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Slippery Silks
Slippery Silks
Directed by	Preston Black
Written by	Ewart Adamson
Produced by	Jules White
Starring	Moe Howard; Larry Fine; Curly Howard; Symona Boniface; Vernon Dent; William Irving; Eddie Laughton; Jack "Tiny" Lipson; June Gittelson; Lew Davis
Cinematography	Benjamin H. Kline
Edited by	William A. Lyon
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	December 27, 1936 (U.S.);
Running time	17:15
Country	United States
Language	English

Slippery Silks is a 1936 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 19th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are furniture craftsmen tasked with replicating a treasured antique Chinese cabinet, loaned to a Mr. Morgan by a local museum against a substantial bond. However, their endeavor takes a calamitous turn when Curly clumsily bisects the valuable artifact, followed by Moe's inadvertent destruction of the remaining fragments. Fleeing from the wrathful Mr. Morgan, who threatens reprisal, the trio discovers an unexpected inheritance: ownership of the Madame de France boutique, a high-end fashion establishment formerly owned by their late Uncle Pete.

Seamlessly transitioning into the fashion industry, the Stooges draw inspiration from their carpentry background, concocting women's attire reminiscent of their prior woodworking endeavors. Their foray into fashion reaches its zenith when they are commissioned to stage a fashion show, an event orchestrated by none other than Mrs. Morgan Morgan, the spouse of their previous antagonist. Upon Mr. Morgan's arrival, he promptly identifies the Stooges as the culprits responsible for the demise of his cherished cabinet, initiating a physical altercation wherein Curly bears the brunt of his fury.

In the ensuing chaos, Moe's attempt to intervene with a pastry inadvertently triggers a chain reaction, escalating into a melee involving the entire assembly. The pandemonium reaches its apex when the Stooges are subdued by female attendees wielding mannequin appendages, culminating in their unconsciousness and the cessation of the fracas.

Production notes

Slippery Silks was filmed on June 10–15, 1936.^[1] The film represents the Stooges' inaugural genuine pie and pastry altercation. Although it involves predominantly cream puffs, a pie becomes inadvertently launched amidst the chaos when Curly obstructs Moe's trajectory while attempting to retrieve a "lucky penny", resulting in him being struck in the face with a pie. It is noteworthy that the earliest instance of a pie fight in a Stooges short occurred in Pop Goes the Easel (1935), wherein sculptor's clay is employed as a substitute projectile hurled at unsuspecting individuals.^[2]

Moe Howard stated in his autobiography that over 150 pies were thrown.^[3] In Moe's June 8, 1973 appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, he revealed to Douglas that, in making the Stooge pie-fight scenes, he was responsible for most of the pie-throwing. He remarked that "the studio auditors claimed (he) had saved them tens of thousands of dollars with my accuracy in the pie throw."^[4] The pie fight scenes were used in the Muppet Babies episode, "Good, Clean, Fun".^[2]

"Preston Black" was a pseudonym used for a time by Jack White (brother of producer Jules White), who had been in a nasty divorce and was trying to shield income from his ex-wife.

The ending theme of "Listen to the Mockingbird" features different instrumentation.^[2]

Much of the "chase" action takes place at (what was then) a slim, triangular block, occupied by 1911 North Cahuenga Blvd in Los Angeles. Today, the block is an open space.^[5]