Loco Boy Makes Good

Loco Boy Makes Good is a 1942 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 60th 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 suffering from economic hardship as they face eviction from their lodgings due to significant arrears in rental payments. Expelled from their accommodation under the auspices of their irascible landlord, they are relegated to a precarious existence until their outstanding debt is discharged.

In a bid to ameliorate their financial predicament, the trio devises a stratagem wherein Curly contrives to experience a contrived mishap within the confines of a local hotel, thereby facilitating a lawsuit aimed at procuring the necessary funds for their restitution. However, their scheme encounters an unexpected twist when Mrs. Brown, the elderly hotel proprietor on the brink of eviction due to landlord Mr. Scroggins' machinations, becomes ensnared in their ploy. Confronted with the moral quandary precipitated by their inadvertent involvement in exacerbating the plight of Mrs. Brown, the trio resolve to rectify the situation by undertaking the restoration of the dilapidated establishment. Their efforts, though initially beset by clumsy misadventures, culminate in a transformative renovation, thereby imbuing the hotel with newfound allure and viability.

Subsequent to the completion of their renovation endeavors, the Stooges orchestrate a grand reopening ceremony, wherein they endeavor to showcase the rejuvenated establishment to critical acclaim. Despite encountering initial skepticism from discerning critic Waldo Twitchell, their fortunes take a fortuitous turn when Curly, through serendipitous happenstance, assumes the role of an accidental magician, captivating the audience and ensuring the triumph of their enterprise.

Credited

 * Moe Howard as Moe/Moe Jr.
 * Larry Fine as Larry/Larry Jr.
 * Curly Howard as Curly
 * John Tyrrell as Waldo Twitchell
 * Dorothy Appleby as Twitchell's Girl

Uncredited

 * Frances Raymond as Mrs. Brown
 * Walter Soderling as Mr. Scroggins
 * Symona Boniface as Nightclub Patron with Mouse Down Dress
 * Bud Jamison as Happy Haven Hotel Manager
 * Eddie Laughton as Drunk Customer
 * Vernon Dent as Balbo the Magician
 * Al Thompson as Dancing Partner with glasses
 * Victor Travers as Bald Nightclub patron
 * Heinie Conklin as Nightclub patron
 * James Millican as Nightclub patron
 * Lynton Brent as Nightclub patron with beard and glasses
 * Duke York as Night patron

Production notes
Filming for Loco Boy Makes Good took place from July 29 to August 1, 1941. However, it did not appear in theatres until January 1942, the first Stooges short to be released after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Loco Boy Makes Good is filled with parodies and timely references. The title itself parodies the expression "Local Boy Makes Good," a generic small-town newspaper headline about a local citizen who has achieved a major accomplishment. Loco is Spanish for "crazy." In addition, the character name "Waldo Twitchell" is pun of the name Walter Winchell.

The Stooges' act is billed as "Nill, Null & Void: Three Hams Who Lay Their Own Eggs, appearing in the Kokonuts Grove." The "Kokonuts Grove" is a reference to the Cocoanut Grove (Ambassador Hotel) in Los Angeles.

Controversy
In March 1946, silent film actor Harold Lloyd sued Columbia Pictures for $500,000 ($0 today), claiming they violated copyright laws. The court discovered that the script for Lloyd's 1932 film Movie Crazy, directed by Clyde Bruckman (with Lloyd stepping in due to Bruckman's alcoholism), was nearly identical to Bruckman's script for Loco Boy Makes Good, released four years earlier. Columbia lost the lawsuit. Later, Universal Pictures faced similar lawsuits for using Bruckman's scripts, resulting in millions of dollars in damages.

Quotes

 * Curly: (storming to the dressing room) "How do ya like that?! Hittin' me with a tomato! And Major Bowes said I had talent!"
 * Balbo: (chuckles) "A tomato, 'uh?"
 * Curly: "Yeah, a cowardly tomato, one that hits you and runs!"
 * Patron: "Excuse me, waiter, do you have pâté de fois gras?"
 * Larry: (confused) "...I'll see if the band can play it."
 * Moe: "Start slipping, we start suing."
 * Moe: "Who is he? Why he's one of the biggest steelmen in the country! He'd steal any...I mean, his steel is known from coast to coast. Willie Steal."