Pick a Peck of Plumbers | |
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Directed by | Jules White |
Written by | Felix Adler |
Screenplay by | Felix Adler |
Produced by | Jules White |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Glen Gano |
Edited by | Charles Hochberg |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 17:33 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Pick a Peck of Plumbers is an American comedy short produced and directed by Jules White. Released by Columbia Pictures on July 23, 1944, it stars El Brendel and Shemp Howard, both of whom receive top-billing in the short.
Elmer (El Brendel) and Axel (Shemp Howard) are two vagrants who are on trial for wrecking a policeman's motorcycle. The judge (John Tyrell) fines them $100 or they go to jail for 100 days. The two men convince the judge to let them get a job to pay the fine, which he accepts. They end up getting a job as assistant plumbers, even though they know nothing about plumbing. The boys also find themselves in hot water when they unknowingly assault a customer in the shop, who turns out to be the judge. Their first assignment is to locate a ring that fell down in a sink at a mansion where a bridge club game is going on. They destroy the bathroom and the rest of the house until they finally retrieve the ring at the end.
Pick a Peck of Plumbers is a remake of 1934's Plumbing For Gold starring George Sidney and Charlie Murray. It was partially reworked with The Three Stooges as A Plumbing We Will Go (1940) and Vagabond Loafers (1949). It was remade by the Stooges again in 1956 as Scheming Schemers . [1]
In 1944, the shorts department at Columbia paired Brendel with different comedians since they did not know what to do with him. Brendel and Howard did not really click together as a team. Brendel was paired with silent-screen comedian Harry Langdon, who had his own series of comedy shorts at Columbia since 1934, for some of the latter shorts until Langdon's death in 1945. After his death, Columbia decided not to renew Brendel's contract. [2]
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 over the act's run : Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run and the pivotal "third stooge" was played by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita.
Moses Harry Horwitz, known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader 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.
Samuel Horwitz, known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. 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 series of shorts by himself and with partners, and reluctantly returned to the Stooges as a favor to his brothers Moe and Curly.
Jerome Lester Horwitz, known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American vaudevillian comedian and actor. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard and actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges. He was well known for his high-pitched voice and vocal expressions, as well as his physical comedy, improvisations, and athleticism. An untrained actor, Curly borrowed the "woob woob" from "nervous" and soft-spoken comedian Hugh Herbert. Curly's unique version of "woob-woob-woob" was firmly established by the time of the Stooges' second Columbia film, Punch Drunks (1934).
This is a complete list of short subjects and feature films that featured The Three Stooges released between 1930 and 1970.
A Plumbing We Will Go is a 1940 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 46th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Vernon Bruce Dent 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 Three Stooges.
Mummy's Dummies is a 1948 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 111th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Commotion on the Ocean is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 174th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Joe Palma 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 a body double to member Shemp Howard for four shorts produced after Shemp's death, which led to the coining of the term "Fake Shemp".
Scheming Schemers is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 173rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Out West is a 1947 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 99th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Vagabond Loafers is a 1949 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 118th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who appeared in 190 shorts at the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Tooth Will Out is a 1951 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 134th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Listen, Judge is a 1952 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 138th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Corny Casanovas is a 1952 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 139th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Fling in the Ring is a 1955 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 159th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Gypped in the Penthouse is a 1955 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 161st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Creeps is a 1956 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 168th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Three Stooges Collection is a series of DVD collections of theatrical short subjects produced by Columbia Pictures starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. Each volume is a two-disc set, and covers a three-year interval, with the exception of Volume Eight, which is a three-disc set and covers the last five years at Columbia.