Disorder in the Court (1936)
Called as witnesses at a murder trial, the Three Stooges reduce the courtroom to rubble: taking the oath, giving testimony, and re-enacting the night of the crime all go disastrously wrong. Their bungling eventually turns up the evidence that clears the accused nightclub dancer and points to the real killer.
A Columbia two-reeler from the Stooges’ peak years with Curly, directed by Jack White under his “Preston Black” pseudonym. Disorder in the Court is among the most familiar of all their shorts precisely because a lapsed copyright pushed it into the public domain, making it a fixture of cheap compilations and early home video.
Background
Disorder in the Court is a Columbia two-reeler from the Three Stooges’ peak years performing with Curly Howard, directed by Jack White under the pseudonym Preston Black. Called as witnesses at a murder trial, the Stooges reduce the courtroom to rubble, botching the oath, their testimony, and a re-enactment of the crime, before their bungling inadvertently turns up the evidence that clears the accused nightclub dancer and points to the real killer.
What to watch for
Watch for how thoroughly the short destroys courtroom decorum through pure physical chaos, a structure that gives the Stooges’ trademark slapstick a clear, escalating target to work against. It is among the most widely seen of all their shorts specifically because a lapsed copyright pushed it into the public domain early on, which made it a fixture of cheap film compilations and early home video releases long before many of their copyrighted shorts were as easily available.
