spicker anglus'."
  • Moe: "What school did you go to?"
  • Curly: "Oxford!"
  • Moe: "Then you better go back to high shoes."
  • [Moe stomps Curly's foot.]

• • Curly (angrily, after Larry fed him rat poison): "What does he think I am, a rat?"
  • Moe: "Yeah...what about it?"
  • Curly (shyly): "Well, you don't have to tell everybody."

• • Larry (after getting poked in the eyes): "I can't see! I can't see!"
  • Moe and Curly: "What's the matter?"
  • Larry (opening eyes): "I've got my eyes closed."

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [2](Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [3](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [4], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).

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