Movie Maniacs

Movie Maniacs
Directed by	Del Lord
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Mildred Harris Kenneth Harlan Bud Jamison Harry Semels Heinie Conklin
Cinematography	Benjamin H. Kline
Edited by	William A. Lyon
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	February 20, 1936
Running time	17'
Country	United States
Language	English

Movie Maniacs is the 13th 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 stow away on a boxcar headed for Hollywood, or to be exact, a furniture consignment to Hollywood. They want to make it in the movie business and become stars. Dressed for the occasion, the Stooges sneak into a movie studio where they are mistaken for three new executives who were due to arrive and take over the facility. Given the authority, they take over the production of a movie set in hopes of shooting a blockbuster movie. Things start bad when Curly unable to light his match for a smoke, spots an actress receiving a pedicure (Mildred Harris). He then strikes the match on the sole her bare foot, startling her. Angered, she is about to storm off the set until the trio convince her to stay. The trio then act out the scene as they want it filmed, leading its stars to abandon the set.

Another telegram arrives later confirming that those three new executives were delayed by a storm. Angered at the deception, they go after the Stooges who, realizing their deception, escape with their lives. They go to a door, thinking it was safe. But it so happens to house a couple of lions. Moe thinks it was Larry’s growl, but when they saw the lions, they escape with their lives again to a waiting car. One of the lions boards the car, and they sped out of the studio.

Notes

This short has several references to movie stars of the era. In particular, early in the short, Curly often admires a picture of John Barrymore and tries to imitate his profile. They also mention Clark Gable and The Face on the Bar Room Floor, a 1914 Charlie Chaplin movie.

This is the first short in which the Stooges sneak by a guard by asking him to pose for a picture. The Stooges ask the guard to look in the other direction, shade his eyes, and stick his leg in the air, then they take off running. This would be a recurring joke in the Stooge shorts.

In this short, one of the Stooges is cooking and a container full of a powder or liquid (in this case, baking powder) falls into their mixing bowl. The Stooge does not take notice and tries to continue cooking anyway, with disastrous results. This would be a recurring joke in later Stooge shorts.

The consignment of furniture is marked as a C.M. & St.P.R.R. shipment, which is the old name of the Milwaukee Road.

The name of the movie studio — “Carnation Pictures, from contended actors” — is a pun on the Carnation milk advertisement catchword — “from contented cows.”

Quotes

• • Curly (while posing): "Will I be a sensation in pictures!"
  • Moe: "Come on...get breakfast ready, Gable!"
  • [Moe hits Curly on the back of the head.]
  • Curly: "You wouldn't hit me like that if I was Gable, would ya?"
  • Moe: "No...like this."
  • [Moe hits Curly on the forehead.]

• • Larry (as a stowaway on a boxcar): "Gee, I sure will miss this old car. I wonder who loaned us that furniture without knowing it?"
  • Moe: "The cops get us you'll find out."

• • Curly: "How we gonna get in pictures? We know nothin' about movies!"
  • Moe: "There's a couple thousand people in pictures now know nothin' about it. Three more won't make any difference."

• • Curly (posing in front of a picture of John Barrymore): "Hey fellas! Ain't I gettin' to look more and more like Barrymore?"
  • Larry: "Kiss me, my Caliban!"

• • Larry: "Don't worry. A bad beginning is a good ending."
  • Curly (eating a grapefruit): "Soiteny! If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' 'till you do suck seed."

• • Curly (to Moe): "Pinch me...I think I'm dreamin'!"
  • Moe: "Shut up! Act important!"
  • [Curly takes a notepad and pencil out of his pocket and begins to write.]
  • Curly (to himself): "Dear...Santa Claus..."

• • Moe: "It was no good from the first kiss."
  • Director: "Kiss? What do you know about kisses?"
  • Moe (to Curly): "Tell him what we know about kisses."
  • [Curly starts to speak.]
  • Moe (to Curly): "That's enough."

• • Larry (to Moe, about Curly): "Say, he's passing out!"
  • Moe (to Curly): "He is! Tell me your name, kid, so I can tell your mother!"
  • Curly: "My mother knows my name."

• • Director: "I quit!"
  • Larry: "You can't quit!"
  • Director: "And why not?"
  • Moe: "'Cause you're fired!"
  • Curly: "You can't fire him!"
  • Moe: "Why not?"
  • Curly: "He quit!"

• • Moe (to Larry and Curly, as the guards are coming after them): "I think our genius ain't appreciated here. Let's scram!"

Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion; by Jon Solomon [2], (Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [3] (Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [4](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [5], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).