Fright Night is the 98th 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 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, 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.
Shemp Howard returns[]
Fright Night marked the return of Shemp Howard to the Stooges. It had been 17 years since he had appeared on film with brother Moe Howard and partner Larry Fine. Critics have noted how naturally Shemp picked up where he had left, falling into the Stooge routines almost effortlessly. Shemp agreed to rejoin the act until brother Curly Howard recovered enough to return to the Stooges (Curly never did).
Notes[]
- Fright Night was reworked in 1955 as Fling in the Ring, using ample stock footage.
- Fright Night was reportedly Shemp's favorite Stooge film.