Production Information
Title: Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 42
Release Date: October 6, 1939
Running Time: 18:13
“If I wasn’t so weak from hunger, I’d bat your brains out if you had brains.”
Short Take
The Stooges are three hapless tramps. After nearly destroying a farmer’s (Richard Fiske) pile of firewood, and destroying some of his equipment, they hit the road. Curly wishes they had a car after they stop for a break. By accident, they think they’ve found a car for free and take it. After driving around for a bit The Boys come to the assistance of the Widow Jenkins (Eva McKenzie). She graciously gives them a huge meal and in return they offer to fix her broken outdoor water pump.
As The Stooges attempt to fix the pump, they discover oil hidden under the farm when the pump turns into an oil geyser. They are happy for the lady and her beautiful daughters, until she regretfully tells them she had sold the farm. The Stooges realize she was cheated out of her land by a trio of swindlers (Dick Curtis, Eddie Laughton, James Craig). They manage to retrieve the deed to the land and marry the now wealthy Widow Jenkins’ daughters.
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Jules White |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Andrew Bennison Mauri Grashin |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Dick Curtis Eddie Laughton James Craig Eva McKenzie Dorothy Moore Lorna Gray Dorothy Comingore Richard Fiske |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Edited by | Charles Nelson |
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise Trivia
- During filming of the scene where The Stooges are fixing the pump, Moe actually got a blob of the “oil” stuck in his eye
- The studio crew can be heard laughing when Curly accidentally hits his head on Widow Jenkins’ kitchen door while trumpeting and singing “A-Pumping We Will Go”
Production Notes
- The film’s title is a parody of Benjamin Franklin’s, “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”
- Filming occurred between March 16-20, 1939