Three Little Pigskins

Three Little Pigskins is a 1934 short subject directed by Raymond McCarey and starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Jerry Howard). It is the fourth entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot
The Stooges are unwittingly embroiled in a scheme to promote a college football team. Initially recruited to bolster publicity by masquerading as football players, the Stooges find themselves mistaken for genuine athletes by Joe Stacks, owner of a professional football team. Joe's girlfriend confuses the Stooges for the famed "Three Horsemen," leading to a series of comedic misunderstandings.

Upon their arrival at the girlfriend's house, a chaotic sequence ensues, culminating in a game of Blind man's buff and a confrontation with Joe and his associates. Mistaken identities prompt physical altercations and a frenzied chase, ultimately leading to the revelation of the Stooges' true status as impostors. Pressed into service for Joe's team, the Stooges' ineptitude on the football field results in a calamitous debut, further compounded by suspicions of deliberate sabotage. Convinced of the Stooges' duplicity, Joe and his associates resort to violent retribution, wielding firearms in pursuit of the hapless trio. The climax sees the Stooges enduring a slapstick punishment, receiving gunshot wounds to their buttocks as they flee.

Credited
{{Cast listing|
 * Moe Howard as Moe
 * Larry Fine as Larry
 * Curley Howard as Curley
 * Lucille Ball as Daisy Simms
 * Gertie Green as Lulu Banks
 * Phyllis Crane as Molly Gray

Uncredited

 * Walter Long as Joe Stacks
 * Joseph Young as Pete
 * Milton Douglas as Henchman
 * Lynton Brent as first man panhandled by Moe
 * Jimmy Phillips as second man panhandled by Moe
 * Larry Wheat as third man panhandled by Moe
 * Bobby Burns as man panhandled by Larry
 * Johnny Kascier as man panhandled by Curly
 * Harry Bowen as Boulder Dam publicity man
 * Dutch Hendrian as Referee
 * William J. Irving as first Photographer
 * Charles Dorety as second Photographer }}

Production notes
Three Little Pigskins was filmed on October 25–30, 1934. The film's title is a multiple pun, derived from The Three Little Pigs, along with "pigskin" being a synonym for a football. The film marked one of the earliest credited appearances for a then platinum blonde-haired Lucille Ball, who played a supporting role as one of the female recruiters and would herself become known for her own work in physical comedy in later years. Later in her career, when this short was brought up, Ball (apparently referring to the seltzer squirting scene) would remark, "The only thing I learned from The Three Stooges was how to duck. I still got wet!"

This is the first of several Stooge shorts involving a dumbwaiter, usually involving Curly accidentally destroying the floor of the elevator, causing injury to Larry and Moe. The dumbwaiter gag would also be featured in Nutty But Nice. This is also the first of sixteen Stooge shorts using the word "three" in the title.

The football teams listed on the scoreboard are actually two baseball teams in real life, those names belonging to the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs.

For the football game, Moe's jersey number is H2O2, Larry's is 1/2, and Curly's is a "?".

The football team the Stooges played against was that of Loyola Marymount University.

There was no attempt to hide the venue, Gilmore Stadium, as its name on the scoreboard appears in several shots. There is also a shot that includes a billboard for Gilmore Oil, including its trademark symbol, a lion.

A planned concluding scene had the Stooges, years later, telling the story to their sons. It is unknown if this scene was ever filmed, but publicity photos exist of the Stooges, each with a young actor, all made up and dressed to resemble their older counterparts.

"...a Humdinger of Bangs and Bruises"
Moe Howard once called Three Little Pigskins "a humdinger of bangs and bruises," as it marked the first time the Stooges flatly refused to perform a stunt. In the film, during the game the boys are stopped by photographers on the sideline to pose for a picture, when the football players then tackle them. The team consisted of genuine college football players, and the Stooges — with their small stature — were afraid of being hurt. Larry Fine, the smallest and lightest of the three, told director Raymond McCarey, "Look, we can't do this scene. We're not stuntmen and if one of those gorillas falls on us, we'll never be able to finish the picture. We've never used stunt doubles before but we certainly need them now." The fact that both Curly and Larry had been hurt a few days earlier filming Three Little Pigskins (Curly broke his leg riding down the dumbwaiter and Larry lost a tooth due to a mistimed punch) reinforced the trio's decision to opt out of the scene.

McCarey assured the Stooges that it was safe, saying "Listen, fellows, you know how to take falls. You've done enough of them. It'll take hours to find doubles for you. Besides, we can't afford them. Don't worry, you won't get hurt." Moe Howard dryly agreed with McCarey, saying, "You're darn right we won't get hurt. We're not doing the scene."

Less than an hour after the exchange, the studio found three stunt doubles made up to look like the Stooges. McCarey yelled "Action" and chaos ensued. Two of the doubles were seriously injured with broken limbs, as were both photographers. The only stuntman not hurt was the one doubling for Curly Howard because of the padding that he wore to resemble the rotund Stooge. Moe Howard later said in his autobiography that "McCarey was speechless and sat in his director's chair with his head in his hands."