Bedlam in Paradise

Bedlam in Paradise is the 162nd short subject starring the American slapstick comedy team Three Stooges who made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

On his deathbed, Shemp warns Moe and Larry to behave themselves or he will come back and haunt them. After Shemp's arrival to heaven, his Uncle Mortimer (Moe) contemplates whether Shemp will remain or go to Hell. Then the Devil (Philip Van Zandt) appears in a burst of flame to tempt Shemp with a sultry dancer, Hellen Blazes. Uncle Mortimer intervenes, promising Shemp eternity in Heaven if he returns to Earth unseen and unheard and reforms Moe and Larry.

Meanwhile, one "Mr. Heller" (the Devil) is giving Moe and Larry some "devillishy good ideas," such as conning a wealthy couple into financing the production of fountain pens that write under whipped cream. Shemp sabotages their demonstration but accidentally starts a fire. The scene fades back to Shemp's bedroom. It has all been a dream, but Shemp is on fire because he fell asleep smoking in bed.

Notes

• Bedlam in Paradise is a remake of Heavenly Daze, using ample stock footage. The new footage was filmed on July 9, 1954.^[1] Coincidentally, as the musical Carousel was a hit in Broadway at the time of the making of Heavenly Daze, the film version of Carousel was in production when Bedlam in Paradise was made.
• A gag in the film's script called for a fountain pen to be thrown into the middle of Larry's forehead. The pen was to be thrown on a wire and into a small hole in a tin plate fastened to Larry's head. But because of a miscalculation on the part of the special effects department, the point of the pen punctured Larry's skin, leaving a gash in his forehead. After the cameras stopped filming that scene, a furious Moe Howard chased director Jules White around the set because White had promised that the way the effect was set up, Larry would not get hurt while filming the scene.^[2]

References

External links

• Bedlam in Paradise at the Internet Movie Database
• Bedlam in Paradise at AllRovi
• Bedlam in Paradise at threestooges.net