The Yoke's on Me
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| The Yoke's on Me | |
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| Directed by | Jules White |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Clyde Bruckman |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Robert McKenzie Eva McKenzie Emmett Lynn Al Thompson Victor Travers |
| Cinematography | Glen Gano |
| Editing by | Charles Hochberg |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 26, 1944 |
| Running time | 16' 08" |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Busy Buddies |
| Followed by | Idle Roomers |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Yoke's on Me is the 79th 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.
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[edit] Plot
The Stooges try to join the army but are labeled 4-F by the draft board due to Curly having water on the knee. When they decide to vacation until a job comes along, their father (Robert McKenzie) insists they aid the war effort instead by becoming farmers. Inspired, the trio sell their dilapidated car and buy an equally dilapidated farm. The farm contains no livestock except for one ostrich, which Curly feeds some gunpowder to. The boys then spot some pumpkins and decide to carve and sell them.
In the interim, several Japanese refugees escape a prison camp (known during World War II as 'relocation centers'), and work their way onto the Stooges' farm. Curly is the first to notice some suspicious activity (one of the refugees place the carved pumpkin on his head, spooking Curly). Eventually, Moe and Larry believe him, and realize that the farm is surrounded by the Japanese. Curly then throws an ostrich egg (laden with digested gunpowder) at the refugees, killing them.
[edit] Wartime Propaganda
During World War II, the Stooges made a few comedies that engaged in propaganda against on the then-enemy Japanese, including Spook Louder, Booby Dupes and The Yoke's on Me, which no longer reflect America's official relationship with Japan. While well intentioned at the time, these films can be uncomfortable to view today.[1]
The Yoke's on Me was especially singled out by modern critics. It has been blacklisted from the Stooges' television syndication package, and is rarely seen today. Author Jon Solomon has said, "no Stooge film so profoundly disturbs modern viewers as this one."[1] Author Michael Fleming put it more bluntly: "Knowing what we do now about how Japanese-born American citizens were mistreated and stripped of their belongings in relocations centers makes this as funny as a train wreck."[2]
[edit] Notes
- The title The Yoke's on Me is a pun on the expression "the joke's on me", along with the egg theme.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc, 246. ISBN 0971186804.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (1999). The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons, p. 208, Broadway Publishing. ISBN 0767905567
[edit] Further reading
- Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard, ISBN 978-0806507231 (Citadel Press, 1977).
- The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg, ISBN 978-0806509464 (Citadel Press, 1994).
- One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry, ISBN 978-1581823639 (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).
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