''Cuckoo on a Choo Choo'' is a 1952

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 143rd 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

Larry and Shemp find refuge in a purloined railway car named Schmow. Larry harbors intentions of marrying his beloved Lenore, contingent upon Shemp marrying Lenore's sister, Roberta. Lenore insists on upholding her family's tradition, wherein the eldest daughter must marry first, and Shemp's substantial wealth is an additional incentive. However, Shemp's persistent inebriation and infatuation with an imaginary avian creature, Carrie, pose significant obstacles to his marriage prospects. Meanwhile, Moe, a railway detective tasked with locating the missing car, chances upon the clandestine hideout. To his astonishment, Moe encounters Roberta, with whom he shares a prior romantic history. Overwhelmed by nostalgia, Moe endeavors to revive their dormant affection. Larry endeavors to sow discord between Moe and Shemp over Roberta's affections, yet Shemp remains steadfast in his devotion to Carrie. Subsequently, Moe forsakes his professional duties to pursue Roberta, culminating in a tumultuous entanglement. The narrative concludes with Shemp, ensnared in his delusion, inadvertently incapacitating himself while pursuing his fanciful muse, Carrie.

Cast

as Moe & Radio announcer *

as Larry *

as Shemp *

Patricia Wright Patricia Wright may refer to: * Patricia Wright (primatologist) (born 1944) * Patricia Wright (actress) (born 1921) * Patricia Wright, murdered by Dana Rivers in 2016 See also * Patrisha Wright Patrisha Wright is an American disability rights act ...

as Lenore *

Victoria Horne Victoria Horne (November 1, 1911 – October 10, 2003) was an American character actress, appearing in 49 films (uncredited in 25 of these) during the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Horne was born on November 1, 1911, in New York City, to Ig ...

as Roberta * Reggie Dvorak as Carrie the canary

Reception

''Cuckoo on a Choo Choo'' has been dubbed one of the most original and unique shorts in the Stooge canon. However, fans and critics alike generally regard it as the worst Stooge comedy made.Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). ''The Three Stooges Scrapbook'', p. 259, Citadel Press.

Production notes

''Cuckoo on a Choo Choo'' was filmed on April 21–23, 1952. The plot is borrowed from two popular films of the period. The idea of a stolen

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

car is a parody of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'', while the imaginary animal friend parodies the film '' Harvey'' (

had starred in the latter). The theme of a woman's unwillingness to marry until her sister can be found in a willing husband-to-be alludes to ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

'', a 1948

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

musical based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', which also had a 1953

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film adaptation. This reportedly was one of

's favorite shorts to watch repeatedly during his last years in the

Motion Picture House In physics, motion is when an object changes its Position (geometry), position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of Displacement (geometry), displacement, distance, velocity, accelerati ...

. It is one of the only Stooge shorts in which he plays a different character than usual: tougher, more domineering, and speaking in a gravelly, mumbling voice in a broad parody of

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

Stanley Kowalski Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play '' A Streetcar Named Desire''. In the play Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employe ...

in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. Over the course of their 24 years at Columbia Pictures, the Stooges would occasionally be cast as separate characters. This course of action always worked against the team; author Jon Solomon concluded "when the writing divides them, they lose their comic dynamic." In addition to this split occurring in ''Cuckoo on a Choo Choo'', the trio also played separate characters in ''

Rockin' in the Rockies Rocking or Rockin may refer to: Music Albums *Rockin' (The Guess Who album) * Rockin' (Frankie Laine album) 1957 Songs *" Hajej, nynjej" Czech children's carol, recorded as "Rocking" by Julie Andrews on ''Christmas with Julie Andrews'', 1982 *" ...

'', '' He Cooked His Goose'' (and its

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

'' Triple Crossed''), '' Gypped in the Penthouse'', ''

Flying Saucer Daffy ''Flying Saucer Daffy'' is a 1958 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser). It is the 187th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring ...

'' and ''

Sweet and Hot Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

''.

References

External links

*
''Cuckoo on a Choo Choo'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1952 films The Three Stooges films Columbia Pictures short films 1950s English-language films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White Fiction about rail transport 1952 comedy films 1952 short films American comedy short films 1950s American films English-language comedy short films