Three Loan Wolves
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| Three Loan Wolves | |
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| Directed by | Jules White |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Felix Adler |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Beverly Warren Harold Brauer Jackie Jackson Joe Palma Wally Rose |
| Cinematography | George F. Kelley |
| Editing by | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  July 4, 1946 |
| Running time | 16' 40" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Monkey Businessmen |
| Followed by | G.I. Wanna Home |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Three Loan Wolves is the 93rd 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
Told in flash back, the Stooges tell their son (Jackie Jackson) how he came to have three fathers. The Stooges, owners of a pawn shop, owe money to the gashouse protection society, a bunch of loan sharks. To complicate matters, a lady (Beverly Warren) leaves a baby in the shop as part of a plan to sell a phony diamond and the Stooges (primarily Larry) wind up caring for the kid. The trio manage to defeat the crooks and when they finish telling the story, the kid goes off to find his real mother.
[edit] Curly's illness
Three Loan Wolves was filmed near the end of Curly Howard's career. The 42-year-old comedian had suffered a series of minor strokes several months prior to filming, and his performances had been unpredictable. By the time of Three Loan Wolves, he had lost a considerable amount of weight, and lines had creased his baby face. In fact, co-stars Larry Fine and Moe Howard look stocky by comparison.
While director Edward Bernds devised ways to cover Curly's illness, Jules White simply shifted the action away from him by giving additional lines of dialogue to Larry Fine. With Three Loan Wolves, White made Larry the main character (Larry's first time in the spotlight since the Stooges inaugural short for Columbia Pictures in 1934, Woman Haters), with nearly the entire film revolving around him.
Curly also tried desperately to maintain his high-pitched voice, but was clearly unable to. Several scenes are heartbreaking to watch, as the once-superstooge had been relegated to a line here or there.[1]
Actress Beverly Warren appeared at a 2002 Three Stooges convention in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and reported that Curly's illness was not discussed on the set. She added that filming was completed at such a rapid pace, she rarely saw Curly or Moe (as she only shared screen time with Larry). [2]
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
- The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [2](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
- One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [3], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).
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