Pardon My Scotch

This is my review of the ninth short of The Three Stooges they made for Columbia Pictures. In this one, they are handymen who try to put a new door for a pharmacy. After the proprietor leaves, however, they're in charge of the fountain drink department when a customer, a alcohol businessman who's down-on-his-luck, comes and orders something strong. The drink Moe, Larry, and Curley (as his name was still spelled at the time) literally explodes to the point that the businessman wants to do business with them! I'll stop there and just say that this was a nearly hilarious short from beginning to end though I admit cringing a little when Curley had to use that saw! In fact, after he cut that table Moe stood on, Moe injured himself when he performed that stunt of falling on the floor though it's still funny even knowing that. The real highlights were at the society party afterwards where the boys throw grapes and bananas at the opera singer (The always funny Billy Gilbert) and their funny dance in Scots clothing, not to mention Curley's involvement with bread. And, finally, this is the first time that the people have to tolerate the Stooges to get what they want and we get the first of their several theme songs (this one is the one that ends that classic novelty song, "The Curly Shuffle"). So on that note, Pardon My Scotch is well worth seeing.

Being in Three Stooges' movies posed more physical injuries to the actors involved than probably any other long running movie series. In August 1935, "Pardon My Scotch," Moe sustained some serious injuries falling off a table.

The Three Stooges are carpenters in "Pardon My Scotch" when they're hired to hang a door inside a drug store as its owner prepares to convert it to a liquor store just as Prohibition is ending. In the scene, Moe is standing on a table working on a wall while he calls for a board to be cut. Larry and Curly place the board lengthways on the same table Moe is on and cut it with an electric saw. Once finished, unbeknownst to them, they had cut the table in two. The studio prop technicians designed the table to collapse inwards. But during filming the table's side where Moe stood failed to drop. As seen in the final cut, Moe lands full force on the upright edge of the table on his rib cage, and hits his head on the floor in the process. He heroically continues the scene, standing up, speaking his line, and slapping the two in the face before, not seen on the film, he passes out. Moe was rushed to the hospital where he suffered several broken ribs as well as a concussion. The production paused for a few days before Moe was able to return to the set. The Stooges picked up where he left off, filming the scene from a different angle to make the edit seamless. In a similar scene scripted years later for another movie, Moe insisted a stunt man perform the fall from the table.

The title "Pardon My Scotch," a variable of the phrase 'Pardon My French,' follows The Three Stooges as they're heralded by a liquor distributor who's impressed by their willy-nilly concoction of a cocktail based on a combination of several potent ingredients they made at the drug store. The so-called scotch has the distributor honoring the Stooges, dressed in kilts, at a formal reception as he introduces the drink for his guests to taste. For entertainment, Billy Gilbert as Signor Louis Cantino belts out an opera tune. To shut him up the trio flick grapes and a banana in his mouth, a gag used in later Stooges' shorts.

"Pardon My Scotch" was the first film the 1850s song 'Listen to the Mocking Bird' is heard in a Stooges opening credits. It quickly became their theme song. As a popular marching tune during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, a big fan of the song, described it "as sincere as the laughter of a little girl at play," apropos for the Stooges' adaptation.

Pardon My Scotch (1935)

*** (out of 4)

The Three Stooges are mistaken for bootleggers due to a special chemical they made up. There are a few dry spots but overall this is another entertaining shorts that has one of their best jokes. The scene where Moe is standing on a table that gets cut in half is priceless as is another scene with the boys mixing up their scotch. Curley does a roll dance ala Chaplin in The Gold Rush but this here certainly doesn't have the same effect.

Now available on Columbia's 2-disc set, which includes over 20 shorts, all digitally remastered.

Alcohol and the Stooges were a perfect match, and this episode is hands down insane. Andrew Bennison wrote the story, who specialized in comedy, not to disappoint anyone.

This time around Moe, Larry and Curly are working in a drugstore, and while the owner is away they happen to mix some medicines and chemicals and come up with their own brew? The stuff is so potent that a local businessman wants to sell it ASAP, beliving its a revolutionary new brand of scotch!

Best part is the Stooges crashing an elite party, pretending to be Scottish(!) to put one over on the unsuspecting drinkers.

Pretty clever and ALWAYS wild, featuring comedian Billy Gilbert as an opera singer. Gilbert was a foil for LAUREL AND HARDY, fun as heck here. He also had that boooooming voice to match. James C. Morton returns, this time playing J. T. Walton.

Two important actresses appear; Symona Baniface plays one of the party goers, soon to become the #1 foil for the Stooges, compared to Margaret Dumont and the Marx Brothers. Also Grace Goodall, as Mrs. Walton. Grace held the honor of being one of the most frequently cast bit actors in films. Nat Carr appears, whose career went back to the 20s, featured in the original JAZZ SINGER (1927).

Yes, also the film where Moe was injured in a fall, breaking several ribs, but continuing his scene. Oliver Hardy spoke from experience, and commented many times that on the job injuries seemed to go with comedy. Not an understatement, recalling both Curly and Larry were injured in "Three Little Pigskins," a year earlier.

Always on Columbia dvd, generally in box sets by decades, 30s, 40s and 50s episodes. Some box sets have themes and related episodes. Thanks all the time to METV for running these mini classics on Saturdays for all us big little kids.

So many of the Stooge projects run into each other. After all, formula and consistency is part of the game.

That's why comments on then simply will identify something unique to that one: in this case, the injury from a stunt. These guys must have been completely used up physically by the time they left us.

Here's the one thing I'll ask you to look for. In the midst of other hilarity, the guys sit down to a ritzy meal in their kilts. Curly does the roll-dance. That's where you stick forks into two dinner rolls and do a dance with them. This was invented by Chaplin in "Goold Rush." It was huge hit in its day, but I've found it to be a sort of tune that future comics can interpret in their own way. Johnny Depp and Robert Downey did amazing commentary variations on this.

And Curly does here. It is only a couple seconds.

Curly was the Stooge most like his real personality. Most of what you see in the shorts in him is stuff he just naturally did without planning or rehearsal. This little dance is clumsy and inept in precisely the way he was. This is followed by a bit where the rolls (actually a substituted larger one) move from becoming feet to a mouth, so when Curly tries to bit a sandwich, it bites him first.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.