THE PLOT
The Stooges are fish peddlers (similar to their roles in GC6J692 Curly Howard: Cookoo Cavaliers) who decide to cut out the middleman by catching the fish themselves. They then go about purchasing fishermen uniforms and a boat. While searching for their wardrobe, Curly manages to swipe a navy captain's uniform from the same guy (Vernon Dent) whose girl (Rebel Randall) Curly decides to overly flirt with.
After the debacle with the lady, the gents reconvene, and go about trading in their car and raising additional money for a propeller boat that ends up being a "lemon". No sooner are the Stooges on the ocean when their boat starts to sink. They climb aboard their spare dinghy, and signal some passing planes for help. Unfortunately, they signal using a white rag with a large red paint-splatter in the center, making it resemble the flag of Japan.The planes overhead turn out to be bombers who believe the Stooges are Japanese marines, and promptly bomb the trio. Amidst the bombing, Moe creates a makeshift motor out of a rotor and Curly's victrola, and the trio make a mad dash out of there.
TRIVIA
Filmed on September 27-30, 1944, Booby Dupes is a partial remake of the 1932 Laurel and Hardy short film Towed in a Hole. In addition, the gag of a victrola acting as a car radio appeared in the duo's 1932 film Busy Bodies. The title is a play on the line "boop-oop-a-doop" from the song "I Wanna Be Loved By You", made famous by singer Helen Kane and by the Fleischer Studios cartoon character Betty Boop.
This is one of a few shorts in which one of the boys call themselves "the Stooges", screamed by Moe as the bomber tries to sink their boat.
During World War II, the Stooges released a handful of comedies that engaged in propaganda against on the then-enemy Japanese, including GC6W3GH Curly Howard: Spook Louder, GC6ZFH7 Curly Howard: No Dough Boys, Booby Dupes and GC6XWGZ Curly Howard: The Yoke's On Me , which no longer reflect America's official relationship with Japan.
Curly Howard's mannerisms and reactions had been starting to slow down. In Booby Dupes, his condition varies; he is in top form at the beginning and end of the film, but appears somewhat sluggish during the middle sequence involving his stealing navy Capt. Vernon Dent's uniform and flirting with girlfriend Rebel Randall.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
Just knowing that Curly's days are beginning to be numbered, he still puts on a fairly good performance. Some of the sight gags look so real that it makes one wonder if the distress of it all had something to do with Curly's downfall. Like getting his head inserted into an industrial garment presser, which happens in this short.
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES.
Watch the following short Curly clips
Curly Invents The Car Radio: Episode 84 Booby Dupes Clip1
Curly Bids On The Boat: Episode 84 Booby Dupes Clip2
ADD up the numeric digits on the fish truck’s license plate: ADD this result to the last three digits of the posted North coordinates.
ADD the cash portion of the final price paid for the boat to the last three digits of the posted West coordinates.
Have fun! Get the family involved.
Curly Code: 395-183