''Scheming Schemers'' is a 1956

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

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 ...

). It is the 173rd 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 novice plumbers, whose first job is finding a valuable ring that went down a drainpipe at the home of the wealthy Norfleets (

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 ...

and

Symona Boniface Symona Ferner Boniface (March 5, 1894 – September 2, 1950) was an American film actress, most frequently seen in bit parts in comedy shorts, mostly at Columbia Pictures, particularly those of ''The Three Stooges''. She appeared in 120 fil ...

). The Stooges happily retrieve the ring, but Larry knocks it out of Moe's hand, and back it goes down the drain. The Stooges then work their way to basement to shut the water off. Larry is assigned to finding the water cutoff and proceeds to dig up most of the lawn. Shemp later surmises that the pipes fail to work properly because they are "clogged up with wires." Shemp and Moe proceed to remove the electrical system from the pipes and connect a water pipe to the newly available pipe. The cook (

Dudley Dickerson Dudley Henry Dickerson Jr. (November 27, 1906September 23, 1968) was an American film actor. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952, and is best remembered for his roles in several Three Stooges films ...

), who is in the kitchen trying to prepare an extravagant meal for the Norfleets, watches in bewilderment as the stove and chandelier gush water. As the Norfleet house transforms into

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, two party guests named Mr. and Mrs. Allen ( Kenneth MacDonald and

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 ...

) manage to swipe the prized Van Brocklin painting. Shemp heads for the upstairs bath to continue fixing the pipes, and Moe and Larry discover that the ring was stuck in Larry's hair the whole time. Mr. Norfleet is happy about his ring, but frantic that his painting was stolen. Moe and Larry see Allen hiding the painting in a pipe, and a pie fight ensues, extending to the other party guests. The Stooges manage to recover the painting, and Mr. Norfleet decides to reward them. Moe and Larry wonder where Shemp has been all this time. It turns out that he got himself stuck fixing the bathroom's pipes.

Cast

Credited

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Shemp (stock footage) *

as Walter Norfleet * Kenneth MacDonald as Mr. Allen *

as Mrs. Allen (stock footage) *

as Chef (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 "fake" Shemp *

as Mrs. Norfleet (stock footage) * Herbert Evans as Wilkes (stock footage) *

Victor Travers Victor Travers (1884 – 26 May 1948) was an English character actor of theatre and film, known for his work in many of the Three Stooges films. During his career, which began in 1938 and ended with his death in 1948, he appeared in more than 8 ...

as sleeping Party guest (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 Party guest (stock footage) *

Judy Malcolm Judy Malcolm (December 1, 1910July 22, 1998) was an American film actress. Born Marguerite Westergren, Malcolm appeared in approximately 25 films between 1933 and 1951. Malcolm is familiar to modern viewers for her roles in several Three Stooges ...

as Party guest (stock footage)

Production notes

''Scheming Schemers'' is a remake of ''

Vagabond Loafers ''Vagabond Loafers'' is a 1949 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 118th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures sta ...

'', which in itself was a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of '' A Plumbing We Will Go'' with former Stooge

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 ...

(who had died in January 1952); additional pie fight footage was borrowed from ''

Half-Wits Holiday ''Half-Wits Holiday'' is a 1947 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard in his final starring role). It is the 97th entry in the series released by C ...

''. This makes this the only Three Stooges short to use footage from three previous short subjects. ''Scheming Schemers'' was one of four shorts filmed in the wake of

's death using earlier footage and a

stand-in A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production. Stand-ins a ...

. This film is also the last to contain new footage with long-time Stooges supporting actor Kenneth MacDonald.

"Fake Shemp"

As Shemp Howard had already died, for his last four films (''

Rumpus in the Harem ''Rumpus in the Harem'' is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 171st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring ...

'', '' Hot Stuff'', ''Scheming Schemers'' and ''

Commotion on the Ocean ''Commotion on the Ocean'' is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard in his final starring role). It is the 174th entry in the series release ...

''), Columbia utilized supporting actor

to be Shemp's double. Even though the last four shorts were remakes of earlier Shemp efforts, Palma's services were needed to film new scenes in order to link existing

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 ...

. For ''Scheming Schemers'', Palma appears for the shot of "Shemp" with his back to the camera, honking the horn of the Stooges' jeep. Palma then gathers several pipes, obstructing his face. Palma's one line of dialogue — "Hold yer horses, will ya?" — is Shemp's voice borrowed from the soundtrack of 1949's '' The Ghost Talks''. This new footage was shot on January 16, 1956, only six weeks after Shemp's death.Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). ''The Three Stooges Scrapbook'', p. 263, Citadel Press.

References

External links

* *
''Scheming Schemers'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1956 films 1956 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films The Three Stooges film remakes Films directed by Jules White Columbia Pictures short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films