1939 film by Jules White
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise is a 1939 short subject produced and directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 42nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
The Stooges are hapless tramps who inadvertently stumble into a series of misadventures. After inadvertently causing chaos on a farmer's property, they set off on foot, longing for a car. Their luck seemingly changes when they stumble upon what they believe to be a free car and take it for a joyride. However, their distraction almost leads to several accidents before they come to the aid of Widow Jenkins and her daughters.
Grateful for their assistance, Widow Jenkins treats the Stooges to a lavish meal, and in return, they offer to fix her broken water pump. During the repair, they accidentally uncover oil beneath the farm, transforming the pump into a geyser and staining their clothes. Despite their initial joy for the widow and her daughters, they soon learn that she has been swindled out of her land by a trio of deceitful individuals.
Determined to right the wrong, the Stooges confront the swindlers after reclaiming their car, which the crooks had used to deceive them. A hair-raising chase ensues, culminating in the Stooges retrieving the deed to the land just before it is recorded at the courthouse. As a result, they earn the right to marry the now wealthy Widow Jenkins' daughters, with a planned honeymoon in Canada.
Production notes
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise was filmed on March 16–20, 1939.[2] The film's title is a parody of Benjamin Franklin's, "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."[1]
Towards the end of the film, Moe tells Curly to wish for quintuplets and Curly responds that honeymooning in Canada with their new found loves is how to make the wish come true, a reference to the Dionne quintuplets.[1]
The studio crew can be heard laughing when Curly accidentally hits his head on Widow Jenkins' kitchen door while trumpeting and singing "A-Pumping We Will Go."[1]
The shot of Curly riding the oil gusher up into the sky would be reused in Oil's Well That Ends Well.[1]
Moe's injury
Moe Howard recalled in his autobiography that he received a glob of goo (representing oil) directly under his eyelids during shooting:
I remember once when the prop man concocted a smorgasbord of gook: chocolate, whipped cream, asbestos chips, linseed oil, ketchup, and other unknown goodies. The plot had us in one scene trying to repair a water pump. After many attempts, I took a screwdriver, knelt down, peered into the mouth of the pump, and jiggled the screwdriver inside of it. Gazing up the opening, I jiggled again and then looked up a third time. Suddenly, a blob of assorted gunk got me right in the eye ... and ... it took hours to clean me up for the next scene.[3]
Moe would have a similar ordeal while filming 1946's The Three Troubledoers, when chunks of black soot became lodged under his eyelids.[1]
