| Disorder in the Court | |
| Director: | Preston Black |
| Starring: | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Bud Jamison Harry Semels Suzanne Kaaren James C. Morton Edward LeSaint Solomon Horwitz Al Thompson Eddie Laughton |
| Cinematography: | Benjamin H. Kline |
| Editing: | William A. Lyon |
| Producer: | Jules White |
| Distributor: | Columbia Pictures |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Disorder in the Court 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 15th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Stooges are key witnesses at a murder trial where their colleague, Gail Tempest, stands accused of murdering Kirk Robin. Despite being pivotal witnesses, the Stooges are initially absent, preoccupied with leisurely activities. Eventually, Curly takes the stand and recounts the events, ultimately offering a musical interlude with Larry on violin, Moe on harmonica, and Curly on both spoons and upright bass to illustrate the night of the crime.
However, the courtroom is thrown into chaos when Larry mistakenly identifies the court clerk's toupee as a tarantula, prompting Moe to discharge the guard's firearm. Amidst the confusion, Moe and Curly enact the purported murder, leading to the discovery of a parrot carrying a confession from the true culprit, Buck Wing.
With Tempest's innocence established, the proceedings conclude amidst a comedic mishap involving a ruptured fire hose.
Disorder in the Court was filmed over six days on April 1–6, 1936.[1] The film title is a play on the stereotypical judge's cry, "Order in the court!"[2]
A colorized version of this film was released in 2006 as part of the DVD collection "Stooges on the Run."
The two Howard brothers' real life father Sol Horwitz, (the father of Moe, Curly, and Shemp Howard), makes an uncredited appearance as a member of the public audience.[2]
This is the first Stooges short in which Curly is spelled "C-U-R-L-Y" in the opening titles instead of the previous "C-U-R-L-E-Y." The title card also has the Stooges inverted reading from left to right, Curly-Larry-Moe, as opposed to Moe-Larry-Curly in previous shorts, effectively giving Curly "top billing." This change in the title card coincides with the refined and more familiar Columbia Pictures image of a torch-bearing woman, with a shimmering light instead of the primitive animation of light rays in the previous version. In addition, the "Columbia" theme now uses a more upbeat theme, featuring a brass introduction.[2]
Disorder in the Court is one of four Columbia Stooges shorts that fell into the public domain after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s, the other three being Malice in the Palace (1949), Sing a Song of Six Pants and Brideless Groom (both 1947). Consequently, these four shorts frequently appear on budget video compilations and streaming services.[2]
The presumed perpetrator is a dancer named Buck Wing, a reference to the buck-and-wing dance common in vaudeville and minstrel shows.[2]
The classic "swearing in" routine ("Take off your hat!"; "Raise your right hand"; "Judgy Wudgy") was borrowed nearly verbatim from Buster Keaton's 1931 film Sidewalks of New York, directed by Stooges producer Jules White.[2]
A shot of the trio performing in court was used by Hershey's in a 1980s advertising campaign.[3]
The short appears in the 2019 horror film 3 from Hell.