''A Ducking They Did Go'' is a 1939

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Del Lord Delmer "Del" Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Career Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the the ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

). It is the 38th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

While looking for work, the Stooges botch an attempt to steal a watermelon from a deliveryman (

Cy Schindell Seymour "Cy" Schindell (March 4, 1907 – August 24, 1948) was an American actor. He appeared in 37 Three Stooges short subjects, mostly as a heavy, though he was never credited in any Stooge shorts. Career Brooklyn-born Schindell was born Seym ...

), which lands them in trouble with a cop ( William Irving). The trio winds up at the offices of the Canvas Back Duck Club, a hunting organization run by conmen Blackie (

Lynton Brent Lynton Wright Brent (August 2, 1897 – July 2, 1981) was an American film actor and a writer. He appeared in over 240 films between 1930 and 1950. Brent is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges shor ...

) and Doyle (Jack Gardner), where they are promptly hired to sell club memberships. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, the whole thing is a scam. Dressed in duck-hunting gear, Moe, Larry and Curly invade the police station and barge right into the office of the police chief (

Bud Jamison William Edward "Bud" Jamison (February 15, 1894 – September 30, 1944)Okuda, Ted, and Edward Watz. 1999. The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-reel Hollywood Film Comedies 1933–1958'. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. . was an American film actor. ...

) and somehow manage to sell memberships to several men, including the police chief and even the mayor. By the time the group arrives at the lodge, the "club owners" are long gone, and an old man ( John Rand) assures them that there are no ducks to be found. In a panic, Moe and Larry try to solve this dilemma by hurling

decoy duck A duck decoy (or decoy duck) is a man-made object resembling a real duck. Duck decoys are sometimes used in waterfowl hunting to attract real ducks. Duck decoys were historically carved from wood, often Atlantic white cedar wood on the east ...

s and rubber decoys over the pond. Curly arrives at last with a large flock of ducks (''à la'' the Pied Piper of Hamelin) and leads them into the water. Eventually, the old man (who the Stooges met earlier) shows up (with the local sheriff (

Sam Lufkin Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin (May 8, 1891 – February 19, 1952) was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films. Career Born in Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the W ...

)) telling the cops, the governor and the mayor that Curly has stolen all of his prize domestic ducks and it will cost them $5.00 apiece to replace each duck. The hunters realize they have been swindled and they, the old man and the sheriff with him are angry and shoot their guns at the Stooges, who flee the scene.

Production notes

Filmed on November 15–18, 1938, the title ''A Ducking They Did Go'' is a play on the old children's song "

A-Hunting We Will Go "A-Hunting We Will Go" is a popular folk song and nursery rhyme composed in 1777 by English composer Thomas Arne. Arne had composed the song for a 1777 production of ''The Beggar's Opera'' in London. The '' a-'' is an archaic intensifying ...

." The closing shot of the Stooges leaping over a bush and landing on a trio of bucking

steer Steer, Steers or Steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a steer used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary of the Little ...

s was reused from the end of 1936's ''

A Pain in the Pullman ''A Pain in the Pullman'' is a 1936 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 16th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures s ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducking They Did Go, A 1939 films 1939 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Del Lord The Three Stooges films Columbia Pictures short films Films about ducks American slapstick comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films