 Back
in 1934, Columbia Pictures signed The Three Stooges for a series
of short subject films. They continued making those
"shorts" for 25 years. A "short" is less
than 20 minutes long. After the Columbus shorts
department closed in 1958, the studio continued to release
Stooges films to theatres through 1959.
Click to enlarge poster
of "Men in Black," the only Three Stooges short to be
nominated for an Oscar.
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| In all, there were 190 short subject
films at Columbia. Curly Howard starred in 97 of them, Shemp
Howard starred in 77, and Joe Besser starred in 16 of the films. |
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| YEAR |
FILM NAME AND SYNOPSIS |
| 1934 |
Women Haters: The
Stooges are members of a "woman haters club" who have
a tough time being married. Curly starred as the third Stooge. |
| |
Punch Drunks: Whenever
Curly hears the song "Pop Goes the Weasel," he starts
punching so the others decide to make him a prizefighter. |
| |
Men
in Black: The Boys act weird in a hospital. |
| |
Three
Little Pigskins: The Stooges are accidentally mistaken
for football players. |
| 1935 |
Horse
Collars: The Stooges find out about necktie parties in
the Old West. |
| |
Restless
Knights: When the queen is kidnapped, The Stooges face
execution. |
| |
Pop
Goes the Easel: In an art institute, the Boys get
carried away with clay-throwing. |
| |
Uncivil
Warriers: The Stooges are Union soldiers who pretend
they are Confederates. |
| |
Hoi
Polloi: A rich professor tried to civilize the Stooges. |
| |
Three
Little Bears: The Stooges are delivery men and their
beer kegs fall off the back of the truck. |
| 1936 |
Ants
in the Pantry: The Stooges do their best to become
exterminators. |
| |
Movie
Maniacs: The Boys try to break into show business. |
| |
Half
Shot Shooters: After they join they Army, they clumsily
destroy military installations. |
| |
Disorder
in the Court: The Stooges are called to testify in Court
but do nothing but bumble the testimony. |
| |
A Pain
in the Pullman: No one can misbehave on a train like The
Stooges. |
| |
False
Alarms: The Stooges play fireman who never quite manage
to get the fire put out. |
| |
Whoops
I'm an Indian: The Boys are trying to get away from the
Sheriff, so they disguise themselves as Indians. |
| |
Slippery
Silks: While guests at a fashion show, The Stooges start
a pastry fight. |
| 1937 |
Grips,
Grunts and Groans: The Boys get in trouble when a hefty
wrestler is knocked out. |
| |
Dizzy
Doctors: Dressed as doctors, the Stooges invade a
hospital to sell their medical products. |
| |
Three
Dumb Clucks: The Stooges try to stop their father's
wedding to a showgirl. |
| |
Back
to the Woods: The Stooges are Pilgrims who enrage local
Indians. |
| |
Goofs
and Saddles: The Boys try to find cattle thieves in the
West. |
| |
Cash
and Carry: Con men sell the Stooges a treasure map. |
| |
Playing
the Ponies: The Three Stooges get into the racing
business. |
| |
The
Sitter-Downers: The Stooges have nothing but trouble
when they try to build their own house. |
| 1938 |
Termites
of 1938: The boys are pest exterminators who end up
being the life of a party. |
| |
Wee
Wee Monsieur: The Boys join the French Foreign Legion by
accident. |
| |
Tassels
in the Air: They're supposed to be painting, but the
Boys end up wrecking a card party. |
| |
Flat
Foot Stooges: This time the Stooges are firemen who
bring their horses to a Turkish bath. |
| |
Healthy,
Wealthy and Dumb: The Boys live in an expensive, fancy
hotel. |
| |
Violent
is the Word for Curly: They're really gas station
attendants but people think they are professors. |
| |
Three
Missing Links: The Stooges go to Africa to make a movie. |
| |
Mutts
to You: The Stooges design and run a automatic dog-wash
operation and end up getting accused of kidnapping. |
| 1939 |
Three
Little Sew and Sews: The Stooges are tailors who get
caught up in a spy plot. |
| |
We
Want Our Mummy: In order to fool a bunch of criminals,
the boys disguise Curly as a mummy. |
| |
A-Ducking
They Did Go: The Stooges sell fake hunting licenses. |
| |
Yes
We Have No Bonanza: While digging for golf, the boys end
up finding bonds. |
| |
Saved
by the Belle: This time The Three Stooges get involved
in a plot to overthrow a government. |
| |
Calling
All Curs: The Boys start an animal hospital, complete
with beds. |
| |
Oily
to Bed, Oily to Rise: Curly tries to sit on an oil well
to keep it under control. |
| |
Three
Sappy People: The Stooges pretend to be psychiatrists. |
| 1940 |
You
Nazty Spy: The Stooges are in charge of running an
entire country. |
| |
Rockin'
Through the Rockies: The Stooges travel cross-country in
a covered wagon and experience the usual obstacles. |
| |
A-Plumbing
We Will Go: The boys are in trouble and pose as plumbers
to escape the police. |
| |
Nutty
but Nice: The Stooges entertain a sad little girl. |
| |
How
High is Up?: The Boys are construction workers. |
| |
From
Nurse to Worse: Curly pretends to be mentally ill so
that The Boys can cheat an insurance company. |
| |
No
Census, No Feeling: The Stooges are broke and get jobs
as census takers. |
| |
Cuckoo
Cavaliers: Three showgirls lose their hair when the
Stooges, who are new hairdressers, work on them. |
| |
Boobs
in Arms: The Stooges, as soldiers, get bombed on
laughing gas |
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