Fuelin' Around is the 116th 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 Stooges are carpetlayers working at the home of Professor Sneed (Emil Sitka

Emil Sitka

Emil Sitka was a veteran American actor who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with the Three Stooges—nearly 40...

) and his daughter (Christine McIntyre

Christine McIntyre

Christine Cecilia McIntyre was an actress who appeared in many movies in the 1930s and 1940s but is mainly known as the beautiful blonde actress who appeared in many Three Stooges shorts produced by Columbia Pictures....

). Sneed is developing a rocket fuel in secret for the government. Anemian spy Captain Rork (Philip Van Zandt

Philip Van Zandt

Philip "Phil" Van Zandt was a Dutch actor of film, stage and television. He made over 220 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958.-Career:...

) watches the professor through his front window, with hopes of kidnapping him. Of course, the Anemians capture the Stooges instead, mistaking Larry for the professor. Trouble brews when the Stooges are required to whip up some the fuel, and then download the formula. It does not take long for the Anemians to capture the real Professor Sneed, along with his daughter, and throw them all in jail until the formula is disclosed. Thanks to a shy prison guard (Jock Mahoney

Jock Mahoney

Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...

) who cannot help but flirt with Sneed's daughter, the group make a quick exit from a set used in The Loves of Carmen

The Loves of Carmen

The Loves of Carmen is a Technicolor film starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don José. It was directed by Charles Vidor and released by Columbia Pictures. The film was publicized as a dramatic adaptation of the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée and is...

.

Quotes

Moe extends a tape measure across the room, with Shemp holding the other end.

• Moe: "How many feet you got?"
• Shemp: (counts both his feet) "Two!"

The general leaves the Anemia soldiers' hideout.

• Moe: "This ain't no reform school, it's a the-ay-ter!"
• Larry: "How do you know?"
• Moe: (motions to the general) "There goes the door man!"

• Moe: "If they find out we're only carpet layers, they'll go back and grab the REAL Professor Sneed, and not only that, they'll shoot US! So we gotta fool 'em, savvy?"
• Larry: "You're right; it is our duty to posterior!"

• Larry: (as the captain writes down the "formula") "Say, did I give you carbolic acid? I'd love to...
• Shemp: "Put down a squirt of Haritan. Spelled sideways, it's, ah-Hari-tck-tck-tck!"
• Captain: "Eh, how do you spell zis, eh, 'tck-tck-tck?'"
• Shemp: "That's right, put it down!"

Professor Sneed's daughter starts knocking on the dungeon ceiling/laboratory floor, getting the boys' attention.

• Shemp: (listening in) "It's a message!"
• Moe: "Yes?"
• Shemp: "In code!"
• Moe: "Yes yes? What does it say?"
• Shemp: "'Knock-knock, knock-knock, knock-knock-'"

Moe starts knocking Shemp's head in that same succession.

• Shemp: "You left one out." *bonk!*

• Moe: "You know, he's the most intelligent imbecile I'd ever known."
• Shemp: "Say, what about me??"
• Moe: "Oh, you're MUCH smarter, you're just an imbecile."