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Brideless Groom

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Brideless Groom
Directed byEdward Bernds
Written byClyde Bruckman
Produced byHugh McCollum
StarringShemp Howard
Larry Fine
Moe Howard
Dee Green
Christine McIntyre
Doris Houck
Emil Sitka
CinematographyVincent J. Farrar
Edited byHenry DeMond
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • September 11, 1947 (1947-09-11) (U.S.)
Running time
16:51
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Brideless Groom is a 1947 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 101st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

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Shemp is a music teacher navigating the affections of his unattractive and musically challenged student, Miss Dinkelmeyer, while Larry serves as his musical accompanist. Moe then interrupts Shemp's classroom session with news of his uncle Caleb's demise, provoking Shemp's initial disparagement of his late relative. However, Shemp's demeanor swiftly shifts upon learning of his unexpected inheritance of $500,000, prompting a sudden change in his disposition towards his deceased uncle. However, Shemp's windfall comes with a caveat: he must marry within a mere 48-hour window to claim his newfound wealth.

Faced with the urgent need for a bride, Shemp frantically reaches out to various acquaintances in his address book, proposing to multiple women in a desperate bid to meet the stipulated deadline. However, his attempts prove futile, leading to a series of calamitous misadventures orchestrated by Moe and Larry, including the inadvertent engagement to Miss Dinkelmeyer and encounters with aggressive ex-girlfriends eager to capitalize on Shemp's newfound fortune.

As the wedding ceremony ensues, chaos erupts as the multitude of prospective brides converge upon the justice's office, igniting a frenzied melee of physical altercations. Moe and Larry find themselves ensnared in the escalating turmoil, enduring blows and comedic mishaps amidst the tumultuous pursuit of matrimony. Despite the pandemonium, Shemp ultimately seals his union with Miss Dinkelmeyer, securing his inheritance just in time.

Cast

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Credited

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Uncredited

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Production notes

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Brideless Groom was filmed on March 11–14, 1947. The plot theme of Brideless Groom is not unique, having been used in (among others) Buster Keaton's 1925 comedy Seven Chances (remade in 1999 as The Bachelor). Writer Clyde Bruckman was also partially responsible for Seven Chances. Brideless Groom would be recycled in the second half of the 1956 Stooge short Husbands Beware.

The film features longtime Stooges supporting player Emil Sitka's best-remembered line "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" (the line is actually engraved on Sitka's headstone). The shot where Sitka has a birdcage smashed on his head was worked into the 1994 movie Pulp Fiction when Eric Stoltz is watching television.

The version of "Voices of Spring" during Shemp and Miss Dinkelmeyer's singing lesson was sung by frequent Stooge co-star Christine McIntyre, who appears in this short as Miss Hopkins. This version of "Voices of Spring", along with McIntyre herself, were previously used in the Stooges' Micro-Phonies (1945).

Shemp's injury

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Shemp Howard

Brideless Groom features a sequence with Christine McIntyre who portrays Miss Hopkins, a woman whom Shemp actively pursues for his wife. Unfortunately, she mistakes him for her cousin Basil. After learning her mistake, she takes it out on poor Shemp by slapping him silly, then finally punching him through her door. During the filming of the scene, when McIntyre threw her punch, she leaned too far into it and hit Shemp for real, ultimately breaking his nose. This mistake was left in the film, and when watched in slow motion, Shemp can be seen falling down and opening his mouth like he was yelling in pain after the punch. Director Edward Bernds remembered getting McIntyre to give Shemp the blows:

In the story, Shemp had a few hours in which to get married if he wanted to inherit his uncle's fortune. He called on Christine McIntyre, who mistook him for her cousin (Basil), took him to her apartment and greeted him with hugs and kisses. Then the real cousin phoned and she accused Shemp of kissing her, as it were, under false pretenses. At this point, she was supposed to slap Shemp around. Lady that she was, McIntyre couldn't do it right; she dabbed at him daintily, afraid of hurting him. After a couple of bad takes Shemp pleaded with her. "Honey," he said, "if you want to do me a favor, cut loose and do it right. A lot of half-hearted slaps hurt more than one good one. Give it to me, Chris, and let's get it over with". She got up her courage and, on the next take, let Shemp have it. It wound up as a whole series of slaps — the timing was beautiful; they rang out like pistol shots. Shemp was knocked into a chair, bounced up, met another ringing slap, fell down again, scrambled up, trying to explain, only to get another stinging slap. Then Chris delivered a haymaker — a right that knocked Shemp through the door. When the take was over, Shemp was groggy, really groggy. His nose was broken. After Bernds called out, "cut!", Chris put her arms around Shemp and apologized tearfully. "It's alright, honey," Shemp said painfully. "I said you should cut loose and you did. You sure as hell did!"[1]

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Brideless Groom is one of four Columbia Stooge shorts that fell into the public domain after their copyright expired in the 1960s, the other three being Disorder in the Court (1936), Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947), and Malice in the Palace (1949). As such, these four shorts frequently appear on budget VHS and DVD compilations. The remastered print of the short film (alongside the other two public domain shorts, except Malice in the Palace) was officially released on Blu-ray on August 13, 2024 as part of The Three Stooges Collection by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lenburg, Jeff; Howard Maurer, Joan; Lenburg, Greg; (1982). The Three Stooges Scrapbook, p. 81, Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0946-5
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