It's Stooges Sunday here at newsfromme.com and today's was the fourth short subject starring Moe, Larry and Curley (later known as Curly). It's Three Little Pigskins and it came out December 8, 1934, a little more than two years after the release of Horse Feathers, a Marx Brothers film with a similar storyline.
What's notable about it? Well, its similarity to Horse Feathers, for one. The presence of a blonde (and new to movies) Lucille Ball, for another. It's also supposed to be the first film in which the Stooges demanded and got stunt doubles.
The way Moe always told the story, the director wanted them to do this scene in which all the other players dogpile on top of them. Moe, on behalf of himself and his fellow knuckleheads, refused, saying they'd get hurt. He said that earlier in the filming, Larry had lost a tooth when a faked punch was botched and turned real, and that Curly broke his leg in the dumbwaiter scene which you'll see in the film. Curly doesn't appear to have a broken leg in the rest of the movie so I don't know what that's all about.
Anyway, Moe said no to do the dogpile scene. The director argued it was safe. Moe put his foot down and finally, filming shut down for an hour or two until suitable stunt doubles were brought in. The scene was shot, everyone piled onto the stunt guys…and when it was all over, the doubles had multiple broken bones. At least, that's how Moe told the story. It's apparently the shot with the photographer.
The football scenes were shot at Gilmore Stadium, which was located at the corner of Fairfax and Beverly — where CBS Television City now stands. You can spot a few Gilmore signs in the background plus there's the name on the scoreboard. You can also see the sign for the Fairfax Theater, which is now closed and awaiting demolition…but it's still right where it was at that intersection.
Here's the film. Forgive me if there are commercial interruptions…
