Disorder in the Court

{{Short description|1936 American short film starring the Three Stooges}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Disorder in the Court | image = Lobby36disordercourt.jpg | caption = | director = [[Jack White (film producer)|Preston Black]] | writer = [[Felix Adler (screenwriter)|Felix Adler]] | starring = [[Moe Howard]] [[Larry Fine]] [[Curly Howard]] [[Bud Jamison]] [[Harry Semels]] [[Suzanne Kaaren]] [[James C. Morton]] [[Edward LeSaint]] Sol Horwitz [[Al Thompson]] [[Eddie Laughton]] | cinematography = [[Benjamin H. Kline]] | editing = [[William A. Lyon]] | producer = [[Jules White]] | distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1936|05|30|U.S.}} | runtime = {{duration|m=16|s=37}} | country = United States | language = English }} '''''Disorder in the Court''''' is a 1936 [[short film]] directed by [[Jack White (film producer)|Preston Black]] starring American [[slapstick]] comedy team [[The Three Stooges]] ([[Moe Howard]], [[Larry Fine]] and [[Curly Howard]]). It is the 15th entry in the series released by [[Columbia Pictures]] starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

==Plot== [[File:Disorder jamison.jpg|thumb|left|220px|The Stooges harass defense attorney [[Bud Jamison]] in ''Disorder in the Court'']] [[File:Three Stooges Disorder In The Court (Blu-ray restoration).webm|thumb|thumbtime=8|''Disorder in the Court'' (1936)]] The Stooges, musicians by profession, are key witnesses at a murder trial where, Gail Tempest, a showgirl from their nightclub, stands accused of murdering Kirk Robin. Despite being pivotal witnesses, the Stooges are initially absent, preoccupied with leisurely activities, namely playing [[Knucklebones|Jacks]]. Eventually, Curly takes the stand and recounts the events, ultimately offering a musical interlude with Larry on violin, Moe on harmonica, and Curly on both [[Spoon (musical instrument)|spoons]] and upright bass to illustrate the night of the crime.

However, the courtroom is thrown into chaos when Larry mistakenly identifies the court clerk's toupee as a tarantula, prompting Moe to discharge the guard's firearm. After the confusion, Moe and Curly enact the purported murder. Further antics lead to the discovery of a parrot carrying a confession from the true culprit, Buck Wing.

With Tempest's innocence established, the proceedings conclude amidst a comedic mishap involving a ruptured fire hose.

==Cast== ===Credited=== * [[Moe Howard]] as Moe * [[Larry Fine]] as Larry * [[Curly Howard]] as Curly

===Uncredited=== * [[Bud Jamison]] as Defense Attorney * [[Harry Semels]] as District Attorney * [[Suzanne Kaaren]] as Gail Tempest * [[James C. Morton]] as Court clerk * [[Edward LeSaint]] as Judge * [[Al Thompson]] as Bailiff * [[Eddie Laughton]] as Co-Counsel * [[Johnny Kascier]] as Court recorder * [[Alice Belcher]] as Flirting juror * [[Solomon Horwitz]] as Gallery spectator * Harold Kening as Gallery spectator * [[Bobby Barber]] as Gallery spectator * [[Bobby Burns (actor)|Bobby Burns]] as Gallery spectator * [[Sam Lufkin]] as Gallery spectator * [[Arthur Thalasso]] as Tall man in Hallway

==Production notes== ''Disorder in the Court'' was filmed over six days on April 1–6, 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/15 |title=''Disorder in the Court'' at threestooges.net |access-date=2016-04-12 |archive-date=2016-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423135523/http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/15 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film title is a play on the stereotypical judge's cry, "Order in the court!"<ref name="Solomon">{{cite book| last = Solomon| first = Jon| title = The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion| publisher = Comedy III Productions, Inc | date = 2002| isbn = 0-9711868-0-4| page = 96}}</ref>

A [[Film colorization|colorized]] version of this film was released in 2006 as part of the DVD collection "Stooges on the Run."

The two Howard brothers' real life father Sol Horwitz, (the father of Moe, Curly, and [[Shemp Howard]]), makes an uncredited appearance as a member of the public audience.<ref name="Solomon"/>

This is the first Stooges short in which Curly is spelled "C-U-R-L-Y" in the opening titles instead of the previous "C-U-R-L-E-Y." The title card also has the Stooges inverted reading from left to right, Curly-Larry-Moe, as opposed to Moe-Larry-Curly in previous shorts, effectively giving Curly "top billing." This change in the title card coincides with the refined and more familiar Columbia Pictures image of a torch-bearing woman, with a shimmering light instead of the primitive animation of light rays in the previous version. In addition, the "Columbia" theme now uses a more upbeat theme, featuring a brass introduction.<ref name="Solomon"/>

The "[[Vici kid]]" mentioned by Curly is a brand of [[kid leather]], "vici" being Latin for "I have conquered".

==Copyright status== ''Disorder in the Court '' is one of four Columbia Stooges shorts that fell into the [[public domain]] after the copyright expired in 1964, the other three being ''[[Malice in the Palace]]'' (1949), ''[[Sing a Song of Six Pants]]'' and ''[[Brideless Groom]]'' (both 1947). Consequently, these four shorts frequently appear on budget video compilations and streaming services.<ref name="Solomon"/> A remastered version of the film was released on [[Blu-ray]] as part of The Three Stooges Collection on August 13, 2024, by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]].

==In popular culture== [[File:Gail Tempest dancing.JPG|thumb|Gail Tempest ([[Suzanne Kaaren]]) dancing in the courtroom.]] The presumed perpetrator is a dancer named Buck Wing, a reference to the [[buck-and-wing]] dance common in vaudeville and minstrel shows.<ref name="Solomon"/>

The classic "swearing in" routine ("Take off your hat!"; "Raise your right hand"; "Judgy Wudgy") was borrowed nearly verbatim from [[Buster Keaton]]'s 1931 film ''[[Sidewalks of New York (1931 film)|Sidewalks of New York]]'', directed by Stooges producer [[Jules White]].<ref name="Solomon"/>

A shot of the trio performing in court was used by [[The Hershey Company|Hershey's]] in a 1980s advertising campaign.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/7dZ3svPD32Y Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200122044143/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dZ3svPD32Y Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dZ3svPD32Y| title = 1987 Hershey's Commercial (One of the All-Time Greats) | website=[[YouTube]]| date = 4 December 2012 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The short appears in the 2019 horror film ''[[3 from Hell]]''.

==See also== * [[Public domain film]] * [[List of American films of 1936]] * [[List of films in the public domain in the United States]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * {{IMDb title|0027529}} *[http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/15 ''Disorder in the Court'' at threestooges.net] * {{Internet Archive film|disorder_in_the_court}}

[[Category:The Three Stooges films]] [[Category:1936 films]] [[Category:1936 comedy films]] [[Category:1936 short films]] [[Category:American slapstick comedy films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:1936 English-language films]] [[Category:American courtroom films]] [[Category:Columbia Pictures short films]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:American crime comedy films]] [[Category:1936 American films]] [[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]