Spook Louder

Spook Louder
Directed by Del Lord
Produced by Del Lord
Hugh McCollum
Written by Clyde Bruckman
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Stanley Blystone
Lew Kelly
Symona Boniface
Stanley Brown
Charles Middleton
Ted Lorch
Shirley Patterson
Cinematography John Stumar
Edited by Paul Borofsky
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • April 2, 1943
Running time
 16' 07"
Country United States
Language English

Spook Louder is the 69th 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

Told in flashback by a professor in an interview with a newspaper reporter, this is the story of The Stooges as traveling salesmen trying their best to sell their "Miracle Reducing Machine", which essentially shakes and rattles off the pounds (as Curly's demonstrates). As luck would have it, the boys stumble on the home of Graves the inventor (Ted Lorch), who assumes the Stooges are the new caretakers. Graves is on his way to Washington, D.C. to test his new death ray machine, and leaves his eerie spooky mansion in the hands of the trio. Naturally, spies disguised in Halloween costumes show up once Graves departs. The Stooges are on edge the entire time, particularly because mysterious cream pies come flying out of thin air. Back in the office the reporter is desperate to know who is throwing those pies. The professor confess that he was throwing the pies when out of nowhere a pie flew into his face.

Curly threatens the bad guys with an explosive

Production notes

The title Spook Louder is a pun combining the request "speak louder" with the "spooks" of a mansion.[1] The film is a remake of the 1925 Mack Sennett silent film The Great Pie Mystery[2]

Co-stars Charles Middleton and Ted Lorch also appeared together in the 1936 serial Flash Gordon.

Filmed in July 1942, Spook Louder was one of several World War II-era Stooges shorts that engaged in propaganda against the then-enemy Japanese, including Spook Louder, No Dough Boys, Booby Dupes and, notably, The Yoke's on Me.[1]

Reception

The Stooge films released between 1942-1944 were considered to be a step down in quality from previous entries made between 1935-1941. Spook Louder, in particular, was singled out by author Ted Okuda as "their worst picture in some time. The story of a phantom pie-thrower is a repetitious one-joke affair devoid of laughs."[2]

Popular culture

Several scenes from Spook Louder appear in the 1992 film Radio Flyer.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 226. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward (1986). The Columbia Comedy Shorts. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 60–102, 237–239. ISBN 0-89950-181-8.

External links