Three Pests in a Mess

The Stooges are inventors trying to obtain a patent for their fly-catching invention. Whilst learning they must catch 100,000 flies to get their patent, their conversation is overheard by several crooks across the hallway. Unfortunately, the crooks think Curly has $100,000. A flirtatious woman (Christine McIntyre) who is part of the nest of crooks corners the gullible Curly and tries to finagle the non-existent money out of him. When he confesses that the 100,000 are indeed flies and not dollars, she turns against him, and has the crooks go after the Stooges.

The trio take cover in a sporting goods store where two guns hit them on the head two times then Curly accidentally shoots a mannequin. In their infinite wisdom, the Stooges believe they have killed a real human, and go about trying to bury the "body" in a nearby pet cemetery. Unfortunately, the cemetery's night watchman (Snub Pollard) sees the Stooges prowling around and informs cemetery owner Philip Black (Vernon Dent), who happens to be attending a masquerade party with his partners. The owner arrives at the cemetery, replete in the spookiest outfits possible, Curly throws the mannequin in the hole but the guys in the hole throw the mannequin back out of the hole Curly throws the mannequin back in the hole and then the guys pop up out of the hole and frighten the Stooges away.

• Jerry Howard as Curly
• Larry Fine as Larry
• Moe Howard as Moe
• Victor Travers as Patent Office man
• Brian O'Hara as I. Cheatham
• Christine McIntyre as con woman
• Robert Williams as I. Cheatham's partner
• Vernon Dent as Philip Black
• Heinie Conklin as man in Devil costume (Philip Black's assistant)
• William Kelley as man in Skeleton costume (Philip Black's other assistant)[1]
• Snub Pollard as cemetery guard
• Johnny Kascier as man in window
• Paul Kruger as Cop

Three Pests in a Mess was filmed on June 22–26, 1944.[2] It is a partial remake of the 1933 Paramount Pictures short film Sailors Beware! (also directed by Del Lord)[2] and 1941 Columbia short film Ready, Willing But Unable.[3] The concept of men trolling through a cemetery with a dead body dates back to Laurel and Hardy's 1928 silent film Habeas Corpus.[3]

The syncopated, jazz-tinged version of "Three Blind Mice", first heard in Gents Without Cents, makes its return with this film. This version would be used for the next two releases, as well as Three Loan Wolves, before being retired permanently. This version is played in the key of F major, while the key of G major was previously utilized.[3]

This is the ninth of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title.

Curly's "Call for Philip Black" mimics the popular 'Call for Philip Morris' cigarette advertisements of the period.[3]

A prop man dug a hole and covered it with rubber to achieve the effect of Larry sliding under the door at the cemetery. They quickly pulled him under, and filmed the shot as a speed shot.[4]

The math is wrong: they calculate a penny a fly, and since they need $100, 10,000 flies would be needed, and not 100,000 as stated.

Several publications erroneously list the running time of this film as 17:41.[3]

Three Pests in a Mess was one of four Stooge films included in the TBS 1992 Halloween special Three Stooges Fright Night.[5] It was replaced by Spooks! and The Hot Scots in its 1995 airing.

• Three Pests in a Mess at IMDb
• Three Pests in a Mess at AllMovie
• Three Pests in a Mess at threestooges.net