Idle Roomers (1944 film)

Infobox Film
name = Idle Roomers


caption =
director = Del Lord
writer = Del Lord
Elwood Ullman
starring = Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Christine McIntyre
Vernon Dent
Duke York
Eddie Laughton
cinematography = Glen Gano |
editing = Henry Batista
producer = Hugh McCollum
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|US July 15, 1944
runtime = 16' 49"
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:151225
imdb_id = 0036948
preceded_by = "The Yoke's on Me"
followed_by = "Gents Without Cents"

"Idle Roomers" is the 80th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are bellhops at Hotel Snazzy Plaza, and pound each other in order to get some face time with an attractive woman (the lovely Christine McIntyre, in her debut appearance with the team). Unfortunately, she has a mean-tempered husband (Vernon Dent) who happens to excel in knife throwing. The husband is also secretly importing Lupe the Wolf Man (Duke York) who goes berserk when he hears music. Later on, when Curly is cleaning their room, he snaps on the radio, and the wolf man goes on the rampage.

Curly fades

Curly Howard's voice begins to deepen with this film. Since his 1940 divorce from Elaine Ackerman, Curly had lived the wild life, going out nearly every night, and partying until the wee hours of the morning. Columbia cinematographer Henry Freulich stated in a 1984 interview that it was not unusual to see Curly stumbling into work looking like "he had himself a heluva time!" ["The Making of the Stooges" VHS Documentary, narrated by Steve Allen (1984)] By 1944, the effects of Curly's constant drinking and eating began to catch up with him. "Idle Roomers" marks the first time his acting seems a little slower. The deeper voice confirms this assessment.cite book
last = Solomon
first = Jon
authorlink = Jon Solomon
coauthors =
title = "The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion"
publisher = Comedy III Productions, Inc
date = 2002
location =
pages = 246
url = http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Three-Stooges-Filmography-Companion/dp/0971186804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201570359&sr=1-1
doi =
id =
isbn = 0971186804]

Notes

*The title "Idle Roomers "is a pun on "idle rumors."
*The plot device of bellhops pursuing the affections of an attractive female hotel guest would be used in the 1953 Woody Woodpecker cartoon "Belle Boys". [ [http://www.woodywoodpecker.com/ Woody Woodpecker.com] ]

References

External links

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=25peIqkuyi8&feature=related Watch "Idle Roomers" - first half.]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=e4zvaZfIB8s&feature=related Watch "Idle Roomers" - second half.]

Further reading

*"Moe Howard and the Three Stooges"; by Moe Howard [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806507233] , (Citadel Press, 1977).
*"The Three Stooges Scrapbook"; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806509465] (Citadel Press, 1994).
*"The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons"; by Michael Fleming [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767905563] (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
*"One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures"; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581823630] , (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).