''A Missed Fortune '' is a 1952 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick 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

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

). It is the 137th 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

Shemp wins $50,000 for accidentally guessing the correct make of a car for a radio contest. The guys check in at the Hotel Costa Plente, and quickly spend their winnings. Their suite is furnished with many expensive items, which they systematically destroy. The hotel manager (

Vernon Dent Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...

) discovers the destruction when he delivers a telegram to the stooges' suite; the telegram reveals that taxes withheld from Shemp's winnings reduce the $50,000 windfall to a minuscule $4.85. Just then, three attractive gold diggers (

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 ...

, Vivian Mason, Suzanne Ridgeway), who are also guests at the hotel, connive their way into the boys' room. After twice being accidentally drenched with ice water thrown by the fellows, the ladies hit the stooges over the head with champagne bottles.

Production notes

Filmed over two days in 1951 (January 22–23), ''A Missed Fortune'' is a remake of 1938's '' Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb'', using minimal stock footage.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 398-399; Comedy III Productions, Inc., When Shemp falls onto the top of the bed, the footage is actually Curly borrowed from ''Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb'' (Curly can be heard yelling during the fall). Additionally, Larry taking a bath as well as the close-up of Moe yelling "Get this Henry the VIII off my neck!" is also stock. A slight inconsistency can be noted, as the pattern on the wood changes from shot to shot. The glue Moe accidentally pours onto his hotcakes, "Stik Fast Glue", is the same product Curly writes a slogan for in ''Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb''. This is the last Three Stooges film to be released during

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 ...

's lifetime. He died on January 18, 1952.

References

External links

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''A Missed Fortune'' at threestooges.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missed Fortune 1952 films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films 1952 comedy films The Three Stooges film remakes Films directed by Jules White Columbia Pictures short films American comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films