Pardon My Scotch

Pardon My Scotch
Directed by Del Lord
Produced by Jules White
Written by Andrew Bennison
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Nat Carr
James C. Morton
Billy Gilbert
Grace Goodall
Al Thompson
Symona Boniface
Cinematography George Meehan
Edited by James Sweeney
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • August 1, 1935 (1935-08-01) (U.S.)
Running time
 18:39
Country United States
Language English

Pardon My Scotch is the ninth short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1935 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges, working as carpenters for at least ten years, are temporarily left in charge of a drugstore. When a liquor supplier (Nat Carr) stops by and asks for a drink, the Stooges mix a drink using all manner of medicines and chemicals, and mixed with a rubber boot. The concoction reacts, and it is so strong that it cuts through a wicker chair serving as an improvised sieve. But the salesman loves the libation (which he thought was Scotch), and he convinces the Stooges to pose as Scotsmen and attend a party at his boss' house, where he can sign the Stooges to a liquor contract for their invention, dubbed the "Breath of Heather".

After a raucous Highland Fling dance and a disastrous dinner, the barrel of the lethal "scotch" is presented. The Stooges' attempt to tap the barrel results in an explosion which engulfs all the party guests in a sea of foam.

Production notes

Pardon My Scotch was filmed on April 11-15, 1935,[1] four months after the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution which ended the American experiment with Prohibition. This event is an integral part of the storyline, with the drugstore owner (Al Thompson) frantically attempting to lay in a stock of liquor in anticipation of the imminent end of Prohibition.[2]

The title Pardon My Scotch parodies the expression "Pardon my French."[2] The term "Scotch" for "Scottish" is now considered impolite, although "Scotch" as a type of whiskey is still acceptable.

Pardon My Scotch is the first Stooge film to employ "Listen to the Mocking Bird" as the Stooges' official theme song, as arranged by Louis Silvers. It would be used up to and including 1939's Three Little Sew and Sews.[2]

The throwing of the pieces of fruit at the singer was used in the film "Micro Phonies"

When the liquor supplier prepares to consume the Stooges' volatile concoction, they wish him well in a triad pattern saying "Over the river," "Skip the gutter," and concluding with "Ver geharget," a Yiddish expression meaning "get killed"[2] or "drop dead."[3]

Moe's injury

During the opening scenes when the boys are assembling the door, Moe asks Curly to saw a piece of wood for him. Curly lays the wood on top of a wooden table, which Moe happens to be standing on. Curly then proceeds to buzzsaw both the wood and table in half, with the table splitting in two. However, the table split inward on Moe's half of it, and Moe came crashing down on his left side, breaking three ribs. He was able to pull himself up and deliver a double slap to Larry and Curly before fainting. Moe was then rushed to the hospital while production ceased briefly.[4]

The painful footage was reused in 1943 at the start of Dizzy Detectives.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Pardon My Scotch at threestooges.net
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
  3. ↑ Galbraith IV, Stuart (July 7, 2012). "The Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection". DVD Talk. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Howard, Moe (1977). Moe Howard and the Three Stooges. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-8065-0723-1.
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