Pop Goes the Easel

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Pop Goes the Easel
Popgoestheease35l.JPG
The Stooges were not professionally known as "The Three Stooges" when this film was released as they were billed by their individual names
Directed by Del Lord
Written by Felix Adler
Produced by Jules White
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Bobby Burns
Phyllis Crane
Joan Howard Maurer
Phyllis Fine
William Irving
Cinematography Henry Freulich
Edited by James Sweeney
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • March 29, 1935 (1935-03-29)(U.S.)
Running time
18:05
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Pop Goes the Easel is a 1935 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the seventh entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Contents

Plot

Amidst the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, the Stooges, facing dire unemployment, embark on a desperate quest for livelihood. Their initial endeavor, to undertake menial labor sweeping a merchant's sidewalk, unwittingly ensnares them in a case of mistaken identity, as they are erroneously accused of theft by the irate merchant. Fleeing from the scene, the trio inadvertently find themselves pursued by law enforcement authorities.

In a bid to evade capture, the Stooges seek refuge within the confines of an art school, where their presence is misconstrued as that of aspiring artists. Taking advantage of the serendipitous disguise, they reluctantly partake in impromptu art lessons while clandestinely evading detection by the persistent law enforcement officer.

The ensuing chaos culminates in a riotous clay fight, wherein the trio, alongside their unwitting classmates, engage in a frenzied battle of artistic proportions, sparing no participant from the whimsical onslaught. As the tumultuous clay fight reaches its climax, the arrival of irate art students serves as a denouement, with the Stooges bearing the brunt of the ensuing physical altercation. The film concludes with the trio enduring a resounding defeat at the hands of their vengeful counterparts.

Cast

Credited

Uncredited

Production notes

Pop Goes the Easel marks several Stooge firsts:

The title of the film Pop Goes the Easel is a pun on the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel", which is used for the one and only time as the opening theme. [1] The film also ends with the tune, as with the ending of Punch Drunks . [1] It was filmed on February 6–11, 1935. [2]

The two girls playing hopscotch on the sidewalk are Larry Fine's daughter, Phyllis (who died in 1989 at age 60) and Moe Howard's daughter, Joan. [1]

A colorized version of Pop Goes the Easel was released in 2006 as part of the DVD collection entitled "Stooges on the Run". [3]

According to the updated version of the book The Three Stooges Scrapbook, there was an alternate clay fight in the script by Jules White. It was listed as unused or edited. A careful viewer of the clay fight can see some places where the two clay battles were filmed and edited to make one battle. Differences include: The female model is standing in the foreground close to the screen at the beginning, but when she's hit with clay she's standing in front of the windows. She's brunette throughout the whole short, but at the ending, her hair is blonde. As the Stooges walk through the studio, there are spots on the wall made from clay. The officer who was chasing them is out cold and struck with a piece of clay, but later is shown getting his toupee knocked off his head (from a thrown piece) as he is throwing clay. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 49–61. ISBN   0-9711868-0-4.
  2. ↑ Pauley, Jim (2012). The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations. Solana Beach, California: Santa Monica Press, LLC. p. 214. ISBN   9781595800701.
  3. ↑ Stooges on the Run
  4. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff, Joan Howard Maurer, and Greg Lenburg (2012).The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. ISBN   9781613740743.
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