The Yoke's on Me (1944)

Director:

Jules White

Writer:

Clyde Bruckman (story)

Release Date:

26 May 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Rejected by the armed services, the stooges decide to "do their bit" by becoming farmers. After paying $1000 and throwing in their car...

Plot Keywords:

Ostrich | Egg | Negative Asian Stereotype | The Three Stooges | Slapstick

Cast

Curly Howard	...	Curly (as Curly)
Larry Fine	...	Larry (as Larry)
Moe Howard	...	Moe (as Moe)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emmett Lynn	...	Smithers (uncredited)
Eva McKenzie	...	Ma (uncredited)
Robert McKenzie	...	Papa (uncredited)
Al Thompson	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Deputy (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules White

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Clyde Bruckman		story and screenplay

Produced by
Jules White	....	producer

Cinematography by
Glen Gano

Film Editing by
Charles Hochberg

Art Direction by
Charles Clague

Music Department
John Leipold	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures
• Screen Gems (1958) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Fouled by a Fowl

Runtime:

USA:16 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The short deals with the relocation centers set up by the U.S. Government during World War II. This was a very controversial issue, and when it was revisited in the 1970s, this short was banned from American television. It is the only Three Stooges short with that distinction.

Quotes:

Moe: [Curly is dancing and striking poses with some ostrich feathers] Hey, pin-up boy! Get to work, or I'll pin your ears back.

Stooges fight Japanese soldiers

The Yoke's on Me (1944) stars Moe, Larry, and Curly. It's all about how the stooges get rejected from the army and decide to become farmers. They buy a farm and carve pumpkins to sell. Some Japanese escape a relocation center and the stooges try to capture the Japanese.

I saw this short on a Columbia Home Video. It is not shown on television because of the World War II/racial under-tones in the film. In one scene they mention the Japanese relocation center (ex prison camps). I guess television executives did not want to offend Japanese-Americans by showing this. Of course, this kind of thing did happen, but some people like to remain in the dark about the atrocities of war.

It's not a bad short. Curly is extremely funny with the ostrich in one scene! I had a really good time watching this one.