Pardon My Scotch
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Pardon My Scotch'' is a 1935
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
Del Lord Delmer "Del" Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Career Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the 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
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 ...
). It is the ninth 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 appeared in 190 shorts at the studio between 1934 and 1959.


Plot

The Stooges, long-standing carpenters, find themselves assuming temporary stewardship of a drugstore in the absence of its proprietor who departs to negotiate the acquisition of copious quantities of alcohol consequent to the cessation of
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. An unexpected encounter with a liquor supplier prompts the trio to concoct a libation using an eclectic array of medicines and chemicals, inadvertently resulting in a potent elixir blended with a
Wellington boot A Wellington boot, often shortened to welly, and also known as a gumboot, rubber boot, or rain boot, is a type of waterproof boot made of rubber. Originally a type of leather riding boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military foot we ...
. The ensuing chemical reaction, formidable in its potency, manifests as the concoction effortlessly dissolves a wicker chair utilized as an improvised
sieve A sieve (), fine mesh strainer, or sift is a tool used for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet m ...
. Despite its unconventional composition, the libation garners favor with the salesman, misconstrued as Scotch, prompting him to entreat the Stooges to masquerade as Scotsmen and attend a soirée at his employer's residence. Following a sequence featuring a spirited, raucous Highland Fling dance and a tumultuous dinner, the centerpiece of the event unfolds with the presentation of the barrel containing the formidable "scotch" brew. The Stooges' clumsy attempt to tap the barrel precipitates a catastrophic explosion, engulfing the assembled guests in a deluge of foam.


Cast


Credited

*
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 ...
as Moe *
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 ...
as Larry *
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 Curly *
Nat Carr Nat Carr (August 12, 1886 – July 6, 1944, born Natan Krechevsky ) was an American character actor of the silent and early talking picture eras. During his eighteen-year career, Carr appeared in over 100 films, most of them features. Lif ...
as Mr. Martin *
James C. Morton James Carmody Lankton (August 25, 1884 – October 24, 1942), known professionally as James C. Morton, was an American character actor, specializing in short-tempered judges, police officers and officials. He appeared in more than 180 films ...
as J. T. Walton''Pardon My Scotch'' at threestooges.net
/ref>


Uncredited

*
Al Thompson Al Thompson (September 21, 1884 – March 1, 1960) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1916 and 1958. Well known in the industry for performing the more difficult stunts, he kept busy as a stunt doubl ...
as Mr. Jones *
Gladys Gale Gladys Gale (January 15, 1891 – October 4, 1948) was an American nightclub singer and vaudeville performer, before becoming a character actress in films during the 1930s and 1940s. The wife of a millionaire, she led a checkered life before dy ...
as Mrs. Walton *
Billy Gilbert William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
as Signor Louis Balero Cantino * Barlowe Borland as Scotsman from Loch Lomond *
Symona Boniface Symona Ferner Boniface (March 5, 1894 – September 2, 1950) was an American film actress, most frequently seen in bit parts in comedy shorts, mostly at Columbia Pictures, particularly those of ''The Three Stooges''. She appeared in 120 film ...
as Larry's dinner companion *
Alec Craig Alexander Younger Craig (30 March 1884 – 25 June 1945) was a Scottish-born American character actor, particularly known for his roles in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and '' National Velvet'' (1944). He was particularly known for portraying ...
as Short bagpiper * Scotty Dunsmuir as Tall bagpiper


Production notes

''Pardon My Scotch'' was filmed on April 11–15, 1935, sixteen months after the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which ended the American experiment with
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. This event is an integral part of the storyline, with the drugstore owner (
Al Thompson Al Thompson (September 21, 1884 – March 1, 1960) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1916 and 1958. Well known in the industry for performing the more difficult stunts, he kept busy as a stunt doubl ...
) frantically attempting to lay in a stock of liquor in anticipation of the imminent end of Prohibition. The title ''Pardon My Scotch'' parodies the expression "Pardon my French." The term "Scotch" for "Scottish" is now considered impolite, although "Scotch" as a type of whiskey is still acceptable. ''Pardon My Scotch'' is the first Stooge film to employ "
Listen to the Mocking Bird "Listen to the Mocking Bird" (1855) is an American popular song of the mid-19th century. Its lyrics were composed by Septimus Winner under the pseudonym "Alice Hawthorne", and its music was by Richard Milburn. It relates the story of a singer dream ...
" as the Stooges' official theme song, as arranged by
Louis Silvers Louis "Lou" Silvers (''né'' Louis Silberstein; September 6, 1889 – March 26, 1954) was an American film score composer whose work has been used in more than 250 movies. In 1935, he won the first Academy Award for Best Original Score for ...
. It would be used up to and including 1939's ''
Three Little Sew and Sews ''Three Little Sew and Sews'' is a 1939 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 36th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures star ...
''. The gag of tossing fruit into a singer's open mouth was reused in the 1945 film ''
Micro-Phonies ''Micro-Phonies'' is a 1945 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 87th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring t ...
''. When the liquor supplier prepares to consume the Stooges' volatile concoction, they wish him well in a triad pattern saying "Over the river," "Skip the gutter," and concluding with "Ver gerharget," a
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
expression meaning "get killed" or "drop dead." The scene where the Stooges perform while the bagpipes played was featured in the film ''
Daddy Day Care ''Daddy Day Care'' is a 2003 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy in the lead role, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, and Anjelica Huston. Written by Geoff Rodkey and directed by Steve Carr, it marks Murphy and Carr's secon ...
'' (2003).


Moe's injury

During the opening scene where the boys are assembling a door, Moe asks Curly to saw a piece of wood for him. Curly lays the wood on top of a wooden table, which Moe happens to be standing on. Curly then proceeds to
buzzsaw A circular saw or a buzz saw, is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a ci ...
both the wood and table in half, with the table splitting in two. However, the table split inward on Moe's half of it, and Moe came crashing down on his left side, breaking three ribs. He was able to pull himself up and deliver a double slap to Larry and Curly before collapsing. Moe was then rushed to the hospital while production ceased briefly. In his 1977 autobiography ''
Moe Howard and the Three Stooges ''Moe Howard and the Three Stooges'' is the autobiography of Moe Howard of The Three Stooges. He spent his final days writing his autobiography, which he tentatively titled ''I Stooged to Conquer''. However, Howard fell ill with lung cancer in M ...
'' (later published as ''I Stooged to Conquer''), Moe incorrectly identified the film in which this injury occurred as ''
Beer and Pretzels ''Beer and Pretzels'' is the second of five short films starring Ted Healy and His Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard) released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on August 26, 1933. A musical-comedy film, the film also featured Bonnie Bonn ...
''. The opening scene footage was reused in 1943 at the start of ''
Dizzy Detectives ''Dizzy Detectives'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 68th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring t ...
''.


References


External links

*
''Pardon My Scotch'' at threestooges.net
{{Stooges Filmography (1934–1946) 1935 films 1935 comedy films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Del Lord Columbia Pictures short films American slapstick comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films