''Fifi Blows Her Top'' is a 1958
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 1957â ...
). It is the 184th 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
The Stooges reminisce about their wartime romances in Europe. After they finish their tales, they discover that Joe's girl Fifi (
Vanda Dupre), whom he left behind in Paris, has moved in next door. The only problem is that she is now married to a very evil jealous and unappreciative husband (
Philip Van Zandt
Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.
Life and career
...
).
Typical Stooge antics result in ruining Fifi's dress, and dressing her in a pair of pajamas is an invitation for her husband to enter the scene. The husband turns out to be a real cad, and when Fifi overhears him tell about his plans to find a new wife, she clobbers him and goes back to Joe.
Cast
Credited
*
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 ...
as Moe
*
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 ...
as Larry
*
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 1957â ...
as Joe
*
Vanda Dupre as Fifi
*
Philip Van Zandt
Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.
Life and career
...
as Mort, Fifi's husband
*
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 s ...
as Parisian waitress
*
Christine McIntyre
Christine Cecilia McIntyre (April 16, 1911 – July 8, 1984) was an American actress and singer who appeared in various films in the 1930s and 1940s. She is mainly remembered as the beautiful blonde actress who appeared in many of The Three St ...
as Katrina (stock footage)
Uncredited
*
Joe Palma
Joe Palma (born Joseph Provenzano; March 17, 1905 – August 14, 1994) was an American film actor. Palma appeared in over 120 films between 1937 and 1968. He was well known as a supporting player for The Three Stooges and his brief tenure ...
as Military Policeman
*
Heinie Conklin
Heinie Conklin (born Charles John Conklin; July 16, 1880July 30, 1959) was an American actor and comedian whose career began in the silent film era.
Early years
Conklin was born Charles John Conklin on July 16, 1880, in San Francisco, Califor ...
as Bartender
*
Yvette Reynard/
Marie Monteil as Maria (stock footage)
*
Al Thompson
Al Thompson (September 21, 1884 – March 1, 1960) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1916 and 1958.
Well known in the industry for performing the more difficult stunts, he kept busy as a stunt doubl ...
as Sleeping Man in Restaurant (stock footage)
* Jackie Kening Jr. as first male Cafe customer
* Harry Kening as second male Cafe customer
*
Suzanne Ridgeway
Suzanne Ridgeway (born Suzanne Parsons; January 27, 1918May 6, 1996) was an American film actress who appeared in approximately 115 films between 1933 and 1959. She was most often credited as Suzanne Ridgway. Other billings included Suzy Marquett ...
as female Cafe customer
Production notes
''Fifi Blows Her Top'' is a primarily a
reworking of
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 ''
Unaccustomed As We Are ''Unaccustomed as We Are'' is a short comedy film produced by Hal Roach and directed by Lewis R. Foster. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 4, 1929. This picture was the first "all-talking" Laurel and Hardy comedy. The working title was ' ...
'' (1929) and ''
Block-Heads
''Block-Heads'' is a 1938 comedy film directed by John G. Blystone and starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. It was produced by Hal Roach Studios for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, a reworking of elements from the Laurel and Hardy shorts ''We Fa ...
'' (1938) while incorporating several stock scenes from the Stooges' ''
Love at First Bite
''Love at First Bite'' is a 1979 American comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, and Arte Jo ...
'' (1950).
[Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 504-505; Comedy III Productions, Inc., .] New footage was filmed over two days on February 12–13, 1957.
''Fifi Blows Her Top'' at threestooges.net
/ref>
''Fifi Blows Her Top'' marks the final appearance of longtime foil Philip Van Zandt
Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.
Life and career
...
. The actor committed suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
a year after filming wrapped and did not live to see its release.[
]
See also
* List of American films of 1958
A list of American films released in 1958. The musical romantic comedy film '' Gigi'' won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
A-B
C-F
G-K
L-R
S-Z
See also
* 1958 in the United States
References
External links
1958 filmsat the Inte ...
References
External links
*
*
''Fifi Blows Her Top'' at threestooges.net
1958 films
1958 comedy films
American black-and-white films
The Three Stooges film remakes
Films directed by Jules White
The Three Stooges films
Columbia Pictures short films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
{{short-comedy-film-stub