''The Tooth Will Out'' is a 1951

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 ...

). It is the 134th 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

After being fired from two jobs for breaking dishes, the Stooges end up being chased into a dental office by the angry Vesuvius restaurant chef with a cleaver. Eventually, the boys study, and graduate from dental school. The dean of the school (

Vernon Dent Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...

) gives them their first recommendation to go out west (read: far away), and open a practice. The boys open up shop in quiet western town, when their first customer (

Slim Gaut Slim Gaut (July 8, 1893 – April 17, 1964) was an American film actor, born in Lewiston, Idaho. He appeared, unusually uncredited, in over 15 films between 1940 and 1956. Modern viewers may recognize Gaut as Shemp Howard's first dental patient ...

) comes in with a mild toothache. Wearing glasses with lenses as thick as soda bottles, Dr. Shemp proceeds to drill the patient's teeth until smoke rises from his mouth. The appointment is abruptly cut short when an irate customer who claims to be the Sheriff (

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 ...

) enters the office with a serious toothache. Feeling nervous, Shemp accidentally picks up the wrong book, entitled ''The Amateur Carpenter''. They first rub sandpaper to his chest, and paste the inside of his hat which they thought it was to "varnish the lid". After discovering it is the wrong book, the boys go back to business seriously. They finally extract the Sheriff's tooth, only to discover it is the wrong one that Shemp pulled out and runs out of the Dentist's office.

Cast

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Shemp *

as Dr. Keefer, Professor of Dentistry *

Margie Liszt Margie Liszt (March 2, 1909August 24, 1992) was an American actress. She made 37 television and movie appearances, including ''I Love Lucy'' and several Three Stooges films. She died of colon cancer at the age of 83 at Laguna Hills, California. ...

as Miss Beebe, Dr. Keefer's assistant *

as the town sheriff (second patient) *

as first patient *

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 ...

as Vesuvius chef

Production notes

''The Tooth Will Out'' was filmed on February 19–20, 1951. The film's title parodies the proverbial expression "The truth will out." The second half of this film, consisting of the dentist office scene, was originally filmed seven months earlier in June 1950 for inclusion in the previous entry, ''

Merry Mavericks ''Merry Mavericks'' is a 1951 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 133rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures Col ...

''. However, the scene ran too long and had to be excised from the final cut. Rather than disposing of the surplus dentist footage, the story line of ''The Tooth Will Out'' was built around it. This was the last film to feature longtime Stooge supporting actor, the late

, who died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

brought on by

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in January 1952. The voice from the living set of dentures is

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tooth Will Out, The 1951 films 1950s Western (genre) comedy films 1951 short films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films about dentistry Films directed by Edward Bernds Columbia Pictures short films 1951 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films