Three Little Pigskins

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Three Little Pigskins
Directed by Raymond McCarey
Produced by Jules White
Written by Felix Adler
Griffin Jay
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Lucille Ball
Gertie Green
Phyllis Crane
Walter Long
Roger Moore
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian
Bud Jamison
Cinematography Henry Freulich
Editing by James Sweeney
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of the United States December 8, 1934
Running time 18' 25"
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Preceded by Men in Black
Followed by Horses' Collars
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Three Little Pigskins is the fourth 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

Starting out the short film as bums on the street asking pedestrians for money, the Stooges are soon mistaken for college football players known as "The Three Horsemen", a parody of the "Four Horsemen" of college football fame. They are immediately recruited by the local professional team, whose own star players had just been injured. Their first game (staged at Hollywood's Gilmore Stadium) turns into a fiasco, especially since the Stooges know absolutely nothing about the sport. Realizing they have been swindled, the managers turn their revolvers on the Stooges, hitting them on the butt as they attempt to escape.

[edit] "...a humdinger of bangs and bruises"

Moe Howard once called Three Little Pigskins "a humdinger of bangs and bruises,"[1] as it marked the first time the Stooges flatly refused to perform a stunt. In the film, during the game the boys are stopped by photographers to pose for a picture, when the football players then tackle them. The football players were real college football players, and the Stooges (whose small stature is very apparent in this film) were afraid of being hurt. Larry Fine, the smallest and lightest of the three, told director Raymond McCarey, "Look, we can't do this scene. We're not stuntmen and if one of those gorillas falls on us, we'll never be able to finish the picture. We've never used stunt doubles before but we certainly need them now."[1] The fact that both Curly and Larry had been hurt a few days earlier filming Three Little Pigskins (Curly broke his leg riding down the dumbwaiter and Larry lost a tooth due to a mistimed punch), reinforced the trio's decision to opt out of the scene.

McCarey assured the Stooges that it was safe, saying "Listen, fellows, you know how to take falls. You've done enough of them. It'll take hours to find doubles for you. Besides, we can't afford them. Don't worry, you won't get hurt."[1]

Moe Howard dryly agreed with McCarey, saying "You're darn right we won't get hurt. We're not doing the scene."[1]

Less than an hour after the exchange, the studio found three stunt doubles made up to look like the Stooges. McCarey yelled "Action" and all hell broke loose. Two of the three were seriously injured with broken limbs, as were all four photographers. The only stunt double not hurt was the one doubling for Curly Howard because of the padding that he wore to resemble the rotund Stooge. Moe Howard later said in his autobiography that "McCarey was speechless and sat in his director's chair with his head in his hands."[1]

[edit] Lucille Ball

Three Little Pigskins also marked one of Lucille Ball's earliest appearances on film. This was before she dyed her hair red. Later in her career, when this short was brought up, Ms. Ball (apparently referring to the seltzer squirting scene) would remark, "The only thing I learned from The Three Stooges was how to duck!"

[edit] Notes

  • This is the first of several Stooge shorts involving a dumbwaiter, usually involving Curly accidentally destroying the floor of the elevator, causing injury to Larry and Moe.
  • For the football game, Moe's jersey number is H2O2, Larry's is 1/2, and Curly's is a question mark "?".
  • The football team the Stooges played against was that of Loyola Marymount University.
  • There was no attempt to hide the venue, Gilmore Field, as its name on the scoreboard appears in several shots. There is also a shot that includes a billboard for Gilmore Oil, including its trademark symbol, a lion.
  • The title is a multiple pun, derived from The Three Little Pigs, along with "pigskin" being a synonym for a football, and referencing the quantity of Stooges.[2]

[edit] Quotes

    • Woman: "What's 'amateur status'?"
    • Gambler: "Oh, it's a big political party, toots."
    • Woman: "Yeah? Are we goin' to it?"
    • Moe: "Hey, where have you been!!
    • Curly: "You told me to go from the barber shop to the red light, didn't ya?"
    • Moe: "And?"
    • Curly: "Well, that red light was a bus going to Boston!"
    • Woman: "What do you study?"
    • Curly: "Oh, music, songwriting and whatnots."
    • Woman: "Songwriting?"
    • Curly: "Yeah! You ever hear of 'Snow, Snow, Beautiful Snow'?"
    • Woman: "Why yes! Do you write that?"
    • Curly: "No, I shoveled it!"
    • Curly: "Let's play Post Office!"
    • Woman: "Oh, that's a kid's game."
    • Curly: "Not the way I play it."

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Howard, Moe (1977, rev. 1979). Moe Howard and the Three Stooges. Citadel Press, 79, 81. ISBN 0806507233. 
  2. ^ Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 54; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804
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