Malice in the Palace (1949)

Set in a desert land where the stooges run a restaurant, the boys set out to recover the stolen Rootin Tootin diamond after they learn from the thieves that the Emir of Shmo has absconded ... See full summary »

Director:

Jules White

Writers:

Felix Adler (story), Felix Adler (screenplay)

Stars:

Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shemp Howard	...	Shemp (as Shemp)
Larry Fine	...	Larry (as Larry)
Moe Howard	...	Moe (as Moe)
Vernon Dent	...	Hassan Ben Sober
George J. Lewis	...	Ginna Rumma (as George Lewis)
Frank Lackteen	...	Haffa Dolla

Storyline

Set in a desert land where the stooges run a restaurant, the boys set out to recover the stolen Rootin Tootin diamond after they learn from the thieves that the Emir of Shmo has absconded with the contraband jewel. They journey to the stronghold of Shmo where they disguise as Santa Clauses and scare the ruler into giving them the diamond.

---

Plot Keywords:

slapstick comedy | diamond | restaurant | butcher | statuette | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Short

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Larry Fine's autobiography contains a photograph of Curly Howard as a chef in a deleted scene from this film (the scene was reportedly deleted due to Curly's speech being deemed unintelligible). Curly had suffered a stroke a few years earlier and had left the act. He had clearly lost weight, and his face was disguised with a huge handlebar mustache.

---

Goofs

The line "Wait a minute!" is actually heard again, accidentally, when Ben Sober threatens Moe with the knife. He was meant to say "Sir!", originally.

---

Quotes

Hassan Ben Soba: [to Shemp, getting up and pointing to his chair] Sit down!
Shemp: Oh, but I'm not tired, I'll just stand while you eat.
Hassan Ben Soba: [pulls out his dagger] Sit down with your hands on or off!
Moe: Y-you talked us into it.

---

Alternate Versions

Also available in computer colorized version.

---

Connections

Edited into The Three Stooges in Color (2005)

---

Soundtracks

Three Blind Mice
(uncredited)
Written by Thomas Ravenscroft

User Reviews

One of the funniest 3 stooges episodes ever.

When looking through the video 'discount bin' the next time you go shopping, you'll probably notice a tape saying "Three Stooges Classics" or something like that. No matter the design of the sleeve, and no matter what company manufactured the video, there is about a 99% chance that this video will contain the following episodes:

Disorder in the Court, Brideless Groom, Malice in the Palace, Sing a Song of Six Pants

Yes, these are the Three Stooges episodes that somehow slipped through the fingers of our friends at Columbia Pictures, and have found themselves in the ranks of Public Domain Films. I received copies of these episodes when I was nine or so, mainly because they were the most affordable, and I watched them quite possibly 50 times. Nowadays, when I see an episode of the Three Stooges, I tend to think its juvenile and unfunny. But these four episodes still make me chuckle. Are they funny because they're public domain, or are they public domain because they're funny? I guess it's one of those chicken/egg questions.

Malice in the Palace is one of the all-time greats. It's almost impossible not to laugh in the scene where everyone is convinced Larry is chopping up the cat and dog. And just like any Three Stooges episode, loaded with plenty of puns and lame jokes, and pokes and slaps galore. 3 1/2 stars.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Here We Go Shmow

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

16 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1