''Slappily Married'' is an American short subject 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 ...

, released on November 7, 1946. The short was 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 ...

and stars

Joe DeRita Joseph Wardell (July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993), known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita. Early life DeRita wa ...

, who later joined 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 ...

and became "Curly Joe" DeRita, and features

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 ...

Dorothy Granger Dorothy Karolyn Granger (November 21, 1911 – January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood. Career Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmot ...

and

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 ...

. It is the first of four shorts in the Joe DeRita series produced by Columbia from 1946-1948; all entries were

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 ...

s of other Columbia shorts.

Plot

Dress shop owner Joe Bates (

) is a happily married man who dreads

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

. Fearing the worst, Joe decides to stay home to avoid any catastrophes, but his wife (

) tells him that he is being superstitious. Joe agrees with her and decides to start preparing breakfast, but things quickly go wrong. Food starts flying everywhere, dishes fall and break all over the place and a mixing bowl of

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe used ...

batter drapes all over Joe. When his wife returns to the kitchen, she tells him that yesterday was Friday the 13th and to start getting ready for work. Later at the dress shop, Joe mistakes a female customer (

) for a mannequin. When her jealous fiancee (

) goes over to see what is going on, a nervous Joe tells him that it was a misunderstanding. Another problem occurs shortly after when the same customer and another one (

Jean Willes Jean Willes (born Jean Donahue; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Willes was born Jean Donahue In Los Angeles. She spent pa ...

) get into a scuffle involving a hat they both want to purchase. Joe tries to break up the fight, but gets knocked to the floor along with the first customer. The fiancee, as well as Joe's wife, shows up again, with Joe's wife thinking that he is cheating on him and runs off, leaving Joe to get punched out by the fiancee. Joe eventually tracks down his wife at the Amazon hotel, for women only. The

concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands of ...

(

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 ...

) tells Joe that she was given orders that his wife does not want to be disturbed, but Joe manages to disguise himself as a woman to find his wife's room, but winds up in the one of the female customer he met earlier and also has to dodge her fiancee and a female house detective, before finally reuniting with his wife at the end.

Cast

- Joe Bates *

- Mrs. Bates *

- Honey *

- Honey's husband *

- Dress store customer *

- Hotel desk clerk *

Florence Auer Florence Auer (March 3, 1880 – May 14, 1962) was an American theater and motion picture actress whose career spanned more than five decades. Life and career Born in Albany, New York, Auer began her career on East Coast stages at the turn ...

- Violet, hotel matron

Production notes

''Slappily Married'' is a remake of the 1943

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...

short ''A Maid Made Mad''. DeRita did not think highly of his output at Columbia Pictures, once commenting, "My comedy in those scripts was limited to getting hit on the head with something, then going over to my screen wife to say, 'Honey, don't leave me!' For this kind of comedy material, you could have gotten a

busboy In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

to do it and it would have been just as funny."

References

External links

*
''Slappily Married'' at threestooges.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slappily Married 1946 films Columbia Pictures short films Short film remakes Films directed by Edward Bernds American black-and-white films American comedy films 1946 comedy films 1940s American films