Three Smart Saps - Misplaced Pages

1942 American short film by Jules White

Three Smart Saps

Directed by	Jules White
Written by	Clyde Bruckman
Produced by	Del Lord Hugh McCollum
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Vernon Dent Bud Jamison Sally Cairns Barbara Slater Julie Gibson Frank Coleman Julie Duncan John Tyrrell Victor Travers Eddie Laughton Lew Davis
Cinematography	Benjamin H. Kline
Edited by	Jerome Thoms
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	July 30, 1942 (1942-07-30) (U.S.)
Running time	16:40
Country	United States
Language	English

Three Smart Saps is a 1942 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 64th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges find themselves entangled in a complex web of intrigue and familial obligation as they endeavor to liberate their prospective father-in-law from incarceration. Their predicament arises from the father's status as a prison warden, who has fallen victim to the machinations of the local mafia, resulting in his unjust confinement.

Undeterred by the formidable obstacles confronting them, the Stooges embark on a daring mission to infiltrate the confines of the prison, where they successfully locate and secure the release of their intended patriarch. In a display of resourcefulness, they employ clandestine photography to document the nefarious activities of the mafia, thereby securing evidence essential for their downfall.

Through their concerted efforts, justice prevails as the true perpetrators are apprehended, paving the way for the restoration of order within the prison establishment. The reinstatement of Stevens as warden symbolizes the triumph of righteousness over villainy, while concurrently ensuring the fulfillment of the Stooges' romantic aspirations as they unite with their beloveds in matrimony.

Cast

Credited

Moe Howard as Moe
Larry Fine as Larry
Curly Howard as Curly
Bud Jamison as Party Guest
Barbara Slater as Curly's Dancing Partner
John Tyrell as Warden Stevens

Uncredited

Sally Cairns as Moe's Dancing Partner
Chuck Callahan as Man on the Street
Frank Coleman as Policeman
Jack Cooper as Party Guest
Lew Davis as Gambler
Marjorie Deane as Woman on Dance Floor
Vernon Dent as Man with Tailor
Julie Duncan as Mella Stevens
Julie Gibson as Stella Stevens
Marjorie Kane as Woman on Dance Floor
Johnny Kascier as Party Doorman
Eddie Laughton as Guard at Main Door
Paul McVey as Convict Nolan
Barbara Pepper as Woman on Dance Floor
Jack Parker as Convict 5736
Lucille Porcett as Party Guest
Ruth Skinner as Bella Stevens
Frank Terry as Tailor
Victor Travers as Justice of the Peace
Dorothy Vernon as Ma Stevens

Production notes

Three Smart Saps was filmed on April 7–10, 1942. This is the seventh of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title. The film's title is a play on the 1936 musical comedy film Three Smart Girls.

The mobster party in prison is decorated with college-sports-style banners for Alcatraz, Joliet, Leavenworth and Sing Sing, all well-known prisons of the day.

The sequence depicting Curly's suit unraveling at the seams while he dances is reminiscent of a routine employed in Harold Lloyd's 1925 film The Freshman. Although Clyde Bruckman, the writer associated with this comedic sequence, did not contribute to Lloyd's film, he is credited with potentially drawing inspiration from it for this particular gag.

References

Pauley, Jim (2012). The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations. Solana Beach, California: Santa Monica Press, LLC. p. 280. ISBN 9781595800701.
"Three Smart Saps". The Three Stooges Online Filmography.
Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 221–213. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
Okuda, Ted; Watz, Edward (1986). The Columbia Comedy Shorts. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 0-89950-181-8.

External links

Three Smart Saps at IMDb
Three Smart Saps at AllMovie

v t e The Three Stooges
Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Shemp Howard Joe Besser Curly Joe DeRita
Works	The Three Stooges filmography The Three Stooges Collection Jerks of All Trades The New 3 Stooges The Three Stooges Scrapbook Kook's Tour Moe Howard and the Three Stooges
Related topics	List of supporting actors in Three Stooges films Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges Meet the Mad, Mad, Mad Dr. No-No The Robonic Stooges Stoogemania "Swingin' the Alphabet" "The Curly Shuffle" 1984 arcade game 1987 video game 2000 TV biopic 2012 feature film C3 Entertainment
Associated people	Felix Adler Edward Bernds Tiny Brauer Clyde Bruckman Charley Chase Paul Garner Ted Healy Rich Koz Del Lord Norman Maurer Hugh McCollum Christine McIntyre Frank Mitchell Joe Palma/Fake Shemp Fred Sanborn Emil Sitka Greta Thyssen Elwood Ullman Jack White Jules White
Category

v t e The Three Stooges filmography (1934–1946)
1934	Woman Haters Punch Drunks Men in Black Three Little Pigskins
1935	Horses' Collars Restless Knights Pop Goes the Easel Uncivil Warriors Pardon My Scotch Hoi Polloi Three Little Beers
1936	Ants in the Pantry Movie Maniacs Half Shot Shooters Disorder in the Court A Pain in the Pullman False Alarms Whoops, I'm an Indian! Slippery Silks
1937	Grips, Grunts and Groans Dizzy Doctors 3 Dumb Clucks Back to the Woods Goofs and Saddles Cash and Carry Playing the Ponies The Sitter Downers
1938	Termites of 1938 Wee Wee Monsieur Tassels in the Air Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb Violent Is the Word for Curly Three Missing Links Mutts to You Flat Foot Stooges
1939	Three Little Sew and Sews We Want Our Mummy A Ducking They Did Go Yes, We Have No Bonanza Saved by the Belle Calling All Curs Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise Three Sappy People
1940	You Nazty Spy! Rockin' thru the Rockies A Plumbing We Will Go Nutty but Nice How High Is Up? From Nurse to Worse No Census, No Feeling Cookoo Cavaliers Boobs in Arms
1941	So Long, Mr. Chumps Dutiful But Dumb All the World's a Stooge I'll Never Heil Again An Ache in Every Stake In the Sweet Pie and Pie Some More of Samoa
1942	Loco Boy Makes Good Cactus Makes Perfect What's the Matador? Matri-Phony Three Smart Saps Even as IOU Sock-a-Bye Baby
1943	They Stooge to Conga Dizzy Detectives Spook Louder Back From the Front Three Little Twirps Higher Than a Kite I Can Hardly Wait Dizzy Pilots Phony Express A Gem of a Jam
1944	Crash Goes the Hash Busy Buddies The Yoke's on Me Idle Roomers Gents Without Cents No Dough Boys
1945	Three Pests in a Mess Booby Dupes Idiots Deluxe If a Body Meets a Body Micro-Phonies
1946	Beer Barrel Polecats A Bird in the Head Uncivil War Birds The Three Troubledoers Monkey Businessmen Three Loan Wolves G.I. Wanna Home Rhythm and Weep Three Little Pirates
1947	Half-Wits Holiday
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