Pardon My Scotch
Encyclopedia
Pardon My Scotch is the ninth short subject
starring American slapstick
comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures
between 1934 and 1959.
. The concoction reacts, and it is so strong that it cuts through a wicker
chair
serving as an improvised sieve
. But the man loves the libation (which he thought was Scotch), and he convinces the Stooges to pose as Scotsmen and attend a party at his boss' house, where he can sign the Stooges to a liquor contract for their invention, dubbed the "Breath of Heather".
One highlight of the party is an Italian tenor
(Billy Gilbert
) singing "Santa Lucia
." The Stooges express their displeasure by firing off grapes down his throat to stop him, then a banana
into his mouth at the final "Santa Mariaaa-," which does the trick. Disgusted at being made into a "fruit salad
," he exits in disgust, calling them "pigs." In reaction, Moe tosses a pineapple
at the exiting singer, which hits him off camera after making a physics-defying turn in mid-air.
After a raucous Highland Fling dance (actually referred to by Moe as the "Lowland Shim" ("...it's like a fan dance, only you do it in kilts!") ), and a disastrous dinner, the barrel of the lethal "scotch" is presented. The Stooges' attempt to tap the barrel results in an explosion which engulfs all the party guests in a sea of foam.
During the opening scenes when the boys are assembling the door, Moe asks Curly to saw a piece of wood for him. Curly lays the wood on top of a wooden table, which Moe happens to be standing on. Curly then proceeds to buzzsaw both the wood and table in half, with the table splitting in two. However, the table (which was wired off camera to split on cue) split inward on Moe's half of it, and Moe came crashing down on his left side, breaking three ribs. He was able to pull himself up and deliver a double slap to Larry and Curly before fainting. Moe was then rushed to the hospital, and production ceased briefly.
Trouper that Moe was, it is unclear whether his reaction to the fall was partially pain or all just normal acting. As Moe starts to get up, he shakes his head a couple of times, with his typical scowl; then walks very deliberately from the left to the right of the other two Stooges to position properly for the camera angle (i.e. to where he was supposed to already be, had the table broken outward as planned); places one hand on part of the wall as he turns; Curly and Larry (as with other films) ask, "What happened?" and Moe (as usual) answers, "Nothing!" and then delivers the double slap. This wider-angle scene then immediately cuts to a close-up presumably filmed at another time.
This painful footage was reused eight years later at the beginning of the short Dizzy Detectives
.
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. 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 carpenters who are temporarily left in charge of a drugstore, assembling a door with disastrous results. When a liquor salesman stops by and asks for a drink, the Stooges mix together a drink using all manner of medicines and chemicals, and mixed with a rubber bootWellington boot
The Wellington boot, also known as rubber-boots, wellies, wellingtons, topboots, billy-boots, gumboots, gummies, barnboots, wellieboots, muckboots, sheepboots, shitkickers, or rainboots are a type of boot based upon leather Hessian boots...
. The concoction reacts, and it is so strong that it cuts through a wicker
Wicker
Wicker is hard woven fiber formed into a rigid material, usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is often made of material of plant origin, but plastic fibers are also used....
chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
serving as an improvised sieve
Sieve
A sieve, or sifter, separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net. However, in cooking, especially with flour, a sifter is used to aerate the substance, among other things. A strainer is a type of sieve typically used to separate a solid from a liquid...
. But the man loves the libation (which he thought was Scotch), and he convinces the Stooges to pose as Scotsmen and attend a party at his boss' house, where he can sign the Stooges to a liquor contract for their invention, dubbed the "Breath of Heather".
One highlight of the party is an Italian tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
(Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert
Billy Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
) singing "Santa Lucia
Santa Lucia
Santa Lucia is a traditional Neapolitan song. It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "barcarolla", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Napuletano into Italian during the first stage of the Risorgimento, the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian...
." The Stooges express their displeasure by firing off grapes down his throat to stop him, then a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
into his mouth at the final "Santa Mariaaa-," which does the trick. Disgusted at being made into a "fruit salad
Fruit salad
Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, served in a liquid, either in their own juices or a syrup. When served as an appetizer or as a dessert, a fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit cocktail or fruit cup...
," he exits in disgust, calling them "pigs." In reaction, Moe tosses a pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
at the exiting singer, which hits him off camera after making a physics-defying turn in mid-air.
After a raucous Highland Fling dance (actually referred to by Moe as the "Lowland Shim" ("...it's like a fan dance, only you do it in kilts!") ), and a disastrous dinner, the barrel of the lethal "scotch" is presented. The Stooges' attempt to tap the barrel results in an explosion which engulfs all the party guests in a sea of foam.
Moe's injury
Trouper that Moe was, it is unclear whether his reaction to the fall was partially pain or all just normal acting. As Moe starts to get up, he shakes his head a couple of times, with his typical scowl; then walks very deliberately from the left to the right of the other two Stooges to position properly for the camera angle (i.e. to where he was supposed to already be, had the table broken outward as planned); places one hand on part of the wall as he turns; Curly and Larry (as with other films) ask, "What happened?" and Moe (as usual) answers, "Nothing!" and then delivers the double slap. This wider-angle scene then immediately cuts to a close-up presumably filmed at another time.
This painful footage was reused eight years later at the beginning of the short Dizzy Detectives
Dizzy Detectives
Dizzy Detectives is the 68th short film starring the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
.