HOI POLLOI (1935) -- ThreeStooges.net

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Released August 29, 1935
Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly

Columbia
17.8 min. (Short Subject)

Two high society professors argue over which influence molds gentlemen. One claims environment is the keystone to social distinction, the other asserts that heredity is the backbone of social life. They pick on nearby trash men (the Stooges) to prove their theory. After spending months in training, the Stooges attend an elegant dinner party, ultimately disproving BOTH professors' theories.

Some filmed but deleted scenes are presented in The Three Stooges Journal # 127 (Fall 2008).

The plot was adapted for HALF-WITS HOLIDAY (1947), which was remade as PIES AND GUYS (1958). HOI POLLOI's party scenes were redone in HAVE ROCKET WILL TRAVEL (1959).

This film was adapted in The Three Stooges # 1 comic book, Jubilee Publications Feb. 1949.

Avg. Rating:

[9.60/10]

Cast List

Moe Howard
Moe

Jerry Howard
Curly

Larry Fine
Larry

Harry Holman
Professor Richmond

Robert Graves
Professor Nichols

Bud Jamison
James, the butler

Geneva Mitchell
Dance instructor

Grace Goodall
Mrs. Richmond

Phyllis Crane
Nichols' daughter

Betty McMahon
Nichols' daughter

Kathryn 'Kitty' McHugh
Duchess, Curly's ugly dance partner

Blanche Payson
Curly's burly dance partner

James C. Morton
Party guest with toupee

William J. Irving
Larry's 'dance' partner

George B. French
Man with cigar

Poppy Wilde
Woman with cigar smoker

Mary Dees
Platinum blonde party guest

Don Roberts
Party guest

Celeste Edwards
Party guest

Arthur Rankin
Party guest

Billy Mann
Party guest

Gail Arnold
Party guest

Harriet DeBussman
Party guest

Robert McKenzie
Party guest

Gino Corrado
Maitre'd, stock footage

Production Crew

Del Lord
Director

Jules White
Producer

Felix Adler
Story and Screenplay

Benjamin Kline
Photography

John Rawlins
Film Editor

Walter Meins
Grip

Louis Silvers
Music

Howard Jackson
Music

Victor Schertzinger
Music

Stooge Businesses (0)

Stooge Goofs (9)

Blow to the Head
Phyllis Crane must have had an awful headache after this short was completed. In the dancing scene, Moe, dancing with Phyllis, slips and falls on Larry's loose shoe - not planned I'm sure, and poor Phyllis falls with Moe. Her forehead and face hit the floor with the full force of both hers and Moe's weight. An audible gasp is heard from a cast member just before the scene is abruptly cut. Ouch!

Curly's Double
Curly's stunt double during the dancing scene has a head full of hair for some reason!

Disappearing Hat and Cigarette
After Moe gets all the cans dumped on him, he has his hat on and a cigarette in his mouth, then the camera shows Curly and Larry briefly and when it goes back to Moe, his hat and cigarette are both suddenly gone.

Front Or Back, It Doesn't Matter
When the boys are reading from the books, they all start at the front. Moe, of course, has his book upside down. But when its flipped right side up, he is now looking at the back of the book.

Larry's Location
After Curly sprays the lady with the champagne bottle, the camera shows a close up of Moe and Curly and you can see Larry in the background. Then the camera cuts to another angle and Larry's suddenly standing in a completely different place.

Missing Slap
After Professor Rich pokes the man next to him in the eyes, it cuts to the next shot and the man who just got eyepoked is now holding the side of his face in pain as if he was slapped, but they didn't show it.

Shaving scene
When Curly and his dancing partner decide to 'sit this one out' at the party, Curly proceeds to lather up his face and start shaving. Notice the amount of lather on his face during the close-up of him, and how much thicker it is when the scene cuts away.

Taxi or Car?
When the two professors walk out of the restaurant, Professor Nichols says that he'll call a taxi for them, but a few minutes later after they meet the Stooges, Professor Rich says, "There's my car, let's climb into it! If Rich had his car there, then why did they almost take a taxi home?

Visible Wire
When the spring is attached to Curly and Professor Nichols' behinds, you can also see a wire inside of it.

Stooge Mayhem (Avg. 13.00)

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2013-12-23 11:56:30 by TiskaTaskaBaska

The spill that Moe and his occult power girlfriend take during the dance scene is worth the price of the entire DVD set. Curly biting the ugly chick's finger....awesome.

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2001-10-08 12:26:00 by Shemp_Diesel
Edited 2013-02-12 16:58:16 by Shemp_Diesel

Well, I think every stooge fan knows the story behind this all-time classic. Two professors make a bet on what makes a gentleman, environment or heredity and soon the stooges are taken on a crash course into becoming gentlemen. This is a definitive stooge classic and one I would probably show to the uninitiated to convert them into stoogedom. 4 pokes easily!

