Men in Black

Men in Black
Director	Raymond McCarey
Writer(s)	Felix Adler
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curley Howard
Release date	September 28, 1934
Running time	18:05
Preceded by	Punch Drunks
Followed by	Three Little Pigskins
Full film

Men in Black is the third Three Stooges short from Columbia Pictures. The trio made a total of 191 shorts between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

A shot from the colored version

The trio play medical school graduates whose only credentials are that they had the highest temperatures in their class. (They are hired as doctors at the Los Arms Hospital solely because they have been in their senior class for too many years.) The new graduates at the hospital are warned by the superintendent that the Stooges are "not overly bright," but it is promised that their identities will be concealed as long as they promise to devote their lives to "the glorious cause of duty and humanity", which prompts the three to step forward and thank him profusely for not being able to let their identities be known. The superintendent has told the Stooges to rush and answer the loudspeaker whenever their names are called. The short consists of a series of skits in which the Stooges go from one patient to the next, making mistakes ranging from drinking a patient's medicine to sewing their tools inside a man on the operating table. Every time the Stooges leave the superintendent's office, Curly accidentally ends up breaking the glass door to his office. On their final entry a maintenance worker (having gotten tired of constantly replacing it) intentionally breaks the door for them and bows as they enter. Each time the Stooges rush and answer the loudspeaker, a different scenario takes place:

1. They rush to answer using a three-person bike. When they arrive they respond by "calling all cars". Several people appear in the hallway. After taking a woman's temperature they dismiss her and clear the area.
2. The loudspeaker orders them to various rooms to check on patients.
3. They report to the superintendent with their results.
4. They rush to answer riding a horse, where they end up greeting a telegram delivery man. The man reveals that the telegram is from Nellie (a love interest of all three men) who says she'll marry the man who does the greatest thing for "duty and humanity". They bet him "double or nothing" for his fee on a coin toss which they win by cheating. Afterwards they "help" observe a "comatose" patient.
5. They report back to the supervisor who orders them to check on a dangerous patient. They rush to his room using mini-race cars. The patient is mentally unstable and makes outlandish claims such as rats appearing through a hole in his shirt. The trio prepares medicine but drink it themselves. The patient then claims he sees a "giant green canary". Moe scoffs at this whereupon a green parrot enters the room through the window and landing on his shoulder, frightening everyone, the patient included.
6. After dealing with the supposedly dangerous patient, the superintendent tells them that 20 men have been injured in an accident at the oil well and they need the radium out of the safe to save their lives. However, he had accidentally swallowed the combination. The Stooges perform an operation on the reluctant superintendent and retrieve the combination. But they mistakenly leave their tools inside him.
7. They are finally fed up with the loudspeaker and smash it to pieces. Ultimately they pull out their revolvers and destroy the die-hard, still-working part of the loudspeaker, which exclaims in its swan song "Oh, they got me!" The short ends with the trio raises their guns and proudly proclaiming: "For duty and humanity!

Cast

• Moe Howard - Dr. Moe Howard
• Larry Fine - Dr. Larry Fine
• Curley Howard - Dr. Curley Howard

Uncredited

• Dell Henderson - Dr. Graves
• Billy Gilbert - Dangerous Patient
• Bud Jamison - Tiny Patient's Doctor
• Jeanie Roberts - Hiccupping Nurse
• 'Little Billy' Rhodes - Tiny Patient
• Ruth Hiatt - Whispering Nurse

Loudspeaker

Each time the Stooges rush and answer the loudspeaker, a different scenario takes place:

• 1st - They rush to answer using a three-person bike. When they arrive they respond by "calling all cars". Several people appear in the hallway. After taking a woman's temperature they dismiss her and clear the area.
• 2nd - The loudspeaker orders them to various rooms to check on patients.
• 3rd - They report to the superintendent with their results.
• 4th - They rush to answer riding a horse, where they end up greeting a telegram delivery man. Afterwards they help observe a "comatose" patient.
• 5th - They report back to the supervisor who orders them to check on a dangerous patient. They rush to his room using mini-race cars.
• 6th - After dealing with the dangerous patient, the superintendent tells them that they have to help get the combination of a safe (containing a needed drug) out of him after he accidentally swallowed it. They Stooges perform an operation and retrieve the combination.
• 7th - They are finally fed up with the loudspeaker and smash it to pieces. They finally pull out guns and destroy the still working part of the loudspeaker.

Notes

• Filming for Men in Black took place from August 28 to September 1, 1934.
• In this short contains the famous recurring dispatcher line "Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard." including the "For duty and humanity!" every time the Three Stooges lift a toast.
• The short is also significant in that it was the only time that the trio would be nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Short Subject - Comedy".
• A colorized version of this film was released in 2004. It was part of the DVD collection. Goofs on the Loose.
• The opening title music is a jazzy big band style melody that is unique to both Men in Black and the previous film, Punch Drunks.
• According to Moe Howard's own book I Stooged to Conquer, the boys got cut multiple times by the shattering glass of the office door.