Moe: [to Hassen Ben Soba and Ginna Rumma]: What’ll you have?
Hassan Ben Soba: We want…
Moe: [cutting him off]: We don’t have any more.
Larry: All we got left are rabbit and hot dogs.
Hassan Ben Soba: Rabbit.
Ginna Rumma: Hot dogs.
Larry: Hot dog, they’ll take rabbit.
Now that the season of Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to turn our attention to the coming month of December. Food has been feasted on, good times shared, and families and loved ones have come together in a spirit of unity.
To close out this month and our little trip to memory lane with the Stooges, it’s time to give a final thanks for our boys with this salute to the Stooges. Time to dive in and duck with another fantastic funny piece, Malice in the Palace.
This fine comedy caper comes from the Shemp-era of the Stooges, and boy is it a gutbuster. The guys are operating the Cafe Casbah Bah. After invariably angering their guests (played by Vernon Dent and George J. Lewis), they are shanghaied into helping recover a gem of high value stolen by the ruthless Emir of Shmow (played by Johnny Kascier).
One of this reviewer’s favorite things about the short is a great gag that takes place near the start in the Cafe. Vernon and George’s characters order hot dog and rabbit for food, and while Larry prepares the food, he wrangles a cat and dog for trying to steal the meal. While the guests (with Moe and Shemp) sit in the outer room, Larry cooks away. But every time he does a particularly loud action, it coincides with the cat or dog making noise. So the twosome think that when the meal is brought out, they are being served innocent cat and dog for lunch.
Such a gag as this is another example of why the Stooges have remained relevant and funny all these years later. Their physical humor and comedic timing, as well as camaraderie, have continued to delight and amuse audiences for generations. And so may it continue to be thus until the end of time. Plus, one can’t discount their hilarious Santa Claus costumes for disguises as they swindle the Emir of Shmow of the jewel.
Hopefully everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and if one feels stressed or tired from the holiday or all the weekend shopping, make sure to take a load off. Kick up those feet, peel off those shoes, and get ready to really lose it with some classic Three Stooges shorts.
