Directed by Jules White, "Hold That Lion!" is a fine Three Stooges short starring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard. This film also marks the second appearance of the sinisterly handsome Kenneth MacDonald in a supporting role with the Stooges. MacDonald plays Icabod Slipp, a crooked investment broker who has stolen the boys' inheritance from their deceased uncle. Never being gentlemen that easily throw in the towel, Moe, Larry, and Shemp trail Slipp onto a moving train, where they risk their lives in encountering a lion on the loose! The boys eventually overcome Slipp and recover the satchel of money. (This Three Stooges short actually features FOUR Stooges; Curly Howard, who was too ill to continue working as a Stooge, makes a cameo appearance as a snoring, barking passenger on the train.)
My favorite highlights from "Hold That Lion!" include the following. While in Slipp's office, Shemp does his very famous "fighter's dance," only to receive the first punch from Slipp and get knocked out cold! While in their attorney's office, the Stooges have trouble closing some simple filing cabinet drawers. The African-American train porter (Dudley Dickerson) is hilarious as he sticks his head out the window upon encountering the lion ("Help! Help! I'm losin' my mind!"). When the Stooges realize that they are not alone in hiding from the big-eyed train conductor (Heinie Conklin), they scream as they run away from the lion. Later, while the boys are trying to sleep in their berth, Moe sticks his bare foot out the curtain, and the lion comes along and licks his foot.
"Hold That Lion!" is simply a great Three Stooges short. Footage from this film was later used in three consecutive Stooge shorts from 1953: "Booty and the Beast," "Loose Loot," and "Tricky Dicks." Director Jules White, who was known for forcing too much slapstick in his later Stooge films from the 1950s, thankfully does not go over the edge in this film, although he did come extremely close in the scene at the attorney's office in which Larry asks Moe about his itching palm. Aside from being the second Stooge film to feature Kenneth MacDonald, "Hold That Lion!" is also the second Stooge film to feature one of the most beloved character actors ever to work with the boys: Emil Sitka. Playing the Stooges' attorney Mr. Poole, Sitka recalled that Shemp was so afraid of the lion on the set that he refused to share a scene with the animal; the crew ended up having to place a giant glass plate between the lion and the Stooges.
My favorite highlights from "Hold That Lion!" include the following. While in Slipp's office, Shemp does his very famous "fighter's dance," only to receive the first punch from Slipp and get knocked out cold! While in their attorney's office, the Stooges have trouble closing some simple filing cabinet drawers. The African-American train porter (Dudley Dickerson) is hilarious as he sticks his head out the window upon encountering the lion ("Help! Help! I'm losin' my mind!"). When the Stooges realize that they are not alone in hiding from the big-eyed train conductor (Heinie Conklin), they scream as they run away from the lion. Later, while the boys are trying to sleep in their berth, Moe sticks his bare foot out the curtain, and the lion comes along and licks his foot.
"Hold That Lion!" is simply a great Three Stooges short. Footage from this film was later used in three consecutive Stooge shorts from 1953: "Booty and the Beast," "Loose Loot," and "Tricky Dicks." Director Jules White, who was known for forcing too much slapstick in his later Stooge films from the 1950s, thankfully does not go over the edge in this film, although he did come extremely close in the scene at the attorney's office in which Larry asks Moe about his itching palm. Aside from being the second Stooge film to feature Kenneth MacDonald, "Hold That Lion!" is also the second Stooge film to feature one of the most beloved character actors ever to work with the boys: Emil Sitka. Playing the Stooges' attorney Mr. Poole, Sitka recalled that Shemp was so afraid of the lion on the set that he refused to share a scene with the animal; the crew ended up having to place a giant glass plate between the lion and the Stooges.