A Ducking They Did Go (1939)

Director:

Del Lord

Writer:

Andrew Bennison (original screenplay)

Release Date:

7 April 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Con men hire the Stooges to sell memberships to a phony duck hunting club.

Plot Keywords:

Duck Decoy | Mayor | Hunting Club | Egg | Salesman

Cast

Curly Howard	...	Curly (as Curly)
Larry Fine	...	Larry (as Larry)
Moe Howard	...	Moe (as Moe)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lynton Brent	...	Blackie (uncredited)
Chuck Callahan	...	Mayor (uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Vegetarian in Hallway (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Doyle (uncredited)
Jack Hill	...	Duck Hunter (uncredited)
William Irving	...	Cop Hit by Melon (uncredited)
Bud Jamison	...	Police Chief (uncredited)
Johnny Kascier	...	Passerby (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Sheriff Sam (uncredited)
John Rand	...	Duck Farmer (uncredited)
Cy Schindell	...	Fruit Vendor (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Club Member (uncredited)

Directed by
Del Lord

Writing credits
Andrew Bennison		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Jules White	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard

Film Editing by
Charles Nelson

Music Department
Leigh Harline	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ben Oakland	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Gems (1958) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

17 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the scene where the police officer is chasing the Three Stooges down a sidewalk, the "HOLLYWOODLAND" sign (later changed to the current "HOLLYWOOD") is clearly visible in the background.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Stooges are trying to sell a membership to the man in the hallway, Culry tugs the lapel of his jacket and tears it off. In the next shot, the man's left sleeve is missing before he and Moe tear the rest of the jacket.

Quotes:

Vegetarian in hallway:I don't eat ducks, I'm a vegetarian!
Moe:Well eat the vegetable see and leave the duck! Come on!

Movie Connections:

Edited from A Pain in the Pullman (1936)

Soundtrack:

You'll Never Know Just What Tears Are

Stooges Go to the Ducks

Ducking They Did Go, A (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Decent short has the Three Stooges running into con men who convinces the boys to go out and sell memberships to a fake duck hunting club. The boys end up selling to a bunch of police so when they take them to the club they learn that there aren't any ducks so they must do their best to come up with some. This is yet another pretty good short that manages to have quite a few laughs even if the end result isn't one of the best in the series. There are several funny moments here but one of the highlights has to be when Curly accidentally shoots a hole in the boat they're in so Larry shoots another to let the water out. Another funny site is when Moe is bent over hunting not knowing there's a duck on his back, which of course Larry sees and tries to shoot. The start of the film deals with the boys stealing watermelons and getting caught. This early stuff isn't nearly as funny as we get some gags repeated from previous films (which granted, did happen a lot). Fans of the series will no doubt find this to be a funny one but if someone's new then they'd probably want to start off with one of the better classics.