Three Hams on Rye

Production Information
Title: Three Hams on Rye
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 125
Release Date: September 7, 1950
Running Time: 15:38

“Listen to me spout Shakespeare! A rose by any other name would smell…” “And so do you!”

Short Take

The Stooges are small-time actors and stage hands. Their producer, B.K. Doaks (Emil Sitka) tells them to keep out a notorious drama critic who has been trashing the company’s shows. The Stooges disguise themselves so well that Moe and Shemp mistake Larry for the critic, and they whale the tar out of him before discovering their mistake, the critic enters in the meantime.

B.K. reprimands The Boys and demands they get the props ready for the final act (a cake and a salad), but Moe remembers that he forgot to go shopping for them. Unfortunately, it is late at night and there aren’t any open stores, so The Stooges have to whip up a cake and salad from scratch. However, as they are preparing the cake, Shemp accidentally tosses a pot holder onto a cake pan, resulting in Moe unintentionally adding it into the cake. The ensuing chaos turns the melodrama into a comedy hit!

Three Hams on Rye Cast & Crew

Three Hams on Rye Trivia

• The plot device of the coughing up feathers due to a misplaced potholder was borrowed from 1935’s Uncivil Warriors
• The Stooges’ serenade tune “Jane” was written by Moe, Larry & Shemp. They also sing it in Gold Raiders, and adapt it as “Nora” in Scrambled Brains
• This is the fourteenth of sixteen Stooge shorts with the word “three” in the title

Production Notes

• Although filming took place in December 1948, the short was not released until September 1950
• The 630 days between filming and releasing are the longest for any Shemp film released as a member of the team