Nutty But Nice is the 47th 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 working as singing waiters at a restaurant and meet two doctors (Vernon Dent, John Tyrrell) who ask them to cheer up Betty Williams, a little girl who is sick from grief because her father (Ned Glass), a bank cashier, has been kidnapped while delivering $300,000 worth of bonds. After the Stooges, as little girls with blonde sausage curls, fail to cheer her up, they volunteer to find the girl's father. The doctors give them a brief description of the father (middle-aged, bald-spot, an anchor tattoo, and 5'10" in his stocking feet). He and Betty like to yodel to each other, something Curly seems rather adept at.
The Stooges waste no time in stopping every suspect in sight and giving them the Stooge third degree. Frustrated, Curly starts yodeling, and after a few maladies that befall him (water, a flower pot, and a chair all crashing on his head), the boys hear a response from a radio that one of the kidnappers, Butch (Cy Schindell), has on. Butch is guarding Betty's father who is gagged and tied to a bed. Mistaking the yodeling cowboy on the radio for the cashier, the Stooges follow the sounds and intercede, knock out Butch, and free Betty's father.
Just then, three other members of the gang return. The Stooges and the father barricade the room door and use the dumbwaiter to escape to the basement. The four men follow them downstairs where a fight ensues, plunging everything into darkness, leaving only Curly fully conscious afterward to light a candle. The cashier is reunited with Betty, who recovers from her lethargy, and the pair, along with the two doctors, are serenaded at the restaurant by the Stooges.
TRIVIA
Nutty but Nice was filmed from April 27 to May 2, 1940. The film title is a play on the expression, "naughty but nice".
Ned Glass, who played the kidnapped father in this short, would become an Emmy nominated actor for the early 1970's series Julia.
In an unusual filming method, there are several scenes shot completely in the dark, with only voices for effect. It makes for some hilarious scenes.
Some quotes from Curly in this short:
"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, and one measly petunia!"
"What'll the world do without me? What'll I do without myself?"
"Well, doc, I got a terrific pain right here. Every time I squeeze my Adams apple, I can taste cider."
Curly Clips
Here are two short clips from this episode highlighting Curly's talent:
Curly And The Lollipop: Episode 47 Nutty But Nice Clip1
Curly In The Dark: Episode 47 Nutty But Nice Clip2
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Curly Code: 654-257