Hold That Lion!
Hold That Lion! is the one-hundredth Columbia Pictures short subject starring the Three Stooges. Former Stooge Curly Howard made a cameo appearance in this film.
Plot
The Stooges' inheritance from their late Uncle Ambrose has been stolen by crooked investment broker Icabod Slipp (Kenneth MacDonald). The boys go over to Slipp's office to subpoena him, but he beats each of them up, rips up their subpoenas and then takes off on a train with the boys' inheritance. The Stooges then trail him to the train, and accidentally free a lion from the baggage car. Eventually, the boys capture Slipp and retrieve their inheritance money from him.
Cast
- Moe Howard as Moe
- Larry Fine as Larry
- Shemp Howard as Shemp
- Curly Howard as Sleeping Train Passenger
- Kenneth MacDonald as Icabod Slipp
- Emil Sitka as Attorney
- Dudley Dickerson as Pullman Porter
- Heinie Conklin as Train Conductor
- Victor Travis as Bearded Man
- Blackie Whiteford as Train Passenger
- Sam Lufkin as Train Passenger
- Tanner The Lion as The Lion
Curly Howard Returns
Hold That Lion! is notable for a cameo appearance by former Stooge Curly Howard, younger brother of Shemp and Moe. He appears as a snoring passenger who the Stooges think is Ichabod Slipp, the man they are looking for. This was the only film that featured all three Howard brothers — Moe, Curly, and Shemp — in the same film. This also marks the first time Curly is shown on camera with a full head of hair, and his only film appearance following the stroke that ended his career as a full-time Stooge.
Curly Howard returns to the act, albeit briefly, in Hold That Lion! This marked the only instance in which all four of the orginal Stooges [brothers Curly, Moe and Shemp with Larry Fine] appeared together on screen. The film Malice in the Palace was to have been the second time all four appear together [Curly as a Chief with a mustache] and playbill photographs were made indeed showing them all together..but this was not done because of Curlys health problems.
Trivia
Tanner the Lion could only be filmed with the Stooges for tame shots. For shots requiring him to growl or act angry, he was filmed by himself.
Notes
Hold that Lion! was also recycled by films post-1953:
- Booty and the Beast: recycled the second half of Hold that Lion!
- Loose Loot: recycled the first half.
- Tricky Dicks: recycled a segment from Hold that Lion!