Production Information
Title: Playing the Ponies
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 26
Release Date: October 15, 1937
Running Time: 17:07
“You told me to race him around the track — and I did, and I beat him.”
Short Take
The Stooges operate a failing restaurant and are sick of it. One customer laments the state in which his horse, Thunderbolt, is in, claiming that he is “all run out” and that he wants to dump him off on some unsuspecting sap. This works in his favor when Larry opens a newspaper and reads a story on a horse named Mad Cap who won a race worth $10,000. The Stooges decide to sell their restaurant to Thunderbolt’s owners and get into the racing industry.
Upon arriving at the stable, Curly races the horse around the track. Feeling hungry, Curly pulls out a handful of pepperinos that he swiped from the restaurant, thinking them to be salted peanuts. However, Thunderbolt eats them first and, with his mouth burning, “runs like lightning” towards the nearest water trough. Moe demands to know what Curly gave the horse, but he believes them to be peanuts. To be sure, Moe eats a handful and suffers the same heated mouth as Thunderbolt and runs to the trough. Curly follows suit, and blazes to the trough as well. The Stooges quickly discover that the pepperinos caused Thunderbolt’s sudden burst of speed and believe it to be their ace in the hole for future races.
Once the first race starts, Thunderbolt turns around and starts running in the opposite direction. Larry stops him and feeds him the hot peppers, but the effect is too much for Thunderbolt and he is too disoriented to run. Moe and Curly grab a bucket of water, hop on a parked motorcycle and drive alongside of Thunderbolt with the bucket hanging from a pole in front of the horse. Thunderbolt wins the race, and The Stooges enjoy the good life as they each eat their own turkey and Thunderbolt eats peanuts in celebration.
Playing the Ponies Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Charles Lamont |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Irv Frisch Al Giebler Will Harr Charles Nelson Elwood Ullman |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Nick Copeland Lew Davis Billy Bletcher William Irving Jack “Tiny” Lipson |
| Cinematography | Allen G. Siegler |
| Edited by | Charles Hochberg |
Playing the Ponies Trivia
- This was the second and final short directed by Charles Lamont
- A colorized version of this film was released in 2004 as part of the DVD collection entitled “Goofs on the Loose”
Production Notes
- Filming occurred between May 12-19, 1937