Termites of 1938

Termites of 1938
Directed by	Del Lord
Produced by	Charley Chase Hugh McCollum
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Bess Flowers Bud Jamison Dorothy Granger Hattie McDaniel John Ince Symona Boniface
Cinematography	André Barlatier
Edited by	Art Seid
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	January 7, 1938
Running time	16' 33"
Country	United States
Language	English

Termites of 1938 is the 28th 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.

Plot

The Stooges are exterminators (i.e., 'pest men') at the Acme Exterminator Co., mistakenly hired by a woman of society seeking 'college boy' escorts (from the Acme Escort Service) to a swanky dinner party. The Stooges show up at the fancy mansion where the party takes place and thwart the expectations of the guest of honor (Bud Jamison), as English Lord Wafflebottom.

Notes

• Termites features a classic "replacement gag." During the faux music-playing scene, Moe reaches for a bow to 'play' his bass cello, but mistakenly grabs a saw. Then, in mock-playing the bass, Moe proceeds to saw the instrument in two.
• This film was remade as Society Mugs), a non-Stooge short that starred Shemp Howard, as well as Tom Kennedy, a frequent Shemp co-star.
• This short has two musical quirks unusual for Stooge shorts. First, the Three Stooges' opening theme, "Listen to the Mockingbird," is played again when we first see the Stooges. Second, background music plays during the otherwise silent scene in which the Stooges and other guests are eating.
• This is the first short in which Curly drops to the ground and spins in a circle. This 'coffee grinder' would be a recurring routine in later Stooge shorts.

Quotes

• • Moe: "Now, if I only had a mouse."
  • Curly (pulling out a piccolo): "Why didn't you say so? That's a cinch."
  • Moe: "What's the idea?"
  • Curly (showing Moe the book The Pied Piper of Hamelin): "I've been been readin' up on it. See?"
  • Moe: "So what?"
  • Curly: "If a pie-eyed piper can call 'em out, I guess I can sober."[1]

• • Moe, Larry, and Curly: "At your service, day and night, we do the job and do it right...Acme!"

External links

• Watch Termites of 1938 - first half.
• Watch Termites of 1938 - second half.

Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion; by Jon Solomon (Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg (Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).