''Flagpole Jitters'' is a 1956

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 169th 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

The Stooges are paperhangers concurrently assuming the role of caregivers for the invalid Mary, confined to a wheelchair. Their routine is disrupted by the allure of a poster featuring the eminent hypnotist, Svengarlic, renowned for his captivating performances. Motivated by the prospect of Mary's potential rehabilitation through hypnotic intervention, the Stooges seek Svengarlic's services, albeit unwittingly falling prey to his ulterior motives. However, Svengarlic's intentions veer from the Stooges' altruistic aspirations, as he orchestrates a diversionary spectacle using the trio as unwitting pawns. The Stooges, mesmerized by Svengarlic's hypnotic prowess, are induced to perform a precarious dance atop a flagpole, while his henchmen perpetrate a heist at a nearby jewelry emporium. An inadvertent cyclist collides with Svengarlic, abruptly terminating the hypnotic trance and jolting the Stooges back to consciousness. In a state of disorientation and panic, the Stooges discover themselves in a precarious suspension atop the flagpole, an unintended consequence of its collapse. This fortuitous turn of events unexpectedly propels them into the heart of an in-progress robbery, where their presence disrupts the criminal enterprise, culminating in its ultimate foiling.

Cast

Credited

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Shemp *

Mary Ainslee Mary Ainslee (born Florence Stiegler; October 12, 1914 – November 1, 1991) was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 15 films between 1939 and 1952. Early years Ainslee was a native of Newport News, Virginia, and the daught ...

as Mary (stock footage) **

Connie Cezon Consuelo Lord Cezon (March 28, 1925 – February 26, 2004), known professionally as Connie Cezon, was an American film actress. She made over 30 film and television appearances between 1951 and 1964. Early years Born in Oakland, California, Ce ...

as Mary (new footage) * David Bond as Svengarlic *

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 Insurance adjuster (stock footage)

Uncredited

* Don C. Harvey as Jack the robber *

Frank Sully Francis Thomas Sullivan (June 17, 1908 – December 17, 1975), known professionally as Frank Sully, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1934 and 1968. Today's audiences know him best as the dumb detective in the '' ...

as Jim the robber *

Ned Glass Nusyn "Ned" Glass (April 1, 1906 – June 15, 1984) was a Polish-born American character actor who appeared in more than eighty films and on television more than one hundred times, frequently playing nervous, cowardly, or deceitful characters. ...

as Svengarlic's manager (stock footage) ** Edwin Rochelle as Svengarlic's manager (new footage) * Richard Alexander as policeman *

Barbara Bartay Vari Komp (19 March 1921 – 20 August 1986), known professionally as Barbara Bartay, was a Czech-born American film actress. She appeared in several short films at Columbia Pictures between 1951 and 1956. Career Bartay was born in Bohemia, Cro ...

as Chorus girl with ice cream *

Beverly Thomas Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia *Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide *Beverley, Western Australia, a town *Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada *Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City of E ...

as Mary the blonde chorus girl * Bonnie Henjum as Chorus girl *

Johnny Kascier Johnny Kascier (born John Kacerosky; July 1, 1889May 10, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in over 90 films between 1932 and 1957. Modern viewers will recognize Kascier as the Emir of Schmow in the Three Stooges film ''Malice in the Palac ...

as man on bicycle (stock footage)

Production notes

''Flagpole Jitters'' is a

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 ...

of 1949's '' Hokus Pokus'' using ample

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

from the original. The films have different endings: Mary is actually paraplegic here, whereas in the original she was a fraud. In ''Flagpole Jitters'', Svengarlic is the fraud. The Stooges make a reference to

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...

Correctional Facility, in which Shemp believes he has hypnotized Moe into thinking he is locked up in the infamous prison. The character name Svengarlic is a parody of

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

, the name of a fictional character in

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Trilby (novel), Trilby'', featuring the char ...

's 1894 novel ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

''. ''Flagpole Jitters'' was the last short produced that included new footage of

. '' For Crimin' Out Loud'' is commonly thought to be the last film featuring new footage of Shemp. However, the new footage used in ''For Crimin' Out Loud'' was filmed on June 30, 1955: ''Flagpole Jitters'' was filmed the next day on July 1. Shemp died on November 22, 1955, before any new films were produced.''Flagpole Jitters'' at threestooges.net
/ref>

References

External links

*
''Flagpole Jitters'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1956 films 1956 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White The Three Stooges film remakes Films about hypnosis Sing Sing The Three Stooges films Columbia Pictures short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films American comedy short films