So Long Mr. Chumps

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So Long Mr. Chumps
Directed by Jules White
Produced by Jules White
Written by Felix Adler
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Dorothy Appleby
John Tyrrell
Eddie Laughton
Vernon Dent
Bud Jamison
Cinematography Barney McGill
Editing by Mel Thorsen
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United StatesFebruary 7, 1941
Running time 17' 32"
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Preceded by Boobs in Arms
Followed by Dutiful but Dumb
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

So Long Mr. Chumps is the 53rd 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

[edit] Plot

The Stooges are inept, but honest, street cleaners. When they come across an envelope filled with oil bonds in the trash, they return them to their owner, B.O. Davis (John Tyrrell). The grateful Davis offers them a 5,000-dollar reward if they can find an honest man with executive abilities. An honest dog ultimately leads them to a weeping girl (Dorothy Appleby) who explains that her sweetheart has been unfairly jailed. The best way to talk to him, the Stooges figure, is to get arrested themselves. They land in the clink and track down their man, Percy Pomeroy (Eddie Laughton). With some black paint, they make their prison outfits look like guard uniforms and make their escape. Just as they are leaving, Davis is coming in — who is nothing more than a bond swindler. The Stooges wind up back in jail, breaking rocks over Curly's head.

Curly gets painted in So Long Mr. Chumps.
Curly gets painted in So Long Mr. Chumps.

[edit] Notes

  • The title So Long Mr. Chumps is a parody of Oscar-nominated film Goodbye, Mr. Chips.[1]
  • The jail sequences were reused in Beer Barrel Polecats.[1]
  • In the final scene, where Moe and Larry were breaking rocks over Curly's head, Larry picks up what seems to be a rather heavy rock. Curly notices the rock and replies, "Hey! That's a REAL one! I'm no fool." Larry and Moe smile as the scene fades to black. This scene is one of few times the Stooges break character on screen, as Larry and Curly seem to be breaking character in the last few seconds.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

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