| Love at First Bite | |
| Director: | Jules White |
| Starring: | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Christine McIntyre Yvette Reynard Marie Monteil Al Thompson |
| Cinematography: | Rex Wimpy |
| Editing: | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Producer: | Jules White |
| Distributor: | Columbia Pictures |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Love at First Bite is a 1950 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 123rd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Stooges engage in nostalgic recollection of their romantic encounters with their respective fiancées during their military service in Europe. Their partners hail from Italy, Austria, and France. To commemorate these memories, the trio partakes in a toast with copious amounts of Old Panther whisky, resulting in their rapid inebriation. In their intoxicated state, Moe and Shemp engage in a heated dispute over their sweethearts, culminating in a proposal to settle their differences through physical combat, armed with seltzer bottles.
Following Shemp's incapacitation from excessive drinking, Moe and Larry mistakenly conclude that he has perished. Subsequently, they devise a plan to dispose of his supposed remains by encasing his feet in a tub filled with cement, intending to submerge him in the ocean. As they await the cement to set, they succumb to slumber. Upon awakening, they find themselves afflicted with hangovers and amnesia, unable to recollect the events leading to Shemp's predicament.
In a hasty attempt to reunite with their fiancées, Moe and Larry resort to loading the tub with dynamite, resulting in a violent explosion that propels them onto the docks where their partners await. Shemp remains trapped in the cement, inadvertently pulling the French girl into the water upon her attempt to embrace him, dousing the other couples with the ensuing splash.
Love at First Bite was filmed August 18–22, 1948, but not released until May 1950.[1] It was partially remade in 1958 as Fifi Blows Her Top, using minimal stock footage.[2]