Dutiful But Dumb
Encyclopedia
Dutiful but Dumb is the 54th 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.
-like photographers working for Whack Magazine ("If it's a good picture, it's out of Whack!") who continue to grate at their weary boss (Vernon Dent
). To get them out of his hair, he sends them to Vulgaria for their next job, knowing full well that taking pictures in Vulgaria is against the law, leading to execution. The inept trio are caught once they set foot on Vulgarian soil. As the firing squad is setting up, Curly requests one last smoke, leading to him pulling out a cigar the length of a hero sandwich. The wait puts everyone to sleep, and enables the boys to escape. As they try to avoid their captors, they end up in a local cafe, in which Curly pits his wits against a strong drink, and then a defiant oyster
in his stew. When the oyster works Curly's last nerve he pulls out his gun and fires at it repeatedly. This gets the attention of the guards who promptly capture the Stooges and carry them off, upside down, on the bayonets of their guns.
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 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. 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
The Stooges are "Click, Clack and Cluck", paparazziPaparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
-like photographers working for Whack Magazine ("If it's a good picture, it's out of Whack!") who continue to grate at their weary boss (Vernon Dent
Vernon Dent
Vernon Bruce Dent was a comic actor who appeared in over 400 films in his career. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil to the Three Stooges.-Early career:...
). To get them out of his hair, he sends them to Vulgaria for their next job, knowing full well that taking pictures in Vulgaria is against the law, leading to execution. The inept trio are caught once they set foot on Vulgarian soil. As the firing squad is setting up, Curly requests one last smoke, leading to him pulling out a cigar the length of a hero sandwich. The wait puts everyone to sleep, and enables the boys to escape. As they try to avoid their captors, they end up in a local cafe, in which Curly pits his wits against a strong drink, and then a defiant oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
in his stew. When the oyster works Curly's last nerve he pulls out his gun and fires at it repeatedly. This gets the attention of the guards who promptly capture the Stooges and carry them off, upside down, on the bayonets of their guns.