Malice in the Palace is the 117th Columbia Pictures short subject starring the Three Stooges.
Plot[]
Shemp: Boy, if I hadn't have ducked, we'd have collided for sure. What a narrow escape!
The Stooges are running the Cafe Casbah Bah (a Middle Eastern restaurant) and attempting to prepare a meal for customers Hassan ben Sober (a play on Hasan-i Sabbah) and Ginna Rumma (Gin rummy). The meal turns out disastrous: their spaghetti dinner is spilled all over the customers' faces, so the stooges offer them a replacement meal: rabbit and hot dogs. Because a stray cat and dog make noises at inopportune times while Larry prepares the meal, Larry's meal appears to be actual dog and cat meat, which brings Moe and Shemp great grief when ordered to eat it by their customers. These two customers are thieves intent on robbing the tomb of King Rootintootin (Tutankhamun's mummy), which contains a priceless diamond. Because of their fear of a curse on the diamond, they decide they need three stooges to carry out the deed; the bumbling Moe, Larry and Shemp prove to be perfect for the job. Before ben Sober and Rumma can reveal their scheme, they discover that the Emir of Shmow has already gotten his hands on the diamond. The two plotters start wailing and, when ben Sober reveals his actual career as a doorman of the Oasis hotel (and not the royalty Moe thinks he is), he and his accomplice are thrown out of the restaurant. The Stooges then attempt to steal the diamond back from the Emir, since it is government property and would likely fetch a large reward. The Stooges arrive at the Emir's palace dressed as Santa Claus. They then manage to acquire the diamond and make a quick exit, but not before dealing with a burly guard.
Curly Howard[]
Curly as the chef, holding a cleaver in front of Moe, Larry, and Shemp.
According to The Three Stooges Journal, a part was written for Curly — a lobby card photo shot for this film features an emaciated and mustachioed Curly as a chef. Although the scene had been fully filmed, Curly's performance had been deemed as sub-par and thus was cut from the finished film. Ultimately, Larry assumed the role as the chef. Had Curly been able to appear, this would have been the second short — after Hold That Lion! — in which all four of the original Stooges appear in the same film. Sadly, Curly would not work after this, as his health steadily declined until his death in 1952.
Trivia[]
- Malice in the Palace is one of the four Three Stooges short films to enter the public domain. As a result, the short is frequently found on budget release VHS and DVD releases.