Punch Drunks
Encyclopedia
Punch Drunks is the second 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.
) goes insane whenever he hears the song "Pop Goes the Weasel
". Moe also takes notice of a fiddler (Larry
) who happens to be playing the potent tune at the restaurant. Seeing dollar signs in the uncontrollable waiter, Moe quickly recruits the two unsuspecting cohorts and preps them for the boxing world. Curly's boxing handle becomes "K.O. Stradivarius", and with Larry in tow—playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" at every boxing match, Curly becomes the number one contender for the heavyweight championship.
All goes well until the night of the highly anticipated World Championship match with Killer Kilduff (Al Hill
). Only a few moments into the first round, Kilduff plants a left hook at Curly, sending him into the crowd, landing on Larry and crushing his violin. Frantic, Larry scurries the streets, looking for anything that is playing "Pop Goes the Weasel," while Curly is being battered by the boxer. Larry finds a radio playing the tune, takes it and heads back to the arena. Larry arrives at the arena a few minutes later with the radio. The song ends moments later just as Curly is about to knock out Kilduff. Moe sends Larry back out to find something else playing the "Pop Goes the Weasel".
Larry manages to come across a politician's campaign truck blaring the tune from its speakers and races it to the arena, crashing through a side wall. Curly is just about ready to throw in the towel until he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel". The wobbily boxer comes to his feet with renewed energy, and knocks out Kilduff in a matter of seconds, winning the fight. With the song still playing, he also knocks out Moe and Larry, and then walks toward the camera, still "woo-woo-wooing".
In 2002, Punch Drunks was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", the only Stooge film to achieve such an honor.
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
Struggling boxing manager Moe is having lunch with several associates when he notices their shy waiter (CurlyCurly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
) goes insane whenever he hears the song "Pop Goes the Weasel
Pop Goes the Weasel
"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.-Lyrics:There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song...
". Moe also takes notice of a fiddler (Larry
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
) who happens to be playing the potent tune at the restaurant. Seeing dollar signs in the uncontrollable waiter, Moe quickly recruits the two unsuspecting cohorts and preps them for the boxing world. Curly's boxing handle becomes "K.O. Stradivarius", and with Larry in tow—playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" at every boxing match, Curly becomes the number one contender for the heavyweight championship.
All goes well until the night of the highly anticipated World Championship match with Killer Kilduff (Al Hill
Al Hill (actor)
Al Hill was an American film character actor who appeared in over 320 films between 1927 and 1954, including the 1951 film The Girl on the Bridge.Hill died in 1954 on his 62nd birthday.-References:...
). Only a few moments into the first round, Kilduff plants a left hook at Curly, sending him into the crowd, landing on Larry and crushing his violin. Frantic, Larry scurries the streets, looking for anything that is playing "Pop Goes the Weasel," while Curly is being battered by the boxer. Larry finds a radio playing the tune, takes it and heads back to the arena. Larry arrives at the arena a few minutes later with the radio. The song ends moments later just as Curly is about to knock out Kilduff. Moe sends Larry back out to find something else playing the "Pop Goes the Weasel".
Larry manages to come across a politician's campaign truck blaring the tune from its speakers and races it to the arena, crashing through a side wall. Curly is just about ready to throw in the towel until he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel". The wobbily boxer comes to his feet with renewed energy, and knocks out Kilduff in a matter of seconds, winning the fight. With the song still playing, he also knocks out Moe and Larry, and then walks toward the camera, still "woo-woo-wooing".
Production and significance
The script for Punch Drunks was written by the Stooges, credited as "Jerry Howard, Larry Fine and Moe Howard". According to Moe, the initial treatment of the script was originated by Moe; on its strength, the studio decided to produce the Stooges' next film sooner than scheduled.In 2002, Punch Drunks was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", the only Stooge film to achieve such an honor.