Fright Night (1947 film)

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Fright Night (1947 film)
Frightnight47.jpg
Written by Clyde Bruckman
Directed by Edward Bernds
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Shemp Howard
Dick Wessel
Claire Carleton
Harold Brauer
Cy Schindell
Heinie Conklin
Sammy Stein
Stanley Blystone
Dave Harper
Tom Kingston
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Hugh McCollum
Cinematography Philip Tannura
Running time 17:41
Distributor Columbia Pictures

Fright Night is the 98th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1947 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard, in his first starring role after returning to the act). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot[edit | edit source]

The Stooges are managers of a beefy boxer named Chopper Kane (Dick Wessel), and they bet their bank roll on his next fight. When a gangster (Tiny Brauer) tells them to have Chopper lose (as he has a lot of money bet on his opponent Gorilla Watson) or they will lose their lives, the boys decide to play along. They try to soften Chopper up by feeding him rich food and having him spend time with their friend Kitty (Claire Carleton). The fight gets canceled when Kitty dumps Chopper for Gorilla and, in a fluke accident, Gorilla gets entangled with Moe and breaks his hand against a wall. The Stooges think they have put one over on the gangsters, only to have the bad guys corner them in a deserted warehouse. Instead of being rubbed out, the boys capture the crooks and get a reward.

Production notes[edit | edit source]

Fright Night marked the return of Shemp Howard to the Stooges, who had last performed with the act 17 years prior. Shemp agreed to rejoin the act until brother Curly Howard recovered enough to return to the Stooges (Curly never did).[1]

Fright Night was filmed June 5–8, 1946. Production starting less than one month after brother Curly Howard suffered a stroke on May 6. The film was remade reworked in 1955 as Fling in the Ring, using ample stock footage.[1] It was Shemp's favorite Stooge film.[1]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Solomon, Jon. (2002) The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion, p. 291; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ISBN 0-9711868-0-4

External links[edit | edit source]


Category:1947 films Category:The Three Stooges films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Boxing films Category:American black-and-white films Category:1940s comedy films Category:Films directed by Edward Bernds Category:Columbia Pictures short films


Category:Comedy short films