False Alarms is the 17th 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 PLOT
The Stooges are firemen who are constantly getting in trouble. After missing their umpteenth fire call, they are warned that one more incident will cost them their jobs. They then proceeded back to work, in this case, cleaning the fire hoses. In the midst of the action, a new coupé that the chief has purchased is delivered to the station. Curly rolls out the hose into the street. But in the process, the hoses are cut by a passing streetcar, with Curly starting to identify them after the first names of the young Dionne quintuplets. In frustration, Moe wrings Curly’s hands on the wringers.
Meanwhile, Curly sneaks out to visit his girlfriend Mayzie to celebrate her birthday despite the restrictions. She has two friends who need dates, so Curly tries to get Moe and Larry to join him. The two other girls are named Mimi and Minnie, the latter being tall, heavy set, and quite determined to secure a boyfriend. She even aggressively pursues a very reluctant Curly when it becomes apparent that the restrictions are going to prevent Moe and Larry from joining the party. Larry attempts to go anyway, but is stopped by Moe at the firepole by pulling his hair. Moe then goes to the stock room holding Larry by the hair, and locks the door to prevent Larry from leaving. But Larry fights back, and the key goes into the sink in the melee. Moe then proceeds to use Larry as a plunger to retrieve the key. Just then, Curly realizes that the only way he knows to get Moe and Larry out of the fire station is to pull a fire alarm, so he decides to activate it. The firemen respond to the call, but without Larry and Moe. Realizing the alarm, they force themselves out, and down through the firepole. They found that the firemen have left them, so they decided to use the coupé.
They go to the alarm location, finding Curly and the three girlfriends waiting for them. Moe is irate by the false alarm, but sensing the approaching fire truck (and the captain), they decide to take the coupé back to the station. All six ride the car all through town dodging cars and streetcars until they hit the lamppost. All the passengers are trapped in the boot except for Moe who lands outside. Moe, assisted by concerned pedestrians, retrieves them out of the car, but with their egos bruised, the three girlfriends scoot off in a huff. However, before this happens, Minnie (sporting a large black eye) gets into a comical face slapping match with Curly.
The Stooges push the battered coupé out of the accident scene, but forgot to shut it off. The car goes in its own power in the street, back to the fire station. It goes out again, and the chief realizes that it is his car that is in trouble. The car ends up into an open Bekins moving van, and as they closed the door, the car explodes. The fire truck, with the irate captain who threatens to kill them, chases the Stooges. Sensing the chief, they escape in the van, smoking car and all.
TRIVIA
The real life Dionne Quintuplets (born May 28, 1934), referenced in this short, are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical sisters were born in Canada, just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbell. All five survived to adulthood.
The Dionne girls were born two months premature. After four months with their family, they were made Wards of the King for the next nine years under the Dionne Quintuplets' Guardianship Act of 1935. The government and those around them began to profit by making them a significant tourist attraction in Ontario.
The identical quintuplet sisters were, in order of birth:
- Yvonne Édouilda Marie Dionne (died 2001)
- Annette Lillianne Marie Allard (living)
- Cécile Marie Émilda Langlois (living)
- Émilie Marie Jeanne Dionne (died 1954)
- Marie Reine Alma Houle (died 1970)
False Alarms was filmed on location in Los Angeles, California on May 18–22, 1936. The following landmarks appear in the film:
- Fire station: Engine No. 61 and Truck No. 61 (at 5821 West 3rd Street)
- Carl X Folsom Modern Motor Service (at 200 North Larchmont Boulevard)
- Max Factor Make-up Studio
- Remington Rand, Inc.
- Safeway Stores
- Ashley Apartments
- Ozarks Drugstore
- Loa Angeles Railway trolley No. 400
- Silvertown Tires
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES
To obtain the coordinates for the final location of this cache, just answer the two trivia questions obtained directly from this short and translate the answer into the coordinates for the final location. Finally, answer the bonus trivia question to get a clue for bonus cache GC6B619 Larry Fine:
North coordinates: After Curly pulls a false alarm, the scene shifts to the fire station where everyone is scrambling to head out to the fire. Note the time on the clock in the background and set the value ABC to that time. (For example, 7:30 would be 7-3-0). Using that number, the north coordinates are N41 44.(A-1)(C-A)(C-4).
West coordinates: The license plate on the moving truck which traps the chief’s car contains the letter ‘P’ followed by a four digit number. Let that four digit number = WXYZ. Using that four digit number, the west coordinates for the final location are W088 22.(X+Y)(W+Z)(Z-Y).
BONUS TRIVIA QUESTION: Record the number assigned to the letter below for usage in bonus cache GC6B619 Larry Fine.
After the cable car slices the fire hose that the Stooges are washing, Curly picks them up and starts to name the hose pieces after the Dionne quintuplets (Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Emilie, and Marie). Three of them are named. Which two are not mentioned?
Marie and Annette (G = 9)
Cecile and Emilie (G = 0)
To watch this short, use the following link :
Episode 17 False Alarms
For a checksumm value of the six missing coordinate digits, see the hint.