Cactus Makes Perfect | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Del Lord |
Written by | Monte Collins Elwood Ullman |
Produced by | Del Lord Hugh McCollum |
Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Vernon Dent Eddie Laughton Monte Collins Ernie Adams |
Cinematography | Benjamin H. Kline |
Edited by | Jerome Thoms |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 17:18 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Cactus Makes Perfect is a 1942 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 61st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The film opens with the Stooges' mother attempting to wake up her three boys without success. "Get out of bed you lazy loafers!" she screams to no avail. Finally, she yanks a rope that leads from the kitchen to the bed where the trio is sleeping soundly. This causes the bed to spin horizontally until they fly off.
Curly receives a letter from the Inventors' Association, who state that his Gold Collar Button Retriever is "incomprehensible and utterly impractical." Naturally, Curly misinterprets this as a success, and the trio leave their mother's home to make their fortune.
In transit, they are swindled into buying a map leading to a lost mine in the Old West. After actually finding a lost mine, the Stooges run afoul of two down-on-their-luck prospectors after Curly fires an arrow from his Gold Collar Button Retriever. The two then try to rob the boys out of their dough.
Moe and Larry flee to a hotel in a ghost town where Curly hid the gold in a safe. The miners show up, and they all take refuge in the safe room. The miners drill through the door, which Curly attributes to termites, and throw a stick of dynamite in. After a little back and forth, the stick fizzles out. Believing it to be a dud, the boys burst out laughing and Curly chucks the dynamite, causing it to actually explode.
Filmed on August 7–11, 1941, [1] the title Cactus Makes Perfect parodies the proverb "practice makes perfect." [2]
Curly's remark, "I shoot an arrow into the air, where it lands I do not care: I get my arrows wholesale!" [3] parodies Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Arrow and the Song," which begins, "I shot an arrow into the air/It fell to earth, I knew not where..." [4]
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 comedy. Six total Stooges appeared over the act's run ; Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run, while the "third stooge" was played in turn by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita.
Punch Drunks is a 1934 short subject directed by Lou Breslow starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the second entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short subjects for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Moses Harry Horwitz, better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader and straight man of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades. That group initially started out as Ted Healy and His Stooges, an act that toured the vaudeville circuit. Moe's distinctive hairstyle came about when he was a boy and cut off his curls with a pair of scissors, producing an irregular shape approximating a bowl cut.
Shemp Howard was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while it was still associated with Ted Healy and known as "Ted Healy and his Stooges"; and again from 1946 until his death in 1955. During the fourteen years between his times with the Stooges, he had a successful solo career as a film comedian, including a series of shorts by himself and with partners. He reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brother Moe and friend Larry Fine to replace his brother Curly as the third Stooge after Curly's illness.
Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of the comedy team The Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard, as well as actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.
Rockin' in the Rockies is a 1945 American musical western feature film starring the Three Stooges. The picture was one of the Stooges' few feature-length films made during the run of their better-known series of short subjects for Columbia Pictures, although the group had appeared in supporting roles in other features. It is the only Stooges feature-length film with the team's best known line-up in starring roles.
You Nazty Spy! is a 1940 comedy film directed by Jules White and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 44th short film released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
This is a complete list of short subjects and feature films that featured The Three Stooges released between 1930 and 1970.
"I Can Hardly Wait" is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 73rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Horses' Collars is a 1935 short subject directed by Clyde Bruckman and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges . It is the fifth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Grips, Grunts and Groans is a 1937 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 20th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who appeared in 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Pardon My Scotch is a 1935 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the ninth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who appeared in 190 shorts at the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Loco Boy Makes Good is a 1942 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 60th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise is a 1939 short subject produced and directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 42nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
They Stooge to Conga is a 1943 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 67th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb is a 1938 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 31st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
All the World's a Stooge is a 1941 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 55th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Yes, We Have No Bonanza is a 1939 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 39th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
In the Sweet Pie and Pie is a 1941 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 58th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Three Troubledoers is a 1946 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 91st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959