Dutiful But Dumb
| Dutiful but Dumb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Del Lord |
| Produced by |
Hugh McCollum Del Lord |
| Written by | Elwood Ullman |
| Starring |
Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Vernon Dent Bud Jamison Fred Kelsey Eddie Laughton Chester Conklin Harry Semels Marjorie Deanne Stanley Brown Lew Davis |
| Cinematography | Benjamin H. Kline |
| Edited by | Art Seid |
| Distributed by |
Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment) |
Release dates | March 21, 1941(U.S.) |
Running time | 16' 47" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dutiful but Dumb is the 54th 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.
Plot
The Stooges are Click, Clack and Cluck, paparazzi-like photographers working for Whack Magazine ("If it's a good picture, it's out of Whack!") who continue to grate at their weary boss (Vernon Dent). To get them out of his hair, he sends them to Vulgaria (an obvious parody of Bulgaria and fictional european country) for their next job, knowing full well that taking pictures in Vulgaria is against the law, leading to execution. The inept trio are caught almost immediately after they set foot on Vulgarian soil. As the firing squad is setting up, Curly requests one last smoke, leading to him pulling out a cigar the length of a hero sandwich. The wait puts everyone to sleep, and enables the boys to escape. As they try to avoid their captors, they end up in a local cafe, in which Curly pits his wits against a strong drink, and then a defiant oyster in his stew. When the oyster works Curly's last nerve he pulls out his gun and fires at it repeatedly. This gets the attention of the guards who promptly capture the Stooges and carry them off, upside down, on the bayonets of their guns.
Production notes
Filmed on August 1-5, 1940,[1] the film title is a play on "beautiful but dumb."[2]
An adaptation of the oyster soup battle is featured in the The Three Stooges video game, where players control Curly who attempts to pick up and eat as many crackers from the oyster soup as possible before the oysters do. Oysters occasionally fire soup at Curly.[3] The gag was later performed by Moe in 1948's Shivering Sherlocks and Larry who fights the Lobster Gumbo in 1954's Income Tax Sappy.[2] The gag also appears in the 1945 Abbott and Costello film, Here Come the Co-Eds.[2]
References
- ↑ Pauley, Jim (2012). The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations. Solana Beach, California: Santa Monica Press, LLC. p. 91. ISBN 9781595800701.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
- ↑ Fletcher, JC (2008-04-17). "Virtually Overlooked: The Three Stooges". Retrieved 2011-02-25.
