Sock-A-Bye Baby is the 66th short subject starring the 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 awake in the middle of the night to a crying baby left on their doorstep. A letter from the despondent mother (Julie Gibson) states that baby Jimmie (Joyce Gardner) has been abandoned. The Stooges react by taking the little guy in, feeding him, and trying their best to act fatherly.
Later, Larry finds a newspaper article stating a child kidnapping, and the Stooges believe that Jimmie is the child and the kidnappers left a phony note. When the mother and two motorcycle cops come to reclaim the baby, the Stooges evacuate their home quickly, with Jimmie in tow; unbeknownst to the stooges Jimmie crawled into the back seat of their car. The police on their motorcycles track them down and the baby is returned to the parents who, the father being one of the cops, reconcile. The Stooges, meanwhile, make a conspicuous escape by skittering away hidden in large haystacks.
TRIVIA
Filming for Sock-a-Bye Baby commenced between April 28 and May 1, 1942. The film title is a parody of the lullaby "Rock-a-bye Baby", likely shared by the similarly-named Popeye cartoon Sock-a-Bye, Baby from 1934.
This short is one of the rare few that contains explicit racial humor. Specifically, after Curly begins singing a song about Japanese people, he catches himself and says "What am I sayin'? [spits Pew!] on the Japanese." The U.S. was at war with Japan during World War II at the time and jingoism (see below) was a presence in the media.
While washing the celery being prepared for Jimmie's meal, Curly sings an a cappella "nonsense song" with lyrics imagining he was a Brazilian coffee bean: "I was a boy in Brazil and I grew on a tree. / When they shook the tree then I fell down. / Then they put me in a bag / and they fastened on a tag / and they shipped me off to New York town."
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
I had to look up the word Jingoism. Interesting definition: Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. Jingoism also refers to a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests. Colloquially, it refers to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others—an extreme type of nationalism.
Curly: Gee I wondered if I looked like that when I was delivered by the stork. Moe: When you were born, you were delivered by a buzzard.
The part of the baby Jimmie was played by Joyce Gardner, who was born on March 12, 1941, making her just over one when he filming was done. Quite a cute performance. She has appeared recently at a Stooges Fan Club meeting.
It is quite a comedic moment when a nipple is placed on a bottle of beer and the Stooges attempt to drink it,
Lots of on location shots in the back roads of Los Angeles in this short.
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES.
Watch the following short Curly clips
Curly Models A Diaper: Episode 66 Sock-A-Bye Baby Clip1
MULTIPLY the “perfect size” that results from designing the diaper for Curly by the number of pins Moe calls for when doing the final alterations for the baby. ADD this result to the last three digits of the posted North coordinate.
Curly With The Kidnappers: Episode 66 Sock-A-Bye Baby Clip2
ADD up the individual numbers on the license plate of the main cop’s motorcycle. ADD this result to the last three digits of the posted West coordinate.
Have fun! Get the family involved.
Curly Code: 410-085