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Fiddlers Three

  • 1948
  • 17m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
430
YOUR RATING
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Vernon Dent, Shemp Howard, and Virginia Hunter in Fiddlers Three (1948)
SlapstickComedyShort

The Stooges are musicians at the court of King Cole. When they ask the king's permission to marry their sweethearts, the King agrees, but only after Princess Alisha has married Prince Valian... Read allThe Stooges are musicians at the court of King Cole. When they ask the king's permission to marry their sweethearts, the King agrees, but only after Princess Alisha has married Prince Valiant. This news upsets Mergatroyd, an evil magician who plans to marry the Princess himself a... Read allThe Stooges are musicians at the court of King Cole. When they ask the king's permission to marry their sweethearts, the King agrees, but only after Princess Alisha has married Prince Valiant. This news upsets Mergatroyd, an evil magician who plans to marry the Princess himself and rule the Kingdom. Mergatroyd abducts the Princess, and it's up to the Stooges to foil h... Read all

  • Director
    • Jules White
  • Writer
    • Felix Adler
  • Stars
    • Moe Howard
    • Larry Fine
    • Shemp Howard
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    430
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jules White
    • Writer
      • Felix Adler
    • Stars
      • Moe Howard
      • Larry Fine
      • Shemp Howard
    • 11User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

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    Top cast10

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    Moe Howard
    Moe Howard
    • Moe
    • (as Moe)
    Larry Fine
    Larry Fine
    • Larry
    • (as Larry)
    Shemp Howard
    Shemp Howard
    • Shemp
    • (as Shemp)
    Vernon Dent
    Vernon Dent
    • King Cole
    Virginia Hunter
    • Princess Alisha
    Philip Van Zandt
    Philip Van Zandt
    • Mergatroyd the Magician
    • (as Phil Van Zandt)
    Sherry O'Neil
    • Girl in the Box
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Palma
    • Lancier - Captain of the Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Cy Schindell
    Cy Schindell
    • Guard
    • (uncredited)
    Al Thompson
    Al Thompson
    • King's Attendant
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jules White
    • Writer
      • Felix Adler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    7.1430
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    Featured reviews

    10Movie Nuttball

    Good Three Stooges short!

    The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

    One of the most different Three Stooges shorts is Fiddlers Three. In this short are Vernon Dent, Virginia Hunter, Philip Van Zandt, Joe Palma, Cy Schindell, and Al Thompson. The acting by these actors are good especially by Dent and Van Zandt. There are many funny scenes here that I think most Three Stooges fans will love! In My opinion this one of the most different Three Stooges shorts. I recommend this one!
    8simeon_flake

    Cole-Slaw Vania...

    So, was Larry right about the boys never having an "original" set? Or the part about Columbia squeezing out every nickel for the stooges whenever a good set from an A-feature was leftover?

    Seems about right, given that 3 shorts in a row were filmed to make "Fiddlers" and the rest of the medieval shorts--if "Hot Scots," counts as dark and gothic?

    Anyway, familiarity definitely describes this one perfect: Old Vernon as the Royal King, pretty girl as the princess and the stooges, just their funny characters. Not as brilliant as "Squareheads," but I guess it doesn't have to be...
    pirate1_power

    Richard, the Stooges and "Fiddlers Three"

