''Booty and the Beast'' is a 1953

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

directed by

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

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 as ...

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 comedy. Six total ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), 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 ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...

and

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) 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 i ...

). It is the 145th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

Inadvertently entangled in aiding a safe-cracker, the Stooges find themselves inadvertently implicated in a criminal endeavor, prompting their subsequent pursuit of the perpetrator to Las Vegas. Embarking on a journey fraught with mishaps, the trio's endeavor is further complicated by the accidental release of a lion from the train's baggage car. Despite these challenges, the Stooges persist in their pursuit, ultimately apprehending the unnamed culprit and recovering the ill-gotten gains.

Cast

Credited

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Shemp * Kenneth McDonald as Crook *

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, main antagonist, and an ally to The Three ...

as Night Watchman

Uncredited

Dudley Dickerson Dudley Henry Dickerson Jr. (November 27, 1906September 23, 1968) was an African-American film actor. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952, and is best remembered for his roles in several Three Stoog ...

as Pullman Porter *

Heinie Conklin Heinie Conklin (born Charles John Conklin; July 16, 1880July 30, 1959) was an American actor and comedian whose career began in the silent film era. Early years Conklin was born Charles John Conklin on July 16, 1880, in San Francisco, Califor ...

as Conductor *

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

as Sleeping Passenger *

Victor Travers Victor Travers (1884 – 26 May 1948) was an English character actor of theatre and film, known for his work in many of the Three Stooges films. During his career, which began in 1938 and ended with his death in 1948, he appeared in more than ...

as Passenger with Beard *

Blackie Whiteford John Penman "Blackie" Whiteford (April 27, 1889 – March 21, 1962) was an American film actor. Biography In 1903, Whiteford was a seaman between jobs when he was offered a chance to work on '' The Great Train Robbery'' film. That opportuni ...

as Passenger *

Sam Lufkin Samuel William Lufkin (May 8, 1891 – February 19, 1952) was an American actor. He was known for appearing in small or bit roles in short comedy films. Career Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made ...

as Passenger * Tanner the Lion as Lion

Production notes

''Booty and the Beast'' was filmed in May 1952. The second half of the film consists of footage recycled from '' Hold That Lion!'', which includes the cameo appearance by former Stooge

, who died on January 18, 1952. The title of the film is a parody of the fairy tale ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion''; Comedy III Productions, Inc., pp. 416-417; MacDonald's character in ''Hold That Lion'' was originally named Icabod Slipp: in ''Booty and the Beast'', he is a nameless thug. Any references to Slipp are replaced with "He", "Him" or "that crook."

References

External links

*
''Booty and the Beast'' at threestooges.net
1953 films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White Fiction about rail transport 1953 comedy films Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub