Three Little Pigskins (1934)

Director:

Ray McCarey

Writers:

Felix Adler (story)
Griffin Jay (story)

Release Date:

8 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Watch 'em carry gloom offside - and goal you with glee!

Plot:

The stooges are mistaken by a gangster for the "Three Horsemen of Boulder Dam", famous football players...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Photographer | Slapstick | American Football | Pig Latin

Cast

Moe Howard	...	Moe (as Moe)
Larry Fine	...	Larry (as Larry)
Curly Howard	...	Curley (as Curley)
Lucille Ball	...	Daisy Simms
Gertie Green	...	Lulu Banks
Phyllis Crane	...	Molly Gray
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alex Hirschfield	...	Young Moe (scenes deleted)
Bud Jamison	...	Bit Part (scenes deleted)
Joe Levine	...	Young Larry (scenes deleted)
Billy Wolfstone	...	Young Curley (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

6315-6317 Yucca Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the scene where the Stooges as football players pile on to some photographers, director Ray McCarey wanted the Stooges to do the stunt themselves. They refused, saying it was too dangerous and to get stuntmen to do it. McCarey assured them they wouldn't be hurt, but they still refused. McCarey got three stuntmen to do it, and two of the three, as well as the actors playing the photographers, wound up with broken arms and legs.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Near the beginning of the film, when we first see Moe, he falls in next to a passing pedestrian to ask for "a dime for a hamburger". The shadow of the boom mic following them can be seen on the sidewalk.

Quotes:

Moe: [Curley shows up after Moe and Larry have waited five hours] Where ya been?
Curley: You told me to go to the red light, didn't you?
Moe: And?
Curley: Well, that red light was a bus going to Boston.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)

Has Its Moments (and famous guest star) But Overall Not Up To Expectations

The big professional football game between the Cubs and the Tigers is coming up on the weekend and the Tigers' owner is just informed that his three best backs got plastered and rolled over in their car. Now he has to go out and find three players, fast. He's told about some great amateur backs - The Three Horsemen - at Boulder Dam College.

Meanwhile, in the college town our boys are on the street panhandling and getting socked in the jaws for their efforts. However, they do get a job holding signs promoting the big college football in town, and they are dressed in football gear.

You guessed it. The boys are mistaken for the Three Horsemen - by the men's girlfriends, no less - and are taken back up to their apartment. One of the girls, by the way, is Lucille Ball, but you wouldn't recognize her.

The scenes in the apartment are far better than the football game which is only shown in the last three minutes and aren't much.

Overall, okay but a little too dumb and not as good as expected out of the guys. However, it was still early (1934) in their careers and they were learning. It was interesting to find out how many people got injured filming this short.