A Snitch in Time

A Snitch in Time
Directed by Edward Bernds
Produced by Hugh McCollum
Written by Elwood Ullman
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Shemp Howard
Jean Willes
Henry Kulky
John L. Cason
John Merton
Fred F. Sears
Edited by Henry DeMond
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 7, 1950 (1950-12-07) (U.S.)
Running time
 16:28
Country United States
Language English

A Snitch in Time is the 128th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1950 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The trio own a furniture shop ("Ye Olde Furniture Shoppe: Antiques Made While U Waite") who are staining some furniture they have delivered to Miss Scudder (Jean Willes), an attractive curly-haired brunette who owns a boarding house. While attending to their duties (and nearly destroying the furniture in the process), several new boarders at Miss Scudder's place are actually a trio of crooks who have just robbed a jewelry store. The Stooges are held at gunpoint while Miss Scudder is tied up and gagged in her kitchen while the crooks ransack the house to steal several valuable heirlooms in her possession. The Stooges and Miss Scudder work together and unravel the crooks' plot.

Production notes

A Snitch in Time was filmed December 13–16, 1949, the last Stooge film produced in the 1940s. It has been consistently ranked as the most violent Stooge film of the Shemp era.[1] Unlike the Curly-era equivalent They Stooge to Conga, in which all three Stooges receive their fair share of abuse, most of the violence in A Snitch in Time is directed at Moe. In its opening four minutes, Moe gets his nose and buttocks jammed into the blade of a whirling circular saw, as well as getting glue in his eye and stuck on his hands.[1]

David J. Hogan, author of the 2011 book Three Stooges FAQ, commented that "kids of the day—before bicycle helmets, seat belts, and moratoriums on peanut butter—loved this kind of torment. It's still funny today, but you keep waiting for the spray of blood."[2] Hogan adds that a February 2001 post to the website www.threestooges.net commented that "Only Dawn of the Dead gives you more pain for your entertainment dollar".[2][3]

Interestingly, though Columbia short subject head/director Jules White was known for the usage of excessive violence in his films, A Snitch in Time was directed by Edward Bernds, who always maintained that the violence was not to be excessive in the films he directed.[1]

The title A Snitch in Time parodies the aphorism "a stitch in time saves nine."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 376–377. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
  2. 1 2 Hogan, David J. (2011). Three Stooges FAQ. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. pp. 273–274. ISBN 978-1-55783-788-2.
  3. ↑ A Snitch in Time at threestooges.net
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