Playing the Ponies
Encyclopedia
Playing the Ponies is the 26th 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.
) walk in and order food as they look over a racing form. One man laments the state in which his horse, Thunderbolt, is in, claiming that he is "all run out" and that he wants to dump him off on some unsuspecting sap. This works in his favor when Larry opens a newspaper and reads a story on a horse named Mad Cap who won a race worth $10,000. The Stooges then decide to sell their restaurant to Thunderbolt's owners and get into the horse racing industry.
Upon arriving at Thunderbolt's stable, Curly races the horse around the track. Curly misunderstands and runs alongside Thunderbolt, but he stops when Moe calls him over. Feeling hungry, Curly pulls out a handful of pepperinos that he swiped from the restaurant, thinking them to be salted peanuts. However, Thunderbolt eats them first and, with his mouth burning, runs like lightning towards the nearest water trough. Moe demands to know what Curly gave the horse, but he still believes them to be peanuts. To be sure, Moe eats a handful and suffers the same heated mouth as Thunderbolt and runs to the trough. Curly follows suit, and blazes to the trough as well. The Stooges quickly discover that the pepperinos (or hot peppers as they call them due to their spiciness) caused Thunderbolt's sudden burst of speed and believe it to be their ace in the hole for future races.
Once the race starts, Thunderbolt turns around and starts running in the opposite direction. Larry stops him and feeds him the hot peppers, but the effect is too much for Thunderbolt and he is too disoriented to run. Moe and Curly grab a bucket of water, hop on a parked motorcycle and drive alongside of Thunderbolt with the bucket hanging from a pole in front of the horse. Thunderbolt wins the race, and the Stooges enjoy the good life as Thunderbolt eats peanuts out of a large bowl in celebration.
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 operate a failing restaurant and are plenty sick of it. Two men (Nick Copeland, Lew DavisLew Davis
Lew Davis was an American film actor. He appeared in over 75 films between 1916 and 1948.-Career:Davis appeared in his first film in 1916. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictures, appearing several Three Stooges shorts including Slippery Silks, Dizzy Doctors and Three Little...
) walk in and order food as they look over a racing form. One man laments the state in which his horse, Thunderbolt, is in, claiming that he is "all run out" and that he wants to dump him off on some unsuspecting sap. This works in his favor when Larry opens a newspaper and reads a story on a horse named Mad Cap who won a race worth $10,000. The Stooges then decide to sell their restaurant to Thunderbolt's owners and get into the horse racing industry.
Upon arriving at Thunderbolt's stable, Curly races the horse around the track. Curly misunderstands and runs alongside Thunderbolt, but he stops when Moe calls him over. Feeling hungry, Curly pulls out a handful of pepperinos that he swiped from the restaurant, thinking them to be salted peanuts. However, Thunderbolt eats them first and, with his mouth burning, runs like lightning towards the nearest water trough. Moe demands to know what Curly gave the horse, but he still believes them to be peanuts. To be sure, Moe eats a handful and suffers the same heated mouth as Thunderbolt and runs to the trough. Curly follows suit, and blazes to the trough as well. The Stooges quickly discover that the pepperinos (or hot peppers as they call them due to their spiciness) caused Thunderbolt's sudden burst of speed and believe it to be their ace in the hole for future races.
Once the race starts, Thunderbolt turns around and starts running in the opposite direction. Larry stops him and feeds him the hot peppers, but the effect is too much for Thunderbolt and he is too disoriented to run. Moe and Curly grab a bucket of water, hop on a parked motorcycle and drive alongside of Thunderbolt with the bucket hanging from a pole in front of the horse. Thunderbolt wins the race, and the Stooges enjoy the good life as Thunderbolt eats peanuts out of a large bowl in celebration.