    This is my seventh consecutive commentary here on the Internet Movie Database --- and it presents a viewpoint I have held for many years, though until now I have not publicly shared it. That viewpoint is, simply, that the eternal, undying magic of laughter has never been more graphically depicted than in the opening sequence of the Three Stooges 1948 short, "Fiddlers Three." For a full three and a half minutes, we are introduced to the individual members of the dramatis personae, as they giggle themselves silly beyond their normal limits. "Fiddlers Three," after all, is the Stooges' salute to Mother Goose and her world; naturally, Shemp, Larry and Moe take on the title roles, with longtime Stooge regular Vernon Dent taking the Royal Throne as none other than His Merry Majesty himself, Old King Cole. The King's verbal Royal Proclamation, "Why, there's nothing so good for the soul as a hearty laugh! Everybody laugh!" is as much an invitation to those of us sitting in the dark as it is a command to those gathered in His Majesty's Throne Room. Thus, we cannot help but laugh as loud and as long and as hard and as well as we wish right along with our merry cast of characters. In "Fiddlers Three," Princess Alicia (Virginia Hunter) is betrothed to Prince Gallant the Third of Rhododendron. This is not good news for the bullying Mergatroyd the Magician (Phil van Zandt), whose own ambition is to seize power in the Kingdom of Coleslaw-vania. In revenge, he abducts the Princess; before long, it's up to the Stooges to stop him before things get a bit too stupid. There is one hot (and, alas, uncredited) babe in the ensemble [Hubba hubba!]; by tale's end, she's got all the guys following her all around --- even the King himself. (Weird, huh?) Anyway, I've always had the idea of writing a novelization of "Fiddlers Three" in the back of my head; in fact --- and I hope C3 Entertainment's lawyers won't be angry when I say this ---I have been toying with the notion of doing an entire website about this one Three Stooges short. Regardless, this is one of the all-time Stooge great shorts --- if for no other reason that it reminds us how wonderful it is to laugh...... long and hard and well. That said, long live His Merry Majesty, Old King Cole. Oh yeah: and let's hear it for his Fiddlers Three, OK? Thanks.
    9verbusen

    Different kind of Stooge Short! Very Funny too!

    I really enjoyed this one because its kind of different. There are scenes with Larry alone and there is an epic pie skit with just Moe and Shemp. Overall, we get to watch the Stooges perform some nursery rhymes (very funny), and there is a large amount of violent humor as well! Shemp gets destroyed in more then one skit, poor Shemp, lol. I like that Larry is the only one acting like he is playing a violin seeing his musical background is as a violinist (probably an inside joke thing). Being made in the 1940s there are a few jokes that may go over the head for 2024 viewers like wolf calls and BO (body order). Shemp gets the last laugh by himself in the film. A different Stooges short, I enjoyed it, 9 out of 10.
    7SnoopyStyle

    magic box

    In the small kingdom of Coleslaw-vania, Shemp, Larry, and Moe are fiddlers entertaining old King Cole. The King permits the Stooges to marry after Princess Alisha gets married in the spring. Murgitroyd, the evil court magician, kidnaps the princess planning to marry and rule the kingdom himself.

    The big setup is the magic box and that's loads of fun. It's a little different but it could use some work. Also, the magician needs a better outfit. It's slapdash and cheap. The guys obviously grabbed a bunch of stuff from the bargain bin and slapped together a story. I would like them to do more with the magic box idea. Instead of simply being scared, they should be fighting each other for space and laughing at each other getting stabbed.

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    Related interests

    Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
    Slapstick
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The castle set for this short was originally built for "The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)", and was also reused for "The Hot Scots (1948)" and "Squareheads of the Round Table (1948)".
    • Goofs
      When Shemp accidentally sprays water at Moe from the bellow, the techniques to spray water and suck are in are reversed.
    • Quotes

      Moe: [to Shemp] Faneth me with the breeze from yon bellows, lest I suffocate from the heat.

      Shemp: Nay, but I cannot.

      Moe: Pump yon bellows, varlet. Pump!

      [Shemps squeezes the bellows which is full of water, and sprays Moe in the face]

      Shemp: Seeeth?

      Moe: Giveth it to me! Thou art a lame-brain!

      [Moe hits Shemp with the bellows and sprays water on Larry's face]

      Larry: Stopeth this nonsense! Have thou forgotten the princess?

      Moe: Oh, buttoneth up thy lip!

      [tries to spray Larry again, but this time, the bellows is dried out]

      Moe: Strange. There was water just a second ago.

      [Moe holds it up to his face, and gets sprayed with water. Larry laughs, but then gets hit by Moe with the bellows, and Larry is forced to the ground and gets hit by falling horseshoes]

    • Connections
      Edited into Musty Musketeers (1954)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 6, 1948 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • YouTube - Video
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • De tre træmænd ved hoffet
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 17m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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