Disorder in the Court (1936)
“The Stooges take the stand — and the verdict is chaos.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
The Stooges are nightclub musicians called as key witnesses in the murder trial of showgirl Gail Tempest, accused of killing Kirk Robin. Their testimony quickly derails into slapstick mayhem, complete with a musical reenactment of the crime and a panic over a "tarantula" that turns out to be the clerk's toupee. A parrot ultimately delivers the real culprit's confession, clearing the defendant amid one final watery disaster.
Cast
About the Director
Jules White — The short was directed by "Preston Black," a pseudonym for Jack White, brother of the Stooges' regular producer Jules White. The courtroom "swearing in" routine was lifted nearly verbatim from Buster Keaton's 'Sidewalks of New York' (1931), which Jules White had directed.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Released by Columbia Pictures, 'Disorder in the Court' is in the public domain because its copyright was not renewed and expired in 1964. It is one of only four Columbia Stooges shorts to lapse this way, which is why it appears constantly on budget compilations and streaming services.
Behind the Scenes
Produced and distributed by Columbia, the short was filmed over six days in April 1936 and released on May 30, 1936 — the 15th of the 190 Stooges shorts Columbia released between 1934 and 1959. The title is a play on the courtroom cry "Order in the court!"
Did You Know?
- It's the first Stooges short to spell Curly as "C-U-R-L-Y" in the titles rather than the earlier "C-U-R-L-E-Y."
- The Howard brothers' real-life father makes an uncredited appearance as a member of the gallery audience.
- The accused murderer's name, "Buck Wing," is a nod to the buck-and-wing, a vaudeville dance.
- A shot of the trio performing in court was repurposed for a 1980s Hershey's advertising campaign.
Reception & Legacy
'Disorder in the Court' is widely regarded as one of the Three Stooges' most iconic shorts, and its public-domain status has made it among their most-seen work. The courtroom-musician sequence has been endlessly recirculated, and a remastered version was issued on Blu-ray by Sony in 2024.
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