Termites of 1938: Difference between revisions
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==Production notes== |
==Production notes== |
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''Termites of 1938'' was filmed on October 19-23, 1937.<ref name=pauley>{{cite book | last = Pauley | first = Jim | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations | publisher = Santa Monica Press, LLC | year = 2012 | location = [[Solana Beach, California]] | pages = 253 | url = http://www.santamonicapress.com/index.php?page_name=threestooges&page_type=book&show=desc&hide0=excerpt&hide1=author&hide2=reviews&hide5=number5 | doi = | id = | isbn = 9781595800701}}</ref> The film's title is a parody of the film title ''[[Gold Diggers of 1937 |
''Termites of 1938'' was filmed on October 19-23, 1937.<ref name=pauley>{{cite book | last = Pauley | first = Jim | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations | publisher = Santa Monica Press, LLC | year = 2012 | location = [[Solana Beach, California]] | pages = 253 | url = http://www.santamonicapress.com/index.php?page_name=threestooges&page_type=book&show=desc&hide0=excerpt&hide1=author&hide2=reviews&hide5=number5 | doi = | id = | isbn = 9781595800701}}</ref> The film's title is a parody of the film title ''[[Gold Diggers of 1937]]''.<ref name=solo>{{cite book | last = Solomon | first = Jon | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion | publisher = Comedy III Productions, Inc | year = 2002 | location = [[Glendale, California]] | pages = 122-123 | url = http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Three-Stooges-Filmography-Companion/dp/0971186804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201570359&sr=1-1 | doi = | id = | isbn = 0-9711868-0-4}}</ref> The film has two musical quirks unusual for Stooge shorts. First, the Three Stooges' opening theme, "[[Listen to the Mockingbird]]," is played again when the Stooges first appear onscreen.<ref name=solo/> Second, music derived from [[Victor Schertzinger]]'s score for the 1933 Columbia feature ''Cocktail Hour'' is featured during the dinner scene.<ref name>{{cite journal | last = Finegan | first = Richard | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Notes on Stooge Film Music and Other Oddities | journal = The Three Stooges Journal | volume = | issue = 79 | pages = 4 | publisher = The Three Stooges Fan Club, Inc. | location = [[Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania]] | date = Fall 1996 | url = http://threestooges.net/journal/view/96 | jstor = | issn = | doi = | id = | mr = | zbl = | jfm = | accessdate = 2014-01-03}}</ref> This is the result of producer Charley Chase, who liked incidental music from his time at the [[Hal Roach]] studio.<ref name=solo/> |
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''Termites of 1938'' was remade in 1946 as ''[[Society Mugs]]'', starring [[Shemp Howard]] and [[Tom Kennedy (American actor)|Tom Kennedy]].<ref name=solo/> |
''Termites of 1938'' was remade in 1946 as ''[[Society Mugs]]'', starring [[Shemp Howard]] and [[Tom Kennedy (American actor)|Tom Kennedy]].<ref name=solo/> |
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Revision as of 20:16, 3 January 2014
| Termites of 1938 | |
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| Directed by | Del Lord |
| Written by | Elwood Ullman |
| Produced by | Charley Chase Hugh McCollum |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Bess Flowers Bud Jamison Dorothy Granger Hattie McDaniel John Ince Symona Boniface |
| Cinematography | André Barlatier |
| Edited by | Art Seid |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 16' 33" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Termites of 1938 is the 28th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
A high-society woman named Muriel (Bess Flowers) wants to attend a swanky dinner party thrown by a friend of hers, but her husband, Arthur, decides instead to go on a fishing trip. Rather than showing up stag to the party, Muriel tells her housekeeper to call the Acme Escort Service to bring a few "college boy" escorts. However, the housekeeper accidentally calls the Acme Exterminator Co., run by the Stooges. After testing out a few unorthodox techniques involving catching a mouse, including Curly playing a piccolo and Moe being shot into a wall by a loaded cannon, the phone rings. Moe, his ears still ringing from the cannon, answers and, unwittingly, the boys are hired to be Muriel's escorts to the party.
At the mansion, the guests all arrive, and not long afterwards the Stooges show up in tuxes in a beat-up car. The Stooges, convinced that they were hired to clear the house of pests, are about to get to work when they hear that dinner is served. Moe tells his pals that they "always feed ya at these high class joints", and the Stooges rush to the dining room to eat. After dinner, the guests enter the main hall where a small group of musicians are playing. The Stooges then take over and begin to perform while actually syncing to music playing from a nearby victrola. The Stooges continue their mock performance until Moe accidentally grabs a saw and cuts the bass in half. Several mice inside begin to scurry about, causing the guests to run away, and the boys decide then and there to get to work. The boys make a shambles of the house, leading the owner to chase them out of the mansion, wielding a Gopher Bomb. The boys run to their car and make an escape, by Arthur throws the bomb into the car, causing it to explode and scatter the Stooges all over the street.
Production notes
Termites of 1938 was filmed on October 19-23, 1937.[1] The film's title is a parody of the film title Gold Diggers of 1937.[2] The film has two musical quirks unusual for Stooge shorts. First, the Three Stooges' opening theme, "Listen to the Mockingbird," is played again when the Stooges first appear onscreen.[2] Second, music derived from Victor Schertzinger's score for the 1933 Columbia feature Cocktail Hour is featured during the dinner scene.[3] This is the result of producer Charley Chase, who liked incidental music from his time at the Hal Roach studio.[2]
Termites of 1938 was remade in 1946 as Society Mugs, starring Shemp Howard and Tom Kennedy.[2]
References
- ^ Pauley, Jim (2012). The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations. Solana Beach, California: Santa Monica Press, LLC. p. 253. ISBN 9781595800701.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 122–123. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Finegan, Richard (Fall 1996). "Notes on Stooge Film Music and Other Oddities". The Three Stooges Journal (79). Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania: The Three Stooges Fan Club, Inc.: 4. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
External links
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