WHAT'S THE MATADOR? (1942) -- ThreeStooges.net

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Released April 23, 1942
Featuring Moe, Larry and Curly

Columbia
16.4 min. (Short Subject)

The Stooges are out-of-work actors who manage to wrangle themselves a job putting on their gag "bullfight" act during a fiesta in Mexico. On the bus trip to Mexico City they meet a beautiful senora named Dolores, and when they run into her jealous husband at the bus stop Dolores mistakenly ends up with their suitcase instead of her own.

The Stooges search the city for Dolores, and eventually stumble on her home. They try to get their suitcase back, and end up chased by her husband. When he later sees them at the bullfight, he arranges to have a real bull released into the arena while the Stooges are doing their act.

Remade as SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS (1959) with Moe, Larry & Joe Besser.

Costar Suzanne Kaaren (Dolores) was a guest of the 1991 Three Stooges Convention in Philadelphia. See The Three Stooges Journal # 59 (Fall 1991).

Avg. Rating:

[8.21/10]

Cast List

Larry Fine
Larry

Jerry Howard
Curly

Moe Howard
Moe

John Tyrrell
Shamus O'Brien

Dorothy Appleby
O'Brien's secretary

Paul Ellis
Pedro Alverez

Eddie Laughton
Telegram clerk

Suzanne Kaaren
Dolores Sanchez

Harry Burns
Jose Sanchez

Al Kikume
Taco vendor

Bert Young
Pedestrian in courtyard

Don Zelaya
Mexican with directions

Cy Schindell
Bullring attendant

Eddie Laughton
Bullring attendant

George Gray
Spectator

Al Thompson
Spectator

Cy Schindell
Spectator

Bert Young
Spectator

Unidentified WHAT'S THE MATADOR? 1
Pedestrians

Unidentified WHAT'S THE MATADOR? 2
Man taking a siesta

Unidentified WHAT'S THE MATADOR? 3
Spectators

Production Crew

Jules White
Producer

Jules White
Director

Jack White
Story and Screenplay

Saul Ward
Screenplay

L. W. O'Connell
Director of Photography

Jerome Thoms
Film Editor

Gregory Stone
Music

Ben Oakland
Music

Stooge Businesses (0)

Stooge Goofs (7)

Background Actor Copying Stooges
Not necessarily a goof, but an interesting observation. In the scene where the Stooges are in the telegraph office sending a telegram to Mexico, the officer behind the desk begins immitating the Stooges as they chant "Mexico Here We Come ... G-Yeah!" even to the extent of turning his head from side-to-side in time with the boys dancing, and shouting the "G-Yeah" part along with them.

Change in Position
At the very beginning of the episode, Curly twists his hat and there is a ratcheting sound effect. He turns the crease in his hat brim to the back when he does this, then all three enter the booking office. The very next scene shows Curly's hat with the brim crease in front again.

Insidious Gag Setup
The boys are in Delores' hotel room ... when they come out of the closet the second time, Curly is NOT wearing his hat and can easily duck under the bed covers. When next Curly comes up out of the covers for a look around, his right jacket sleeve is pulled up to his elbow, making it believable for Jose to pluck his arm-hairs when he discovers that Delores is replaced under the covers by a man!

Missing Scene?
When the boys exit the bus in Mexico, a woman exits also. Curly turns to her and says, "Ah, Delores ... lookin' for me?" She then explains that her husband is very jealous, and thanks them for entertaining her on the "strip". The scene(s) of the boys getting to know Delores do not exist in the final film, leaving it to the viewer's imagination how she was entertained by the Stooges during the trip.

Strange Music Choice
In the scene just after the announcer says, "We hope you like them too many. Thank you.", the band director is waiving his baton to a beat that is much faster than the included music track is playing.

Stunt Double
There is a noticeable stunt double for Curly when he crashes through the glass door.

Tripping on the Floor
When Curly is running away from Jose in the bedroom scene, he accidentally trips over the blanket on the floor and almost falls down.

