''Outer Space Jitters'' 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 182nd 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. The supporting cast for this short features

Dan Blocker Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series ''Bonanza''. Biography Early life Blocker was born ...

as a creature from outer space.

Plot

The Stooges tell their infant sons (also the Stooges) a story about the time they blasted to outer space. In this story, the Stooges are assistants to Professor Jones (

Emil Sitka Emil Sitka (December 22, 1914January 16, 1998) was a veteran American actor, who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with The Three Stooges. He is one of only two acto ...

) who travel to the planet Sunev (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

spelled backwards). The planet's leader, the Grand Slitz of Sunev (

Gene Roth Eugene Oliver Edgar Stutenroth (January 8, 1903 – July 19, 1976), known profesionally as Gene Roth, was an American film actor and film manager. Early years Roth was born in Redfield, South Dakota. He was the son of a German father and ...

) greets them cordially enough, but it soon becomes apparent that he has plans to bring prehistoric men to life and take over the planet

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. No sooner does Professor Jones catch onto the Grand Slitz's plan does he end up being tied up. In the interim, the Stooges engage in some flirtatious activity with several Sunevian girls (

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Arline Hunter Arline Hunter (born Arlene J. Hunter; December 16, 1931 – September 11, 2018) was an American actress and model. She was perhaps best known as '' Playboy's'' Playmate of the Month for August 1954. Her centerfold was the first not to be purchase ...

). At dinner, an alien leader, known officially as The High Mucky Muck (

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 ...

) tells the Stooges to eat heartily and enjoy their meal, for it will be their last. The trio make a quick dash for the spaceship, but not before encountering a prehistoric goon (

, mistakenly billed as "Don Blocker"). The boys manage to free Professor Jones and destroy the equipment that would have conquered the Earth. The stooges return to earth, finishing their story, until the baby sitter, a female goon arrives, causing the stooges to jump out the window.

Cast

as Joe / Joe's Son (as Joe) *

as Larry / Larry's Son (as Larry) *

as Moe / Moe's Son (as Moe) *

as Professor Jones *

as The Grand Zilch *

as The High Mucky Muck *

as The Goon (as Don Blocker) *

as Sunev Girl (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 a ...

as Captain Tsimmis (uncredited) *

as Sunev Girl (uncredited)

Production notes

''Outer Space Jitters'' was filmed on July 25–26, 1957. ''Outer Space Jitters'' features Moe and Larry's more "gentlemanly" haircuts, first suggested by

. These had to be used sparingly, as most of the shorts with Besser were remakes of earlier films, and new footage had to be matched with old. In ''Outer Space Jitters'', however, Larry's frizz is combed back, while Moe retained his sugarbowl bangs. This seeming inconsistency (which would occur in future films) accommodated the gag of a frightened Moe with hair standing on end.Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). ''The Three Stooges Scrapbook'', p. 264, Citadel Press. This short marks one of the few moments where one of the Stooges breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

. As the professor and The Three Stooges are being introduced to the leader of Sunev, Larry says, "And don't forget to see '' Pal Joey'', folks." This is a reference to the film of the same name that was released two months earlier.

References

External links

* *
''Outer Space Jitters'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1957 films 1950s science fiction comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films American science fiction comedy films American space adventure films Films directed by Jules White Columbia Pictures short films 1957 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Production notes

See also

References

External links