Three Little Sew and Sews

{{short description|1939 film by Del Lord}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Three Little Sew and Sews | image = SewsTITLE.jpg | caption = | director = [[Del Lord]] | writer = [[Ewart Adamson]] | starring = [[Moe Howard]] [[Larry Fine]] [[Curly Howard]] [[Harry Semels]] [[James C. Morton]] [[Phyllis Barry]] [[Bud Jamison]] [[Vernon Dent]] [[Lew Davis]] [[Ned Glass]] | cinematography = [[Lucien Ballard]] | editing = [[Charles Nelson (film editor)|Charles Nelson]] | producer = [[Jules White]] | distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] | released = {{Film date|1939|01|09|U.S.}} | runtime = {{duration|m=15|s=47}} | country = United States | language = English }} '''''Three Little Sew and Sews''''' is a 1939 [[short film|short subject]] directed by [[Del Lord]] starring American [[slapstick]] comedy team [[The Three Stooges]] ([[Moe Howard]], [[Larry Fine]] and [[Curly Howard]]). It is the 36th entry in the series released by [[Columbia Pictures]] starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

==Plot== The Stooges are sailors stationed at a naval base, where they are gainfully employed within a tailor shop. The inciting incident arises when Curly, driven by impulsive folly, pilfers the uniform of Admiral Taylor, harboring intentions of leveraging its authority to engage in romantic dalliances. This act of subterfuge sets the stage for a series of misadventures that propel the trio into a labyrinthine plot involving espionage.

Under the guise of the counterfeit Admiral and his purported aides, Moe and Larry, the Stooges unwittingly become ensnared in the machinations of nefarious agents, Count Alfred Gehrol and Miss Olga Arvin, who serve as operatives of an antagonistic regime. Deceived by their adversaries, the trio is coerced into perpetrating a scheme involving the theft and hijacking of a submarine, thus unwittingly becoming pawns in a larger geopolitical game.

Despite their unwitting complicity, the Stooges eventually succeed in apprehending the spies, thereby thwarting their malevolent designs. However, their triumph is short-lived as a twist of fate intervenes during a reenactment of the capture for the genuine Admiral Taylor. In a calamitous turn of events, Curly inadvertently triggers an explosion due to a moment of hapless clumsiness. As a result, the Stooges are depicted as celestial beings ascending to Heaven. However, they find themselves pursued by the irate Admiral, who also assumes a celestial form.<ref>{{cite web| last = Garza| first = Janiss| authorlink =| title = Three Little Sew and Sews (1938)| url = http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/143134/Three-Little-Sew-and-Sews/overview| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110519191907/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/143134/Three-Little-Sew-and-Sews/overview| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2011-05-19| doi =| department = Movies & TV Dept.| work = [[The New York Times]]| date = 2011| accessdate = 2007-11-26 }}</ref>

==Cast== ===Credited=== {{Cast listing| *[[Moe Howard]] as Moe *[[Larry Fine]] as Larry *[[Curly Howard]] as Curly *[[Phyllis Barry]] as Miss Olga Arvin *[[Harry Semels]] as Count Alfred Gehrol<ref name=net/>

===Uncredited=== *[[James C. Morton]] as Admiral H. S. Taylor *[[Ned Glass]] as Sailor *Pat Lane as Lieutenant *[[Cy Schindell]] as Brig guard *[[John Ince (actor)|John Ince]] as Butler *[[Vernon Dent]] as laughing party guest *[[Bud Jamison]] as Policeman *[[John Tyrrell (actor)|John Tyrrell]] as Naval Officer *Bert Young, Charles Dorety as S.P.'s on submarine *[[Lew Davis]], Earlene Heath, Elaine Waters, [[Al Thompson]] as party guests<ref name=net/>}}

==Production notes== ''Three Little Sew and Sews'' was filmed on March 21–24, 1938, and was the last entry to utilize "[[Listen to the Mockingbird]]" as the Stooges' official theme song. It was filmed directly after ''[[Violent Is the Word for Curly]]'' but before ''[[Flat Foot Stooges]]'', the latter being the first film to employ "[[Three Blind Mice]]" as the Stooges' official theme song.<ref name=net>{{Cite web |url=https://threestooges.net/filmography/episode/36 |title=''Three Little Sew and Sews'' at threestooges.net |access-date=2019-12-24 |archive-date=2019-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818222030/https://threestooges.net/filmography/episode/36 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The title ''Sew and Sew'' is a pun on "so and so", a softly worded insult for a person one finds unimpressionable,<ref name=Solomon>Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 140; Comedy III Productions, Inc., {{ISBN|0-9711868-0-4}}</ref> or a euphemism for "son-of-a-bitch".<ref name=net/>

''Three Little Sew and Sews'' is one of several Stooge shorts in which a sofa spring manages to become attached to someone's backside. This gag was also used in ''[[Hoi Polloi (1935 film)|Hoi Polloi]]'', ''[[An Ache in Every Stake]]'', ''[[Hugs and Mugs]]'' and ''[[Have Rocket, Will Travel]]''. In addition, footage of war scenes were later used in ''[[Boobs in Arms]]'' and ''[[They Stooge to Conga]]''. The short is also the fifth of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word "three" in the title.<ref name=Solomon/>

Unlike most Stooge films, ''Three Little Sew and Sews'' ends with the trio being killed. This plot device was only used in a handful of their shorts, among them being ''[[You Nazty Spy!]]'', ''[[I'll Never Heil Again]]'' and ''[[Half Shot Shooters]]''.

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb title|0030866}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Little Sew And Sews}} [[Category:1939 films]] [[Category:The Three Stooges films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:1939 comedy films]] [[Category:Military comedy films]] [[Category:Films directed by Del Lord]] [[Category:Columbia Pictures short films]] [[Category:American slapstick comedy films]] [[Category:1939 English-language films]] [[Category:1939 American films]]