''Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise'' 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

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

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 42nd 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 three hapless tramps. After nearly destroying a farmer's (

Richard Fiske Thomas Richard Potts (November 20, 1915 – August 10, 1944), known professionally as Richard Fiske, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1938 and 1942. Career Born Thomas Richard Potts, Fiske was born to Frank a ...

) pile of firewood, and destroying some of his equipment, they hit the road on foot. Curly wishes they had a car after they stop for a break. By accident they think they've found a car for free and take it. After driving around for a bit, and in their distraction nearly having a few collisions, the boys come to the assistance of the farm Widow Jenkins (

Eva McKenzie Eva McKenzie (November 5, 1889September 15, 1967) born as Eva Belle Heazlit, was an American film actress. She appeared in over 150 films — many of them Westerns — between 1915 and 1944. McKenzie was married to the actor Robert McKenzie ...

) and her three daughters. Just as Curly had wished, she graciously gives them a huge meal and in return they offer to fix her broken outdoor water pump. As the Stooges attempt to fix the pump, they discover oil hidden under the farm when the pump turns into an oil geyser, staining their clothes and spewing Curly high in the air. They are happy for the lady and her beautiful daughters, until she regretfully tells them she had just sold the farm. The Stooges realize she was cheated out of her land by a trio of swindlers (

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...

Eddie Laughton Eddie Laughton (20 June 190321 March 1952) was an American film actor. Laughton appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1952, and is best known for his work with The Three Stooges. Career Laughton's family immigrated to the United State ...

, James Craig). After a hair-raising road chase with the swindlers, they manage to retrieve the deed to the land before it is recorded at the court house, and are allowed to marry the now wealthy Widow Jenkins' daughters.

Production notes

''Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise'' was filmed on March 16–20, 1939. The film's title is a parody of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

's, "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Towards the end of the film, Moe tells Curly to wish for quintuplets and Curly responds that honeymooning in Canada with their new found loves is how to make the wish come true, a reference to the

Dionne quintuplets The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood. The Dionn ...

. The studio crew can be heard laughing when Curly accidentally hits his head on Widow Jenkins' kitchen door while trumpeting and singing "A-Pumping We Will Go." The shot of Curly riding the oil gusher up into the sky would be reused in '' Oil's Well That Ends Well''.

Moe's injury

recalled in his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

that he received a glob of goo (representing oil) directly under his eyelids during shooting: Moe would have a similar ordeal while filming 1946's '' The Three Troubledoers'', when chunks of black soot became lodged under his eyelids.

References

External links

* * {{The Three Stooges 1939 films Columbia Pictures short films 1939 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White American slapstick comedy films Works about petroleum 1930s English-language films 1930s American films