The Stooges are destitute vagrants, engaged in larcenous activities as beggars. Subsequently, they face legal consequences and are brought to trial on charges of chicken theft. Following their acquittal, the trio endeavors to procure a live fish from an aquarium within a pet store. Officer Kelly intervenes, instigating a pursuit that compels the Stooges to adopt the guise of plumbers as a means to evade incarceration.
Assuming their roles as "plumbers", the Stooges secure a position in an opulent residence. Their ineptitude unfolds dramatically, resulting in the inadvertent destruction of the entire plumbing infrastructure within the residence. Curly, in attempting to address what he perceives as a bathroom leak, constructs a labyrinthine network of pipes, ensnaring himself. Simultaneously, Larry digs up the front lawn in an unsuccessful quest for the water shutoff valve. Moe and Curly, in their misguided efforts, inadvertently connect a water pipe with another conduit containing electrical wires. This leads to water inundating every electrical appliance in the mansion, subjecting the perplexed chef to endless tribulations and frustration.
Upon the hostess' suggestion to view Niagara Falls on her newly acquired television set, an unexpected deluge occurs, soaking the entire assemblage at the precise moment the falls are depicted onscreen. The homeowner returns to witness the disarray in his residence, inadvertently undoing the Stooges' convoluted repair endeavors.
Much to their astonishment, the trio discovers that the homeowner is none other than the judge who had previously acquitted them of charges. Consequently, the Stooges hastily endeavor to flee the scene, pursued by the aggrieved judge, his butler, and the law enforcement officials, notably Officer Kelly, whom they had initially attempted to evade.
Production notes
A Plumbing We Will Go was filmed on December 13–18, 1939, the last Stooge film produced in the 1930s.[1] It was a remake of the Sidney and Murray short film, Plumbing for Gold (1934), and would be remade again with El Brendel and Shemp Howard as Pick a Peck of Plumbers (1944). The Stooges remade A Plumbing We Will Go as Vagabond Loafers (1949) and Scheming Schemers (1956) using stock footage. The original story in Plumbing for Gold involved searching for a lost ring which the Stooges did not use until Scheming Schemers.[2]
Curly recreated the maze-of-pipes gag several years later in Swing Parade of 1946 (1946). Shemp Howard attempted it as well in Vagabond Loafers and Scheming Schemers, while Joe DeRita also attempted the gag in Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959).[2] The chicken-stealing segment that opens the film was also reworked in Listen, Judge (1952).[2]
Aside from the aforementioned reworked films, footage from A Plumbing We Will Go also reappeared in the compilation feature film Stop! Look! and Laugh! (1960).[2]
Curly's performance in A Plumbing We Will Go is generally considered by Three Stooges fans to be one of his best.[3] Curly himself considered A Plumbing We Will Go among his favorite Three Stooges shorts.[4]
Director Sam Raimi paid homage to A Plumbing We Will Go—specifically the gag in which a lightbulb fills with water—in the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead, with a scene featuring a lightbulb filling with blood, as well as blood pouring from wall sockets.[5][6]
^ abcdeSolomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 171–172. ISBN0-9711868-0-4.
