Cactus Makes Perfect is the 61st short subject

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: 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 or less, including all...

 starring American slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 comedy team the Three Stooges

Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...

. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The film opens with the Stooges' mother (played by male actor Monte Collins) attempting to wake up her three boys without success. "Get out of bed you lazy loafers!" she screams to no avail. Finally, she yanks a rope the leads from the kitchen to the bed where the trio is sleeping soundly. This causes the bed to spin vertically and hilariously until they are expelled - violently.

Afterwards, she smacks them around in typical Stooge fashion (like mother, like sons). Curly receives a letter from the Inventors' Association, who state that his Gold Collar Button Retriever is "incomprehensible and utterly impractical." Naturally, Curly misinterprets this as a success, and the trio leave their mother's home to make their fortune. The mother offers them money, then belts them for accepting it ("You WOULD take it!") as they depart.

In transit, they are swindled into buying a map leading to a lost mine in the Old West. After actually finding a lost mine, the Stooges run afoul of two down-on-their-luck prospectors (Vernon Dent

Vernon Dent

Vernon Bruce Dent was a comic actor who appeared in over 400 films in his career. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil to the Three Stooges.-Early career:...

, Ernie Adams

Ernie Adams (actor)

Ernie Adams was an American film actor. He appeared in over 400 films between 1919 and 1948.He was born in San Francisco, California and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:...

), who try to swindle the boys out of their dough.