Monkey Businessmen: Difference between revisions
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
Instead, directing ''Monkey Businessmen'' was a nightmare. Bernds remembers: |
Instead, directing ''Monkey Businessmen'' was a nightmare. Bernds remembers: |
||
<blockquote>"...it was strange the way he (Curly) went up and down. In the order I shot the pictures, not in the order they were released, he was down for ''[[A Bird in the Head]]'' and ''[[The Three Troubledoers]]'', he was up for ''[[Micro-Phonies]]', '''way down''' for ''Monkey Businessmen'', and then up again, for the last time, in ''[[Three Little Pirates]]''."<ref>Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward; (1986). ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'', pp. 66-67, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0899501818 </ref></blockquote> |
<blockquote>"...it was strange the way he (Curly) went up and down. In the order I shot the pictures, not in the order they were released, he was down for ''[[A Bird in the Head]]'' and ''[[The Three Troubledoers]]'', he was up for ''[[Micro-Phonies]]', '''way down''' for ''Monkey Businessmen'', and then up again, for the last time, in ''[[Three Little Pirates]]''."<ref>Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward; (1986). ''The Columbia Comedy Shorts'', pp. 66-67, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0899501818 </ref></blockquote> |
||
''Monkey Businessmen'' was a disaster to film for Bernds. Curly was in such bad shape that brother [[Moe Howard]] would drill Curly on his lines, and then coach him when filming began. In the end, Bernds had to shoot Curly one line of dialogue at a time, a grueling process. One can clearly see Moe nudging Curly in Mallard's office before his says "I know: a nice big bowl of milk!" <ref>[http://www.stoogeworld.com/_Main%20Page/goofs.htm/ Stooge Goofs at Stoogeworld.com]</ref> |
''Monkey Businessmen'' was a disaster to film for Bernds. Curly was in such bad shape that brother [[Moe Howard]] would drill Curly on his lines, and then coach him when filming began. In the end, Bernds had to shoot Curly one line of dialogue at a time, a grueling process. One can clearly see Moe nudging Curly in Mallard's office before his says "I know: a nice big bowl of milk!" <ref>[http://www.stoogeworld.com/_Main%20Page/goofs.htm/ Stooge Goofs at Stoogeworld.com]</ref> |
||
It is to Bernds' great credit, then, that the end result was a frenetic, high-energy Stooge short, considered one of the best produced during Curly's final months with the team <ref>Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 278; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804</ref>. |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 05:14, 31 December 2007
| Monkey Businessmen | |
|---|---|
| File:MonkeyBusinessmenTITLE.jpg | |
| Directed by | Edward Bernds |
| Written by | Edward Bernds |
| Produced by | Hugh McCollum |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Kenneth MacDonald Cy Schindell Fred Kelsey Snub Pollard Jean Willes Wade Crosby Rocky Woods |
| Cinematography | Philip Tannura |
| Edited by | Paul Borofsky |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |  June 20, 1946 |
Running time | 18' 00" |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Monkey Businessmen is the 92nd 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 are inept electricians who manage to electrocute themselves as well as their boss, "Smilin'" Sam McGann (Fred Kelsey). After predictably getting fired from thier job, Curly suggests that the boys take "a nice, long rest." They spot an ad for Mallard's Rest Home, and embark on their R&R trip.
Upon arrival, the boys are introduced to Dr. Mallard (Kenneth MacDonald, in his debut appearance with the Stooges) who prescribes a detailed, regimented schedule of excercise, only to be fed a "nice bowl of milk" for breakfast and lunch. Mallard then assigns two nurses to train the Stooges, which sends the boys head over heels into fits of love — until the nurses turn out to be men (Cy Schindell and Wade Crosby).
While the Stooges are vigorously training in the gym the following day, Moe and Larry attempt to help Curly flex his muscles by removing the individual weights, pound by pound. The weights land on the nurses' heads, knocking thee cold. In their daze, the the two spill the beans about Mallard, and the Stooges realize that the phony doctor is out to swindle the trio from their hard-earned money. In their efforts to escape, Curly bumps into a wealthy man with a bad foot (Snub Pollard), and is handsomely rewarded with a $1,000 for his "efforts." When Curly suggests using the money to take "a nice, long rest," Moe and Larry promtly clobber him.
Curly's illness
Monkey Businessmen was the first short filmed after the Stooges annual seven-month production hiatus [1]. 42-year-old Curly Howard had suffered a series of minor strokes in early 1945, and his performances had become marred by slurred speech and slower timing. Novice director Edward Bernds had to deal with Curly's condition while simultaneously learning the ropes of directing, and hoped the hiatus would allow Curly enough time to recover from the effects of his strokes and resume his abilities as the lead Stooge.
Instead, directing Monkey Businessmen was a nightmare. Bernds remembers:
"...it was strange the way he (Curly) went up and down. In the order I shot the pictures, not in the order they were released, he was down for A Bird in the Head and The Three Troubledoers, he was up for Micro-Phonies', way down for Monkey Businessmen, and then up again, for the last time, in Three Little Pirates." [2]
Monkey Businessmen was a disaster to film for Bernds. Curly was in such bad shape that brother Moe Howard would drill Curly on his lines, and then coach him when filming began. In the end, Bernds had to shoot Curly one line of dialogue at a time, a grueling process. One can clearly see Moe nudging Curly in Mallard's office before his says "I know: a nice big bowl of milk!" [3]
It is to Bernds' great credit, then, that the end result was a frenetic, high-energy Stooge short, considered one of the best produced during Curly's final months with the team [4].
References
- ^ Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 278; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0971186804
- ^ Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward; (1986). The Columbia Comedy Shorts, pp. 66-67, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0899501818
- ^ Stooge Goofs at Stoogeworld.com
- ^ Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 278; 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).
 | This 1940s comedy film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |