The Yoke's on Me: Difference between revisions
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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During World War II, the Stooges made a few comedies that engaged in [[propaganda]] and attacks on the Japanese. While well intentioned at the time, shorts like ''[[Spook Louder]]'' and ''The Yoke's On Me'' can be uncomfortable to view today. In fact, ''The Yoke's on Me'' has been [[blacklisted]] from the Stooges' television syndication package, and is rarely seen today. Author Jon Solomon has said, "no Stooge film so profoundly disturbs modern viewers as this one." <ref>Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 246; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804</ref> |
During World War II, the Stooges made a few comedies that engaged in [[propaganda]] and attacks on the Japanese. While well intentioned at the time, shorts like ''[[Spook Louder]]'' and ''The Yoke's On Me'' can be uncomfortable to view today. In fact, ''The Yoke's on Me'' has been [[blacklisted]] from the Stooges' television syndication package, and is rarely seen today. Author Jon Solomon has said, "no Stooge film so profoundly disturbs modern viewers as this one." <ref>Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 246; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804</ref> Author Michael Fleming put it more bluntly: "Knowing what we do now about how Japanese-born American citizens were mistreated and stripped of their belongings in relocations centers makes this as funny as a trai wreck." <ref>Fleming, Michael (1999). ''The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons'', p. 208, Broadway Publishing. ISBN 0767905567 </ref><ref>Fleming, Michael (1999). ''The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons'', p. 79, Broadway Publishing. ISBN 0767905567 </ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 18:43, 5 December 2007
| The Yoke's on Me | |
|---|---|
| File:TheYokesOnMeTITLE.jpg | |
| Directed by | Jules White |
| Written by | Clyde Bruckman |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Robert McKenzie Eva McKenzie Emmett Lynn Al Thompson Victor Travers |
| Cinematography | Glen Gano |
| Edited by | Charles Hochberg |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |  May 26, 1944 |
Running time | 16' 08" |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
The Yoke's on Me is the 79th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
The Stooges try to join the army but are labeled 4-F by the draft board due to Curly having water on the knee. When they decide to vacation until a job comes along, their father (Robert McKenzie) insists they aid the war effort instead like becoming farmers. The Stooges sell their dilapidated car and buy an equally dilapidated farm. The farm contains no livestock except for one ostrich, which Curly feeds some gunpower to. The boys then spot some pumpkins and decide to carve and sell them.
In the interim, several Japanese refugees escape a prison camp (known during World War II as 'relocation centers'), and work their way onto the Stooges' farm. Curly is the first to notice some suspicious activity (one of the Japanese place the carved pumpkin on his head, spooking Curly). Eventually, Moe and Larry believe him, and realize that the farm is surrounded Japanese. Curly then throws an ostrich egg (laden with digested gunpowder) at the them, ending the situation.
Controversy
During World War II, the Stooges made a few comedies that engaged in propaganda and attacks on the Japanese. While well intentioned at the time, shorts like Spook Louder and The Yoke's On Me can be uncomfortable to view today. In fact, The Yoke's on Me has been blacklisted from the Stooges' television syndication package, and is rarely seen today. Author Jon Solomon has said, "no Stooge film so profoundly disturbs modern viewers as this one." [1] Author Michael Fleming put it more bluntly: "Knowing what we do now about how Japanese-born American citizens were mistreated and stripped of their belongings in relocations centers makes this as funny as a trai wreck." [2][3]
Notes
- The title The Yoke's on Me is a pun on the expression "the joke's on me." [4]
See also
References
- ^ Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 246; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804
- ^ Fleming, Michael (1999). The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons, p. 208, Broadway Publishing. ISBN 0767905567
- ^ Fleming, Michael (1999). The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons, p. 79, Broadway Publishing. ISBN 0767905567
- ^ Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 247; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804
Further reading
- Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
- The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [2](Citadel Press, 1994).
- The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [3](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
- One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [4], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).
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