''Three Little Pirates'' is a 1946

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

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 96th 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 year is 1642, and the Stooges are garbage

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

sailors stranded on Dead Man's Island. At first, the governor (

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 ...

) finds it hard to believe the three are sailors until they wolf whistle at the first beauty they see, prompting Dent's character to quip "they're sailors, all right...". The governor had planned to make the stooges his galleon slaves but Curly changes his mind once starts flirting with his fiancée, Rita (

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 ...

). The governor throws the Stooges in jail, and sentences them to

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

, either by beheading or burning at the stake. The sentence is chosen quickly when Curley declares in favor of burning, reasoning that "a hot stake steak"is better than a cold chop." Lucky for the Stooges, Rita has no interest in marrying the ruthless

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

governor and helps the boys escape by exposing some hidden tools. She then directs them to drill their way through the west wall specifically in order to escape safely. Unfortunately, the Stooges argue incessantly, have Curly choose the wrong wall, and land back in their cell. Rita suggests the boys disguise themselves as "wayfarers from a strange land" bringing priceless gifts. Curly is the great, nearsighted

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...

who has domains on the isles of Coney and

Long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

. Moe is the Gin of Rummy, and Larry is an accomplice. Moe and Curly exchange in conversations consisting of

doublespeak Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs and "servicing the target" for bombing), in which case it ...

and gibberish and offer the governor a raspberry lollipop, which he mistakes as a ruby as large as a turkey's egg. Moe dubs it the "Ruby de Lollipopskia." Next is a fountain pen that the governor mistakes as a tusk from a black walrus. The governor is delighted with these gifts, and requests that the Maharaja bring him some fair damsels. The Stooges escape quickly, not wasting a moment. However, the governor's secretary (Dorothy DeHaven) reveals the Stooges' true identities, and the governor is livid. Once he learns they are headed to the cutthroat pirate Black Louie, he enlists his dear pal's help to kill the escaped sailor Stooges. The Stooges meet Black Louie ( Robert Stevens) at a saloon, and engage in a game of target practice. They enlist a reluctant Larry as the live target, and begin the knife-throwing. In the interim, Rita quietly makes her presence known to the boys, and alerts them of the governor's plan. They realize they must flee, but Curly's awkward knife throwing (thanks to his glasses containing lenses as thick as

soda Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

bottles) puts Black Louie on the defense. The fight breaks out in the saloon, with the Stooges winning out. As the pirates are defeated, Moe attempts to declare himself

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Moe, the new ruler of the island. However, his reign is cut short as he is rendered insensate by a mallet attached to a pinball game, allowing the others to haul him away without protest.

Cast

Credited

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Curly *

as Governor *

as Rita Yolanda * Robert Stevens as Black Louie *Dorothy DeHaven as Chiquita

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 Jack *

Cy Schindell Seymour "Cy" Schindell (March 4, 1907 – August 24, 1948) was an American actor. He appeared in 37 Three Stooges short subjects, mostly as a heavy, though he was never credited in any Stooge shorts. Career Brooklyn-born Schindell was born Seym ...

as Dirk *

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 Pirate

Production notes

This is the 12th of 16 Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title. The Stooges had previously performed the "Maharaja" routine in the 1941 film ''

Time Out for Rhythm ''Time Out for Rhythm'' is a 1941 musical comedy film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Rudy Vallée, Ann Miller and the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). Six Hits and a Miss perform, as well as Glen Gray and His Ca ...

''. They would resurrect the routine with

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 ...

as the third stooge for the 1963 theatrical feature ''

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze ''The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze'' is the fifth feature film made by The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita (dubbed "Curly Joe"). Dir ...

'' and on ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC,

''. Moe Howard also later performed a variation of the routine, with Mike Douglas and

Soupy Sales Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television serie ...

, in November 1973 television appearance on ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...

''.

Canarsie, Brooklyn Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...

, Bay Meadows,

Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...

, and the isles of

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

are references to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based localities where brothers Moe, Curly, 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 ...

spent their childhood. It is all the more appropriate, as the Stooges are sailors shipwrecked off of a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

garbage scow.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 287; Comedy III Productions, Inc.,

Curly's last hurrah

''Three Little Pirates'' was filmed on April 15–18, 1946,''Three Little Pirates'' at threestooges.net
/ref> after

had suffered a series of minor strokes. As a result of his illness, Curly's performances had been marred by slurred speech and slower timing. Much of the action in previous films ('' Three Loan Wolves'', ''

G.I. Wanna Home ''G.I. Wanna Home'' is a 1946 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 94th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...

'') had been shifted away from the ailing Stooge and placed in the hands of co-stars Moe and Larry. Curly, however, was on his game during the filming of ''Three Little Pirates''. Though still not 100% himself, the comedian performed the memorable "Maharaja" routine with Moe flawlessly. He continued to display his formidable gift for physical comedy; for example, in one shot, he briefly assumes a reclining position while seated on a chair. Director

recalled the progression of Curly's decline through each film in the order they were made (vs. released): It has been said that the Stooge releases of

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

were their weakest entries since joining Columbia Pictures in 1934. Much of this was attributed to gravely ill Curly's languid performances. In retrospect, ''Three Little Pirates'' turned out to be the only stand-out of the year.

Quotes

*Governor: "You may choose the manner in which you will die!" :Larry: "Oh, that's easy: old age! Ha, ha, ha, h..." *SLAP! (from the guard)* :Moe: (to the guard) "Thanks!" :Governor: "You have your choice — you may have your heads chopped off, or you may be

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

." :Curly: "We'll take burning at the stake!" :Governor: "Very well. We'll toast them Monday at sundown." :Moe ''(angrily)'': "What did you pick 'burning at the stake' for?!" :Curly: "Cause a hot steak is better than a cold chop!" :Curly: "Eenee, meenee, miney, moe. See, ya can't go wrong with moe." :Moe ''(sarcastically)'': "Heh, heh, heh. Thanks!" *SLAP!*

References

External links

* *
''Three Little Pirates'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1946 films 1946 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward Bernds Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films