Listen, Judge
Listen, Judge is a 1952 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 138th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
| Listen, Judge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Edward Bernds |
| Produced by | Hugh McCollum |
| Written by | Elwood Ullman |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Kitty McHugh Vernon Dent Emil Sitka John Hamilton |
| Cinematography | Ellis W. Carter |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 17:06 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
The Stooges are repairmen who are on trial for stealing chickens, but are found not guilty. However, Shemp opens his suit jacket, resulting in a live chicken flying out of his grip and into the face of Judge Henderson (Vernon Dent). The boys then flee the courtroom, and pursue some work.
The trio comes upon a lady customer (Kitty McHugh) whose doorbell is in need of repair. The Stooges manage to ruin most of the house while working on the wiring, ultimately clobbering the chef (Emil Sitka) who is preparing dinner at the customer's house. The irate chef abruptly quits, resulting in the Stooges being hired to prepare dinner for her husband's friend's birthday party. To their shock and horror, the party in question is for none other than Judge Henderson, and their lady customer is the Judge's wife.
Now frantic, the trio try their best to make the dinner at least partially edible. All hell nearly breaks loose when the birthday cake they prepare is accidentally pierced, deflating in the process. The cake is then "re-inflated" using town gas through the gas stove's connection.
During the party, Judge Henderson's friend blows out the candles, and the gas-filled cake explodes all over him and the judge, ruining his chance for re-election. The judge angrily realizes who the new "help" are, and the Stooges are forced to leave in a hurry.
Production notes
Filmed on November 6–8, 1951, Listen, Judge is a hybrid of plot devices borrowed from three different Stooge films featuring Curly Howard:
- The chicken stealing sequence in the courtroom is from A Plumbing We Will Go.
- The doorbell repair sequence is from They Stooge to Conga.
- The food preparation sequences and exploding cake (comprising the second half of the film) are from An Ache in Every Stake.[1]
It is also the last film released during Eddie Laughton's lifetime. He passed away 15 days later on March 21, 1952, which was two months after Curly Howard's death.
References
- Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 401; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0-9711868-0-4
