Soup to Nuts (1930)

Mr. Schmidt's costume store is bankrupt because he spends his time on Rube Goldberg-style inventions; the creditors send a young manager who falls for Schmidt's niece Louise, but she'll ... See full summary »

Director:

Benjamin Stoloff

Writers:

Rube Goldberg (original screen story and dialogue), Howard J. Green (continuity),

Stars:

Ted Healy, Charles Winninger, Frances McCoy

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ted Healy	...	Ted 'Teddy'
Charles Winninger	...	Otto Schmidt
Frances McCoy	...	Queenie
George Bickel	...	Gustav 'Gus' Klein
Lucile Browne	...	Louise, Otto's Niece
Shemp Howard	...	Fireman Shemp
Stanley Smith	...	Richard Carlson
Moe Howard	...	Fireman (as Harry Howard)
Hallam Cooley	...	Mr. D. Quincy Throckmorton
Fred Sanborn	...	Mute Fireman
Larry Fine	...	Fireman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ralph Elmer	...	Magician

Storyline

Mr. Schmidt's costume store is bankrupt because he spends his time on Rube Goldberg-style inventions; the creditors send a young manager who falls for Schmidt's niece Louise, but she'll have none of him. Schmidt's friends Ted, Queenie, and some goofy firemen try to help out; things come to a slapstick head when Louise needs rescuing from a fire.

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Plot Keywords:

fire | costume | birthday cake | costume party | restaurant | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rube Goldberg's Soup to Nuts

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation, Mentone Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First appearance of Shemp Howard with The Three Stooges, and his last appearance with the group until he rejoined them in 1947.

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Goofs

When Ted and the Stooges leave after breaking the window of a tailor shop, the stuttering tailor yells "You have to buy me a new mirror", rather than "window".

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Connections

Referenced in The Three Stooges (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Nellie"
(uncredited)
Written by Ted Healy
Sung by Ted Healy, Moe Howard, Shemp Howard and Larry Fine at the masked ball

User Reviews

Vaudeville on film - its weaknesses are also its strengths

What we appear to have here are some vaudeville comedians trying to bring their acts to the screen assisted by a story from comic strip artist Rube Goldberg. It doesn't seem likely that any of them knew much about making movies no matter how good they may have been at making people laugh in their normal venues. The result is a mostly haphazard collection of lame gags with a few totally inane scenes thrown in for "plot" development. It isn't a total loss, however, because this fundamental weakness turns out also to be the film's greatest strength. Not knowing what they were doing, they manage to create a movie with a truly unusual and unique approach to film comedy. No matter how bad it may be, there are a few moments of hilarity delivered in a style you'll not see anywhere else.

What really makes this worthwhile for most viewers, however, is it being the film debut of the 3 Stooges. Their skit near the end of the movie is basically a filmed vaudeville routine and is quite a bit different from the familiar act they eventually developed for their later shorts, but it's probably the closest we'll ever come to seeing what they originally looked like when performing on stage (and our only chance to see bizarre "fourth stooge" Fred Sanborn). No 3 Stooges fan should ever consider passing up the opportunity to see this.

Let me also say that many of the other reviews here seem very unfair to Ted Healy, the Stooges original leader. From what I've read, the Stooges always thought very highly of his talents, but eventually got tired of his drunken binges and not being given the credit (or money) they deserved. In fact, it was after an early split with Healy that Shemp refused to return to work for him, thus requiring younger brother Curly to be brought in as a replacement (although much maligned by Stooge fans, Shemp does go on to be the only one of them with a successful film career independent of being a stooge). Healy, a big vaudeville star, seemed on his way to becoming a big film star before being killed in a bar fight during one of his drunken binges. Having never had the chance to see him in vaudeville, it hardly seems fair to judge him based on a few movies he made while still learning how to make the transition.