Film / Brideless Groom

Brideless Groom is the 101st short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges, released September 11, 1947.

Voice instructor Shemp is informed that his uncle has died and left him an inheritance of $500,000. However, there's a catch: In order to collect the money, Shemp has to either be married or get married within 48 hours after the reading of the will. With just seven hours remaining, The Stooges scramble to find a wife for Shemp to no avail, in the end accidentally succeeding with Shemp's student, Fannie Dinkelmeyer—a decidedly average-looking young woman with a singing voice that's anything *but* average—whom he dislikes but who has a big crush on him. There's just one problem, though: someone tipped off the press about Shemp's inheritance, and all the women who turned him down before (including Lulu Hopkins, who *punched his daylights out*) are starting to regret their decisions...

The film is one of the four Stooge shorts in the Public Domain. You probably know it best from its appearance on Lance's TV in Pulp Fiction ("Hold hands you lovebirds!"). Its plot is also quite similar to the Buster Keaton film Seven Chances.

Tropes:

• Cat Fight: Just as he's finally marrying Fannie Dinkelmeyer, all the girls who turned Shemp down before crash the wedding and get into a huge fight over him^H^H^Hhis money. Miss Hopkins is especially aggressive. He marries Fannie as planned.
• Catchphrase: The Justice of the Peace has one: "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" It was also somewhat of a catch phrase for his actor, Emil Sitka, who would often be invited at weddings to say it.
• Dreadful Musician: Miss Dinkelmeyer's extremely cringe-worthy singing voice.
• Faint in Shock: Shemp dramatically faints into a chair when he hears the terms behind his inheritance. It's Parodied in that he makes sure that the chair is there first and immediately snaps out of it when Moe mentions a catch to the terms of the will.
• Gold Digger: The ladies who crash the wedding ceremony are the same that rejected Shemp when he phoned them. Of course, now that they know about the inheritance, they're much more interested in marrying him.
• Last-Second Word Swap: After Shemp gets hit by the door Moe opens.
  Shemp: (turns angrily after getting hit by the door) I oughta—
  Moe: You oughta what?
  Shemp: I oughta be a little more careful!
• Mistaken for Gay: Moe gets so happy after it seems like they've succeeded in getting Shemp hitched that he kisses Larry. A random person walking down the hall as it happens gives them a very disturbed look, and Moe promptly slaps Larry. This was rather daring in those days.
• My God, What Have I Done?: At the end of the short, when Shemp realizes he's now married to Fannie Dinklemeyer, he tries to run away screaming "HELP!" as the other Stooges grab at him.
• Never Speak Ill of the Dead:
  Moe: Do you remember your Uncle Caleb?
  Shemp: Do I? Why, that old tightwad, he'd steal flies from a blind spider!
  Moe: But Shemp, he's...
  Shemp: He's a louse and a weasel!
  Moe: Yeah? Well, he just died and left you five hundred thousand bucks!
  Shemp: Just like that old skinflint. (suddenly overcome with shock) Five hundred thousand bucks?! (whines, on the verge of tears) Poor old Uncle Caleb... like I was saying, he was a swell guy! He'd give you the shirt off his back and throw in the buttons, too!
  • If you look closely, you can see Moe has a somewhat amused expression at Shemp's sudden change of heart.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Moe told the newspaper about Shemp's inheritence. That's what ends up setting off the women's riot at the end of the short.
• On One Condition: The condition to Shemp getting the inheritance is marriage.
• Race Against the Clock: For Shemp to get married within 48 hours of the reading of the will.
• Stock Footage: Footage from this short would be reused in the later short "Husbands Beware."
• Unexpected Inheritance: Notable since Shemp apparently didn't like his uncle.
• Would Hit a Girl
  Moe, after seeing Larry grab a pistol: Wait a minute, you wouldn't hit a lady with that. (hands him a rifle) Use this it's bigger.

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