''Fright Night'' is a 1947
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
Edward Bernds
Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois.
Career
While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...
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
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 Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent.
He is ...
, in his first starring role after returning to the act). It is the 98th 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 are managers of a beefy boxer named Chopper Kane (
Dick Wessel
Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "C ...
), and they bet their bank roll on his next fight. When a gangster (
Tiny Brauer) tells them to have Chopper lose (as he has a lot of money bet on his opponent Gorilla Watson) or they will lose their lives, the boys decide to play along. They try to soften Chopper up by feeding him rich food and having him spend time with their friend Kitty (
Claire Carleton
Claire Carleton (September 28, 1913 – December 11, 1979) was an American actress whose career spanned four decades from the 1930s through the 1960s. She appeared in over 100 films, the majority of them features, and on numerous television ...
). The fight gets canceled when Kitty dumps Chopper for Gorilla and, in a fluke accident, Gorilla gets entangled with Moe and breaks his hand against a wall. The Stooges think they have put one over on the gangsters, only to have the bad guys corner them in a deserted warehouse. Instead of being rubbed out, the boys capture the crooks and get a reward.
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
*
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 Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent.
He is ...
as Shemp
*
Dick Wessel
Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "C ...
as Chopper Kane
*
Claire Carleton
Claire Carleton (September 28, 1913 – December 11, 1979) was an American actress whose career spanned four decades from the 1930s through the 1960s. She appeared in over 100 films, the majority of them features, and on numerous television ...
as Kitty Davis
Uncredited
*
Harold Brauer
Tiny Brauer (born Harold J. Brauer; June 26, 1909 – March 19, 1990) was an American film actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Brauer appeared in over 20 films between 1946 and 1966.
Career
Brauer is best known for his role as the "heavy" in s ...
as Big Mike
*
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 ...
as Moose
*
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 Watson's manager
*
Sammy Stein as Gorilla Watson
*
Stanley Blystone
William Stanley Blystone (August 1, 1894 – July 16, 1956) was an American film actor who made more than 500 films appearances between 1924 and 1956. He was sometimes billed as William Blystone or William Stanley.
Early years
Blystone was ...
as Cop
* Dave Harper as Cop
* Tom Kingston as Chuck
Production notes
''Fright Night'' marked the return of
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 Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent.
He is ...
to the Stooges, who had last performed with the act 17 years prior. Shemp agreed to rejoin the act until brother
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 ...
recovered enough to return to the Stooges (Curly never did).
[ It was filmed June 5–8, 1946: production commenced less than one month after Curly suffered a debilitating ]stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on May 6. The film was remade in 1955 as ''Fling in the Ring
''Fling in the Ring'' is a 1955 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 159th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starrin ...
'', using ample stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
.[Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 291; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ] It was Shemp's favorite Stooge film.[
]
References
External links
*
*
1947 films
The Three Stooges films
American boxing films
American black-and-white films
1947 comedy films
Films directed by Edward Bernds
Columbia Pictures short films
American comedy short films
1940s English-language films
1940s American films
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