Half-Wits Holiday
| Half-Wits Holiday | |
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| Directed by | Jules White |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Zion Myers |
| Starring |
Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Emil Sitka Vernon Dent Barbara Slater Ted Lorch Symona Boniface |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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17:29 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Half-Wits Holiday is the 97th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1947 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard, in his final starring role). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
In the second Stooge adaptation of Pygmalion, the trio are repairmen who make a scene in the presence of two psychologists, Professors Quackenbush (Vernon Dent) and Sedletz (Ted Lorch). Quackenbush makes a bet with Sedletz that he can turn the boys into gentlemen through environment. Training is slow and painful for the professor, who pulls his hair out in disgust. The Stooges take the opportunity to flirt with the professor's daughter, Lulu (Barbara Slater), while learning proper table etiquette. Finally, the winner of the wager will be decided by the boys' behavior at a fancy society party.
The party goes awry. Curly greets guest Mrs. Smythe-Smythe (Symona Boniface) by kissing her hand, and biting off the diamond in her ring. Realizing this, Moe and Larry take Curly to a secluded area to lecture him, only to find that the kleptomaniac Stooge has taken a large handful of silverware as well.
Curly then grabs a pie from a pastry table, and tries to eat it whole. Moe sees this, swipes the pie, and pushes Curly out of the way (the moment when Curly leaves the stage for the last time as a Stooge, before suffering a stroke that would come to end his career). Seeing the approaching Mrs. Smythe-Smythe, Moe tosses the pie straight up, resulting in it sticking to the ceiling. Noticing his nervousness and frequent upward glances, she sympathetically comments, "young man, you act as if the Sword of Damocles is hanging over your head." Moe tells Mrs. Smythe-Smythe she must be psychic and leaves. Bewildered, Mrs. Smythe-Smythe says "I wonder what's wrong with that young man?" and looks up to see what had him so concerned. At that moment the pie comes crashing down in the society matron's face. A massive pie melee inadvertently commences leaving everyone present affected. Quackenbush ultimately loses the bet to Sedletz, believing he had learned his lesson.
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Wikipedia