Beer Barrel Polecats

Beer Barrel Polecats
Directed by Jules White
Produced by Jules White
Written by Gilbert Pratt
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Vernon Dent
Robert Williams
Eddie Laughton
Joe Palma
Cinematography George F. Kelley
Edited by Charles Hochberg
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 10, 1946 (1946-01-10) (U.S.)
Running time
 17:21
Country United States
Language English

Beer Barrel Polecats is the 88th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1946 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

Unable to purchase a bottle of beer due to Prohibition, the Stooges opt to brew some of the stuff themselves. The recipe that they use calls for three small cubes of yeast. A mix-up with the telephone causes each Stooge to think he is the one to put in the yeast. Nine cubes end up in the tub being used to make the beer. The yeast continuously expands causing them to pour the beer into every container they can find, until Curly brings in the bath tub. They successfully bottle their brew only to leave the bottles too close to an open flame. Many of the bottles explode sending corks and suds all over the kitchen.

Unfortunately, Curly ends up selling a bottle at the black market price to a detective, landing the trio in jail. They were due to serve a short amount of time, but Curly tries to smuggle a barrel of beer in jail under his overcoat. The barrel explodes under the heat of lights while the trio has their mugshots taken.

While in prison, the Stooges begin to plot their escape, and end up destroying the saws being used to whittle down the iron bars in their cell. A few days later, the Stooges have a run-in with a fellow convict (Joe Palma), leading them to knock the warden (Vernon Dent) out cold, and landing them on the rock pile. While hammering away, the boys stumble on an old friend also in the clink, Percy Pomeroy (Eddie Laughton), and work together to flee the prison. They are ultimately captured, and sent to solitary confinement.

After nearly half a century later, the graying trio are finally released as senior citizens, in which Curly quips upon leaving "You know what I'm-a gonna do? I'm gonna get myself a tall, big, beautiful bottle of beer!" Moe and Larry become irate and throw Curly back into the jail, leaving him there.

Production notes

The title Beer Barrel Polecats is a pun of the song "Beer Barrel Polka". The idea of producing and selling their own beer during Prohibition was borrowed from Laurel and Hardy's 1931 film, Pardon Us.[1]

When the Stooges drop their iron balls chained to their legs, the NBC Chimes are heard, a gag recycled from the team's 1937 short Back to the Woods.[1]

A colorized version of this film was released in 2007 as part of the DVD collection "Hapless Half-Wits."[2]

Curly's illness

Beer Barrel Polecats was filmed over two days on April 25-26, 1945, several months after Curly Howard suffered a minor stroke.[3] His resulting performances were marred by slurred speech and slower timing. DVD Talk critic Stuart Galbraith IV noted that Curly looked "notably thinner (Curly, Moe, and Larry are about the same weight in this) and inexpressive throughout, his face almost like a mask."[4] Curly's illness prevented him from maintaining the vitality for the duration of the normal 4-5 day filming schedule. To compensate for his unavailability, director Jules White utilized footage from In the Sweet Pie and Pie and So Long Mr. Chumps, which featured a healthier and heavier Curly.[1]

Upon hearing that Curly's absence temporarily halted production on the profitable Stooge shorts, Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn forbade the ailing Stooge from taking any future time off to regain his strength. It was a disastrous course of action that would culminate with Curly suffering a debilitating stroke on the set of Half-Wits Holiday in May 1946.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 271. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
  2. ↑ Hapless Half-Wits
  3. ↑ Beer Barrel Polecats threestooges.net
  4. ↑ Galbraith IV, Stuart (July 7, 2012). "The Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection". DVD Talk. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  5. ↑ Fleming, Michael (2002) [1999]. The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons. New York: Broadway Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 0-7679-0556-3

External links

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