Hugs and Mugs | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jules White |
Written by | Clyde Bruckman |
Produced by | Jules White |
Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Christine McIntyre Nanette Bordeaux Kathleen O'Malley Emil Sitka Joe Palma Pat Moran Blackie Whiteford |
Cinematography | Vincent Farrar |
Edited by | Edwin Bryant |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 15:57 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Hugs and Mugs is a 1950 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 121st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
After a prison stretch for jewel robbery, three beautiful women search for a pearl necklace the police never found. Unfortunately for them, the warehouse where they hid it was sold for back storage fees to Shangri-La Upholstering Company operated by the Stooges.
As the boys set about the task of fixing and pricing various pieces of furniture, Shemp stumbles upon the necklace and keeps it for himself, despite Larry and Moe dismissing them as a "string of beads." The girls follow the Stooges to their shop, and pretend to flirt with them as a distraction, so they can search the shop for the necklace, resulting in the destruction of an upholstered chair. Shemp, convinced that the pearls are fake, tries to give the necklace to the girls, but the molls' gangster ex-boyfriends are hot on their trail and track them down to the shop, demanding the necklace. Slapstick mayhem ensues when the Stooges come to the girls' defense, resulting in a six-man hand-to-hand brawl that ends in a large box full of stuffing.
In the end, Shemp successfully lands blows on the head with an iron to the three gangsters, knocking them out cold. The girls run to their sides and decide there and then to give the pearls back to the rightful owners and disavow their criminal ways.
Cast
Credited
- Moe Howard as Moe
- Larry Fine as Larry
- Shemp Howard as Shemp
- Christine McIntyre as Lily
- Nanette Bordeaux as Fifi
- Kathleen O'Malley as Ella[1]
Uncredited
- Emil Sitka as Warehouse clerk
- Joe Palma as Muggsy
- Blackie Whiteford as Bill[1]
- Pat Moran (actor) as Red
Production notes
Hugs and Mugs was filmed over three days on February 15–17, 1949.[1] It is one of five Stooge films in which a sofa spring becomes attached to someone's backside. This gag was also used in Hoi Polloi, Three Little Sew and Sews, An Ache in Every Stake (Curly's old short films) and Have Rocket, Will Travel (Curly-Joe DeRita's first Feature Film).[2]