Production Information
Title: Vagabond Loafers
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 118
Release Date: October 6, 1949
Running Time: 15:51
“Sorry folks… dinner’s postponed on account’o rain!”
Short Take
The Stooges are inept plumbers at Day and Nite Plumbers. Moe is busy reading “How to Be a Plumber” when the phone rings with a request to fix a leaky faucet at the home of the wealthy Norfleets (Emil Sitka and Symona Boniface). The leak happens to spring up while the Norfleets are throwing a dinner party to celebrate the acquisition of a $50,000 painting.
Moe struggles with the pipes in the basement while Shemp manages to trap himself inside a maze of pipes in the bathroom. Larry is assigned to finding the water cutoff and proceeds to dig up most of the lawn in an attempt to turn off the water. Shemp later surmises that the pipes fail to work properly because they are “clogged up with wires”. Shemp and Moe proceed to remove the electrical system from the pipes and connect a water pipe to the freshly available pipe. The cook (Dudley Dickerson), who is in the kitchen trying to prepare a meal for the Norfleets, watches in bewilderment as the stove and chandelier gush water.
As the Norfleet’s house transforms into Niagara Falls, two party guests named Mr. and Mrs. Allen (Kenneth MacDonald and Christine McIntyre) manage to swipe the prized Van Brocklin painting. However, The Stooges manage to catch onto the Allens’ scheme and retrieve the painting.
Vagabond Loafers Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Edward Bernds |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Hugh McCollum |
| Written by | Elwood Ullman |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Emil Sitka Symona Boniface Kenneth MacDonald Christine McIntyre Dudley Dickerson |
| Cinematography | Vincent J. Farrar |
| Edited by | Henry DeMond |
Vagabond Loafers Trivia
- Although later films used recycled footage of these two Stooge supporting actors, Vagabond Loafers marked the final appearances of Symona Boniface and Dudley Dickerson
- The title Vagabond Loafers parodies the romantic expression “vagabond lovers”
Production Notes
- Filming took place from January 26-27, 1949
- Vagabond Loafers is a remake of 1940’s A Plumbing We Will Go, and would itself be remade in 1956 as Scheming Schemers