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Cactus Makes Perfect
Cactus Makes Perfect
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Del Lord
Written by	Monte Collins; Elwood Ullman
Produced by	Del Lord; Hugh McCollum
Starring	Moe Howard; Larry Fine; Curly Howard; Vernon Dent; Eddie Laughton; Monte Collins; Ernie Adams
Cinematography	Benjamin H. Kline
Edited by	Jerome Thoms
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	February 26, 1942 (U.S.);
Running time	17:18
Country	United States
Language	English

Cactus Makes Perfect is a 1942 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 61st entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The day begins with the Stooges' matriarch endeavoring unsuccessfully to rouse her sons from their slumber through comedic means, employing a mechanism involving a tethered rope to instigate their awakening. This results in a physical upheaval as the bed, manipulated by the rope, spins horizontally, prompting the trio's dislodgement. Curly then receives a letter from the Inventors' Association, wherein his invention, the Gold Collar Button Retriever, is deemed "incomprehensible and utterly impractical." Curly, misconstruing this assessment as validation, interprets it as a harbinger of success, prompting the trio to depart from their maternal abode in pursuit of fortune.

Their journey is punctuated by an ill-fated transaction wherein they are ensnared into purchasing a map purporting to lead to a lost mine in the Old West. Subsequent to the fortuitous discovery of said mine, the Stooges become embroiled in a confrontation with two financially beleaguered prospectors, triggered by an inadvertent discharge of Curly's Gold Collar Button Retriever.

Seeking refuge, Moe and Larry seek sanctuary within a hotel situated in a ghost town, while Curly endeavors to safeguard the acquired gold within a secure repository. Their respite is brief, however, as the aforementioned prospectors resurface, prompting a frenetic retreat to the confines of the safe room. Confronted with the imminent threat posed by the prospectors' incursions, the Stooges engage in a comedic exchange, culminating in a misinterpreted detonation of dynamite, resulting in a chaotic explosion.

Cast

Credited

Moe Howard as Moe
Larry Fine as Larry
Curly Howard as Curly

Uncredited

Monte Collins as Stooges' Mother
Eddie Laughton as Gold Mine Salesman
Vernon Dent as Heavyset Prospector
Ernie Adams as Smaller Prospector

Production notes

Filmed on August 7–11, 1941,^[1] the title Cactus Makes Perfect parodies the proverb "practice makes perfect."^[2]

Curly's remark, "I shoot an arrow into the air, where it lands I do not care: I get my arrows wholesale!"^[3] parodies Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Arrow and the Song," which begins, "I shot an arrow into the air/It fell to earth, I knew not where..."^[4]