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2010-07-15 12:52:25 by Final Shemp

A popular short among fans, but one that falls a bit flat to me.It seems to me that Hoi Polloi was created with the finale in mind, but no first and second act to proceed it. The short feels like it's rushing to get to the payoff, and very little in the first half of the short is expanded upon enough to actually be funny. The Stooges are the subject to a gentlemen crash course and don't even seem to try and pass, sending Professor Nichols into a hissy fit. This goes on for several minutes until its 10 minute finale with the Stooges at a party.This party is the highlight of the short, with quite a few rich gags that get a lot of belly laughs. The scene where Curly has a spring attached to his pants is an unquestionable classic. These gags are more detailed, and it's obvious that more effort went into this sequence than the rest of the short.It ends on a foul note where all of the party guests do their best (not very good) Three Stooges imitations. After a false start, a great climax, and a weak ending, I'm left with the taste of an uneven short on my tongue.Final Shemp's Final Word: 2 1/2 Pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(6)

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2001-06-22 15:02:00 by Stooge
Edited 2008-06-11 23:14:29 by Stooge

A classic short. Definitely one of the Stooges' best. Highlights: -- The Stooges imitating the dancing instructor with the fly down her back, and eventually jumping out of the window. -- Curly bouncing up from the floor by the spring, then getting it caught with the other professor's behind. -- All the guests acting like the Stooges toward the end. Interesting Notes: -- One of Bud Jamison's smallest roles in a Stooge short. He had a minor role here with no lines.-- I think this is the short that started Curly's "soitenly" catchphrase. He says it a lot in this short.

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2002-03-18 01:49:00 by BJR
Edited 2005-10-18 11:58:45 by shemps#1

There's a REASON why this short is rated the highest of all 190 on threestooges.net. (3.94/4 average as of now) This is a classic. It my second favorite Curly short, but probably overall the best. This is the true classic of 1935 that no one can argue with. BEERS was excellent, but this is just a pure classic, with not a dull moment. When I pick personal favorites (this is in my 10 favorite) I have to go with what makes me laugh most, and this one does a darn good job of it. But when I look at this short and try to rate it based on the universal appeal and pace, it's the boys' second best (the best is BRIDELESS GROOM, hands down). I guess any Stooge fan, even casual, has seen this priceless classic, but if you're totally new to the Stooges, start off with this short and you will be hooked. Then again, although many of their shorts are hysterical, you won't find too many as good as this. 4 pokes Rating: 9.5/10

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2005-09-23 22:37:05 by Prof. Dunkfeather

Has anyone noticed one of the major 'goof's in Hoi Polloi? I'm an audio producer and actually 'listen' to a lot more Stooge stuff in my studio than I watch. In one cut to a scene you hear hear a female offset doing a verbal 'slate'. She says, "Hoi Polloi...(then something unintelligable)"...

RE: HOI POLLOI (1935)
Posted 2003-11-08 16:05:00 by jagman

Footnote for the curious: "hoi polloi" is a Greek phrase that literally means "the masses" -- by extension, a snobbish expression for people of lower social status. The Stooges are thus turning the tables on their rich hosts by referring to them as "hoi polloi" at the end. One of their best, by any standard.

Reviewer's Rating:

(9)

RE: HOI POLLOI (1935)
Posted 2003-11-01 18:49:00 by Benson

A critic of the violence of the Three Stooges would have a lot of material here since Moe dished out a lot of punishment to Curly needlessly, but aside from that it may say that he who wishes to sample what a true successful Three Stooges film is would have a good pick in Hoi Polloi. A good plot, build and finish with a lot of stooge gags and activity.

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2002-08-03 19:08:00 by Dimwit76

I love the part where the professor gives the Stooges their reading lesson. When Curly spells "cat" as "K-I-T-T-Y, pussy," the professor reacts by tearing out his hair! I notice that the footage with the dance instructor was later reused for "In The Sweet Pie & Pie." In the end, I love how contagious the boys' antics get--now the other guests are shouting "Spread out!" & slapping each other around!

Reviewer's Rating:

(10)

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2002-05-10 11:02:00 by Bruckman

One of the Stooges' best in terms of production design and editing. Each scene flows perfectly and the gags based on humiliation/discomfiture build nicely in the party sequence, where so much is riding on the Stooges not appearing as a disgrace. This film sets the bar as far as the Stooges vs. High Society goes and is really a watershed for many of their familiar gags. In fact, it might appear funnier today had not so many of the gags, as well as the storyline, been reused so often over the years. At this point the Stooges' characters were solidly defined to permit the use of irony and counterpoint in their films, a key element of this short. Generically, it's a "comedy of embarrassment" but always embarrassment deferred. Larry's pursuit of his runaway shoe [a conflation of 2 separate gags from Harold Lloyd's MOVIE CRAZY] is a definite highlight. "Are you dancing?" "Are you asking?" "Yes, I'm asking!" "Then I'm dancing." Moe's line, after he's slapped Curly and Larry, "That's in case you do and I'm not around" effectively sums up Stoogian vigilance for all time, and his [offscreen] punishment and usurpation of Curly's dinner jacket an interesting variation on standard slapstick. The film also benefits from a large supporting cast of familiar 2-reeler faces which really adds emphasis to the party scenes as well as the irony of the film's title ["Hoi Polloi" being Greek for "the masses" or "the rabble"]. Harry Holman [not Holmes], a familiar face from Frank Capra's films [e.g. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, MEET JOHN DOE, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE] provides a good contrast with the Stooges as Prof. Rich, and Kitty McHugh as the awful hornrimmed dame enamored of Curly is a worthy Stoogian adversary.

Re: HOI POLLOI
Posted 2001-02-07 15:36:00 by sickdrjoe

I consider the Stooges to be the 20th century's finest practitioners of the art of low comedy, an honored tradition dating back to Shakespeare and Aristophanes, and HOI POLLOI as one of the 25 greatest film comedies ever. And it's not even my personal favorite Stooge movie - but this is a timeless classic and a true representation of what the Stooges were all about. I can easily picture the boys performing this 3000 years ago in an ampitheatre, or 3000 years from now on a holoscreen, and always getting big laughs and universal recognition. The fade-out scene ranks with the most satisfying clinchers in comedy, ever!

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Prod. No.:	170
Shooting Days:	4 days From: 1935-05-02 To: 1935-05-06

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