Fiddlers Three (1948)

The stooges are musicians at the court of King Cole. When they ask the king's permission to marry their sweethearts, the King agrees, but only after Princess Alicia has married Prince ... See full summary »

Director:

Jules White

Writer:

Felix Adler (story)

Stars:

Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shemp Howard	...	Shemp (as Shemp)
Larry Fine	...	Larry (as Larry)
Moe Howard	...	Moe (as Moe)
Vernon Dent	...	King Cole
Virginia Hunter	...	Princess Alisha
Philip Van Zandt	...	Murgitroyd, the Magician (as Phil Van Zandt)

Storyline

The stooges are musicians at the court of King Cole. When they ask the king's permission to marry their sweethearts, the King agrees, but only after Princess Alicia has married Prince Valiant. This news upsets Mergatroyd, an evil magician who plans to marry the Princess himself and rule the Kingdom. Mergatroyd abducts the Princess, and it's up to the stooges to foil his plans and expose his evil doings.

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Plot Keywords:

kicked by a mule | anvil | horseshoe | swashbuckler | a cappella | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 1948 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

17 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Musty Musketeers (1954)

User Reviews

Richard, the Stooges and "Fiddlers Three"

This is my seventh consecutive commentary here on the Internet Movie Database --- and it presents a viewpoint I have held for many years, though until now I have not publicly shared it. That viewpoint is, simply, that the eternal, undying magic of laughter has never been more graphically depicted than in the opening sequence of the Three Stooges 1948 short, "Fiddlers Three." For a full three and a half minutes, we are introduced to the individual members of the dramatis personae, as they giggle themselves silly beyond their normal limits. "Fiddlers Three," after all, is the Stooges' salute to Mother Goose and her world; naturally, Shemp, Larry and Moe take on the title roles, with longtime Stooge regular Vernon Dent taking the Royal Throne as none other than His Merry Majesty himself, Old King Cole. The King's verbal Royal Proclamation, "Why, there's nothing so good for the soul as a hearty laugh! Everybody laugh!" is as much an invitation to those of us sitting in the dark as it is a command to those gathered in His Majesty's Throne Room. Thus, we cannot help but laugh as loud and as long and as hard and as well as we wish right along with our merry cast of characters. In "Fiddlers Three," Princess Alicia (Virginia Hunter) is betrothed to Prince Gallant the Third of Rhododendron. This is not good news for the bullying Mergatroyd the Magician (Phil van Zandt), whose own ambition is to seize power in the Kingdom of Coleslaw-vania. In revenge, he abducts the Princess; before long, it's up to the Stooges to stop him before things get a bit too stupid. There is one hot (and, alas, uncredited) babe in the ensemble [Hubba hubba!]; by tale's end, she's got all the guys following her all around --- even the King himself. (Weird, huh?) Anyway, I've always had the idea of writing a novelization of "Fiddlers Three" in the back of my head; in fact --- and I hope C3 Entertainment's lawyers won't be angry when I say this ---I have been toying with the notion of doing an entire website about this one Three Stooges short. Regardless, this is one of the all-time Stooge great shorts --- if for no other reason that it reminds us how wonderful it is to laugh...... long and hard and well. That said, long live His Merry Majesty, Old King Cole. Oh yeah: and let's hear it for his Fiddlers Three, OK? Thanks.