''Three Loan Wolves'' 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

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

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 93rd 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

Told in flashback, the Stooges tell their son (

Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...

) how he came to have three fathers. The Stooges, owners of a pawn shop, owe money to the Gashouse Protection Society, a bunch of loan sharks. When one of the mobsters comes to their shop to demand money, the Stooges deal with him in their typical Stooge fashion. To complicate matters, a lady (Beverly Warren) leaves a baby in the shop as part of a plan to sell a phony diamond and the Stooges wind up caring for the kid. The lady left the kid there at the suggestion of the mobster the Stooges had just thrown out of their shop. The Stooges have no idea how to take care of the kid. Soon his crying gets on Moe nerves, and their attempts to stop the kid only end up with Curly giving the baby a gun as a pacifier. Curly assures Moe the gun isn't loaded only to have it fire when he tries to show it is not loaded. The bullet causes a hanging lamp to fall and hit Moe in the head. The baby only stops crying when Curly makes an improvised bottle with milk. Later, the same mobster shows up with some of his goons to get the money. The trio manage to defeat the crooks and when they finish telling the story, the kid goes off to find his real mother. Moe and Curly blame Larry for the entire mess and decide to punish him.

Production notes

The title is a parody of Columbia's movie series "The Lone Wolf." This is the eleventh of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title. The theme reverts to the syncopated, jazzy version of "Three Blind Mice" previously used on ''

Gents Without Cents ''Gents Without Cents'' is a 1944 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 81st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring ...

'', '' Three Pests in a Mess'', ''

Booby Dupes ''Booby Dupes'' is a 1945 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 84th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedia ...

'' and ''

Idiots Deluxe ''Idiots Deluxe'' is a 1945 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 85th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the co ...

'' instead of the revamped, 'sliding strings' version used during this period.

Curly's illness

''Three Loan Wolves'' was filmed February 27-March 2, 1946, near the end of

's career. The 42-year-old comedian had suffered a series of minor

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

s several months prior to filming, and his performances had been unpredictable. By the time of ''Three Loan Wolves'', he had lost a considerable amount of weight, and lines had creased his face.

and

look stocky by comparison. While director

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 ...

devised ways to cover Curly's illness,

simply gave most of Curly's lines to Larry. With ''Three Loan Wolves'', White made Larry the main character (his first time in the spotlight since the Stooges'

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

short for Columbia Pictures in 1934, ''

Woman Haters ''Woman Haters'' is a 1934 musical short subject directed by Archie Gottler starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jerry Howard). It is the inaugural entry in the series released by Columbia ...

''), with nearly the entire film revolving around him. Curly also tried desperately to maintain his falsetto voice, but was clearly unable to. Several scenes are heartbreaking to watch, as the once-superstooge had been relegated to an occasional line of dialogue. Beverly Warren appeared at a 2003 Three Stooges convention in

Fort Washington, Pennsylvania Fort Washington is a census-designated place and suburb of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,446 at the 2010 census. History Prior to the Revolutionary War the Fort Washington area was settle ...

, and reported that Curly's illness was not discussed on the set. She added that filming was completed at such a rapid pace, she rarely saw Curly or Moe (as she only shared screen time with Larry).User Oanabay; present at 2003 convention

References

External links

* *
''Three Loan Wolves'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1946 films 1946 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films