''Three Arabian Nuts'' is a 1951

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

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 ...

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. Six Stooges appear ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

). It is the 129th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

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

Plot

The Stooges are warehouse workers at the Superior Warehouse and Storage Company assigned to delivering some Arabian antique for client Mr. Bradley (

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 and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...

). While unpacking the goods at Mr. Bradley's house, Shemp stumbles upon a magic lamp that he, at first, dubs a "syrup pitcher." After giving the lamp a cleaning, a

djinni Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic my ...

appears (Wesley Bly), startling Shemp. Calling the djinni "genius," the Stooges are pursued by two Arabian thugs (

Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...

) who are after the magic lamp. Mr. Bradley is unaware of the magic lamp, which he gives to Shemp. Only Shemp and Larry know about the magic of the lamp, in which Moe doubts. The thugs are apprehended, thanks to the genius, and at the end, the stooges are seen with their girls plus the million dollars that are now shared by the stooges. They all depart for a traveling vacation, leaving Mr. Bradley, who uses a mallet to repeatedly hit himself in the head, for giving the lamp to the stooges.

Cast

Credited

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Shemp *

as Mr. Bradley *

as Ahmed *

as Hassan * Wesley Bly as Amos, the "

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilit ...

" of the Lamp

Uncredited

Lillian Molieri Lillian Molieri Bermúdez (18 January 1925 – 13 September 1980) was a Nicaraguan actress and dancer. She was noted for her minor roles in Hollywood films and TV series between 1944 and 1957, though most of them went uncredited. She later became ...

as harem girl * Unknown actress as 2nd harem girl (uncredited) * Unknown actress as 3rd harem girl

Production notes

''Three Arabian Nuts'' was filmed on January 9–12, 1950, nearly one year prior to its January 1951 release. This is the fifteenth of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title. The film's title is a parody of ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', a collection of

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the

Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...

References

External links

* * 1951 films 1951 comedy films The Three Stooges films Films directed by Edward Bernds American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{short-comedy-film-stub