Stooge Mayhem (Avg. 3.25)

Stooge Quotes (6)

Stooge Routines (6)

Head-butting an animal
The third Stooge head-butts a bull or goat and knocking him out.
Also used in: EVEN AS IOU · SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS
Holding hands under table or covers
Moe and another Stooge hold hands under the table, thinking that they're holding hands with a woman sitting at the table. When Moe realizes that's not the woman's hand, he plucks a hair from the other Stooge's hand.
Also used in: YOU NAZTY SPY! · HALF-WITS HOLIDAY · DON'T THROW THAT KNIFE · PIES AND GUYS
How Much Would You Charge To Haunt A House?
Moe: "How much would you change to haunt a house?" Stooge: "How many rooms?"
Also used in: I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE · VAGABOND LOAFERS · SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS
Jealous Husband
The Stooges meet a woman in some sort of way and her husband thinks the Stooges are taking advantage of her, so he tries to kill the Stooges.
Also used in: IDLE ROOMERS · DON'T THROW THAT KNIFE · GENTS IN A JAM · GYPPED IN THE PENTHOUSE · FIFI BLOWS HER TOP · SAPPY BULL FIGHTERS
Opening broken-through door
The glass to a door that the Stooges are about to run in or out of is broken. The first two Stooges run through the hole in the door, but the last Stooge foolishly opens the door and walks inside.
Also used in: MEN IN BLACK · IF A BODY MEETS A BODY
Yelling at the Stooges during phone conversation
When someone is talking on a phone, he/she yells at the Stooges in the middle of the call and insults them, and the person on the other line thinks that he's the one being yelled at instead.
Also used in: ANTS IN THE PANTRY · NO DOUGH BOYS

Stooge Trivia (1)

Fan Reviews (4)

Re: WHAT'S THE MATADOR
Posted 2001-09-28 14:03:00 by Shemp_Diesel
Edited 2015-01-16 11:07:50 by Shemp_Diesel

Another short where I find the antics unrelated to the title provide the biggest laughs. The fake bullfighting scenes are where this short starts to tail off a bit. "Dear old Mexico, the warmth of your chili will bring new zest to my breast & vice-a-versa".

7 pokes

Reviewer's Rating:

(7)

Re: WHAT'S THE MATADOR
Posted 2001-09-30 20:17:00 by Mike Holme

A good short, but weak in some areas. The jealous husband premise could've been used a little better and the Matador scene was good, but it wasn't as funny as some might hope. Still a good short.3 pokes Mike Holme

Re: WHAT'S THE MATADOR
Posted 2001-07-23 02:50:00 by [Deleted Member]

I don't think that you posters who say that the "jealous husband" bit doesn't make sense don't know what you're talking about. "What's" is a different short. They've already proven that they can be funny in the U.S., now they prove it in Mexico. Watching Curly scare the bull away (for a moment) is a scream! OY AMERICANA!ISLIPP, so dry the floor. ®2001

Re: WHAT'S THE MATADOR
Posted 2001-03-10 09:17:00 by sickdrjoe

It pains me to lower the boom on a Curly short, but MATADOR is a mess. All Stooge humor is based on the boys' dimness, but here the Stooges are mindlessly stupid for NO other reason than to get from Point A to Point B in the plot. Why don't they simply ring Delores' doorbell and ASK for their suitcase back instead of breaking and entering? Because they have to come up with some way to work in the very tired 'insanely jealous husband' gags SOMEHOW, and this kind of bending plausibility like a pretzel to serve the plot cripples what might've been a top notch short. MATADOR was the result of WW2 costing the US film industry its traditional European audiences, thus a new emphasis was placed on marketing movies to Latin America - the 'good neighbor' era exempified by things like Disney's SALUDOS AMIGOS and all those Fox Carmen Miranda musicals. Interestingly, the Stooges WERE wildly popular with Latin audiences (known, to this day, as Los Tres Chiflados) and MATADOR hints at this...but this is mostly a misfire and a botched opportunity.

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Working Title(s):	RUN, BULL, RUN
Title Origin:	Expression "what's the matter?"
Prod. No.:	519
Shooting Days:	4 days From: 1941-08-14 To: 1941-08-18

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