Malice in the Palace (1949)
“Three short-order cooks, one stolen diamond, and a heist dressed up as Santa.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
The Stooges run the Cafe Casbah Bah, a Middle Eastern restaurant where two diners turn out to be thieves plotting to steal a fabled diamond from the tomb of King Rootintootin. After a string of kitchen disasters involving spaghetti, a stray cat, and a dog, the boys catch wind of the scheme and set out to recover the gem — disguised as a trio of Santa Clauses to infiltrate the Emir of Shmow's palace.
Cast
About the Director
Jules White — Jules White, the longtime head of Columbia's short-subjects unit and the Stooges' principal director-producer, helmed this entry from a Felix Adler script. Known for fast, gag-dense slapstick and for thrift, he freely reused footage — here recycling the Santa-sleigh arrival from the earlier short 'Wee Wee Monsieur.'
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Released by Columbia Pictures, 'Malice in the Palace' 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 has appeared so widely on budget compilations and streaming.
Behind the Scenes
Produced and distributed by Columbia, the short was filmed in June 1948 and released September 1, 1949, as the 117th Stooges short. A part was originally written for former Stooge Curly Howard as an angry chef — a famous lobby card shows him in the role — but his illness forced his scenes to be cut, and Larry assumed the chef part.
Did You Know?
- The lobby card famously shows a slim, mustachioed Curly Howard who was ultimately cut from the finished short due to illness.
- The patrons' names are puns: "Hassan ben Sober" and "Ginna Rumma" (gin rummy).
- The rabbit-and-dog dinner gag had appeared in the Abbott and Costello film 'The Naughty Nineties' four years earlier.
- The infamous 2004 Pacers-Pistons NBA brawl was nicknamed the "Malice at the Palace" in reference to this short's title.
Reception & Legacy
'Malice in the Palace' is a well-known Shemp-era Stooges short, kept in heavy circulation by its public-domain status. It later featured in TBS's 1995 "Three Stooges Fright Night" special and lent its name, via wordplay, to one of the most infamous moments in NBA history.
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