''A Merry Mix-Up'' is a 1957

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

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; hu, Weisz Gyula; 17 September 190030 April 1985) was a Hungarian-American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges Early years White began working in mo ...

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

Joe Besser Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor, comedian and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957� ...

). It is the 177th 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 appeared in 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges play three sets of identical triplets, born one year apart. All nine brothers lose track of each other after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, unaware that they are all living in the same city. One set (Moe, Larry and Joe) is single, one (Max, Louie and Jack) is married, and the other (Morris, Luke and Jeff) is engaged. The brothers can be told apart by their neckwear (the single set wears striped ties, the married wear no ties, and the engaged set wear bow ties). Trouble brews when the engaged set of brothers decided to celebrate at a local nightclub. Before they arrive, the unmarried set show up, followed by the fiancees of their brothers. The ladies start hugging and kissing the unsuspecting brothers. Within minutes, the wives of the married brothers show up, thinking their husbands are cheating on them. Believing that their fiancees are already married, the girls give the single brothers the engagement rings before the three leave. As soon as the brothers leave, the engaged set shows up and the girls let them have it. When the wives get back to their husbands, who have been cooking all day, they agree to go back to the club to prove they were never there. Naturally, the waiter (

Frank Sully Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the ''Bost ...

) believes that they were there, and when the wives let their husbands have it, the engaged set shows up. After a reunion and introduction, the engaged brothers explain that they were beaten by their fiancees, but did not see the wives. The fiancees then return and see the six brothers; altering seemingly working out the confusion, the girls ask for their rings. When more confusion brews, the unmarried brothers arrive, and give the girls back their rings. The entire group decides to go back to the married sets' house to celebrate the reunion, while the married brothers ask the waiter (who has been knocked unconscious the whole time) for some drinks. The furious waiter then chases the group, and hilarity sets in when the engaged set and then the single set come in; the waiter only sees one set at a time, and assumes that there is just one set of brothers. In the end, the waiter sees all nine brothers simultaneously and hits himself with his cleaver.

Cast

Credited

as Moe, Max and Morris *

as Larry, Louie and Luke *

as Joe, Jack and Jeff

Uncredited

as Waiter and Narrator *

Nanette Bordeaux Hélène Olivine Veilleux (April 3, 1911September 20, 1956), known professionally as Nanette Bordeaux, was a French Canadian-born American film actress. Bordeaux made over 15 film appearances between 1942 and 1957. Career Bordeaux moved with he ...

as May *

Jeanne Carmen Jeanne Laverne Carmen (August 4, 1930 – December 20, 2007) was an American model, actress and trick-shot golfer. Early life and career Carmen was born in Paragould, Arkansas. As a child, she picked cotton before running away from home at ...

as Mary * Ruth Godfrey White as Leona * Suzanne Ridgeway as Jill *

Harriette Tarler Harriette Tarler (November 4, 1920November 18, 2001) was an American film actress. Born in New York, New York, Tarler appeared in over 15 films between 1956 and 1959. Career Tarler is best known for her prominent work in many late Three Stooges ...

as Letty *

Diana Darrin Diana Darrin (born Harriett B. Tenin; April 15, 1933) is an American actress and singer. She has made over 35 film and television appearances in her career. Early years Darrin was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Tenin. Career Diana Darrin i ...

as Jane

Production notes

''A Merry Mix-Up'' was filmed on May 14–16, 1956;''A Merry Mix-Up'' at threestooges.net
/ref> it is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

's ''

Our Relations ''Our Relations'' is a 1936 feature film starring Laurel and Hardy, produced by Stan Laurel for Hal Roach Studios. This is the third of three films in which they play a dual role: the first was '' Brats'' and the second was ''Twice Two''. The sto ...

'' (1936). Felix Adler provided the screenplay for both films. The closing matte shot featuring all nine brothers standing side by side took careful planning to expose perfectly, giving the effect of three Moes, Larrys and Joes. To achieve this, each Stooge had to stand behind a specific marker before each shot was taken. For the final exposure, director

suspected that

was standing behind the wrong marker when compared to the previous two exposures. Larry knew White was wrong, and went to great lengths to prove it. Luckily, Larry prevailed, and saved the studio from having to refilm thousands of dollars worth of exposures.Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). ''The Three Stooges Scrapbook'', p. 264, Citadel Press.

References

External links

* *
''A Merry Mix-Up'' at threestooges.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Mix Up 1957 films 1957 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White Columbia Pictures short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films