In their 42nd short, the Stooges are on a verge of surprises, thanks to Curly's wishes, which only seem to be coincidences. In the following act, they must save a lady's deed from a trio of crooks after discovering oil.
I wish I had some tropes.
- Casual Danger Dialog: As the stooges are distracted while driving and smoking cigars, Curly is the first to notice they are about to drive off a cliff. He casually remarks with a smile on his face:Curly: Don't look now but I think we're about to be killed.
- Continuity Nod: To "Movie Maniacs".Moe: Tell me your name, kid, so I can tell your mother.
Curly: My mother knows my name.
Moe: Oh, playin' possum, eh? [slapping Curly] - Con Man: Clipper and his goons trick Mrs. Jenkins into selling her land to them for cheap without telling her how valuable it really is. Luckily, the Stooges manage to get the land back.
- Contrived Coincidence: This whole short falls into this trope and uses this as a plot point. Curly keeps wishing for various things, and they all come true almost immediately.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Exaggerated; by the end of the short, the Stooges and the Jenkins sisters are ready to get married despite having known each other less than a day.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Moe is at his most benevolent here, first offering to help repair Mrs. Jenkins' water pump to thank her for the meal she gave them, and later upon discovering that Mr. Clipper had scammed Jenkins out of her land, he rallies the other Stooges in finding the crooks and getting Mrs. Jenkins' deed back.Moe: [geniunely outraged] Why, you've been SWINDLED!
- Make a Wish: Curly makes numerous wishes throughout the film, and despite the other Stooges' skepticism, they all come true:
- He wishes for a car, which they encounter with a poster folded only to show the word "Free Auto". Which was actually left behind by the antagonists, and the sign was thrown there as one of the antagonist stepped in a mud puddle and used the poster to wipe it off.
- After taking possession of the aforementioned car, Curly wishes for cigars, whereas he suddenly opens a glove compartment that has them.
- While driving, Moe and Larry suggest roast chicken and dumplings and hot apple pie after feeling hungry. As they stop at Mrs. Jenkins' house for a handout, she happened to be making that exact food.Moe: [to Larry] He's haunted.
- When the Stooges go out to fix Mrs. Jenkins' water pump, Curly wishes they could meet some pretty girls, and the Stooges are immediately introduced Mrs. Jenkins' daughters April, May, and June.
- And after discovering that Clipper and his men conning Mrs. Jenkins into selling her home without telling her about the oil on the land, the Stooges head off to confront the crooks. During their search, Curly wishes that they'd come face to face with them. And they suddenly find them and retrieve the deed.
- And at the end, after retrieving Mrs. Jenkins' deed, Curly wishes for a Justice of the Peace, so the Stooges can get married to the Jenkins sisters. Then, suddenly, Mrs. Jenkins' brother Tim walks in...
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's never made clear if Curly's wishes are just a series of contrived coincidences or if he really does have some sort of magic power.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The farmer the Stooges encounter upon entering his barn. He leaves after giving the Stooges another chance after they ruin his saws and never appears again. Not even in the next scene.
- Who Is Driving?: The Stooges end up in the back seat of their moving car after retrieving the deed and finishing off the crooks, and almost get run over by a truck!"
- Work Off the Debt: The Stooges accidentally damage a farmer's saws; he orders them to work for him until they can pay for new saws. However, in the next scene, they weren't shown doing said work and are back out wandering the countryside. It's never established if they did work off their debt or ran off when the farmer wasn't looking.
