Movie Maniacs is the thirteenth short subject

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

 film starring American slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 comedy trio the Three Stooges

Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...

. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are stowaways on a boxcar headed for Hollywood, or to be exact, a furniture consignment to Hollywood. Fully expecting for no good reason to become stars, and dressed for the occasion, the Stooges sneak into a movie studio—where they are mistaken for three new executives who are due to take over the facility. Given the authority, they promptly abuse it and take over the production of a movie set in hopes of shooting a blockbuster movie. Curly gets off on the wrong foot when, unable to light his match

Match

A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...

 for a smoke, spots an actress receiving a pedicure (silent star Mildred Harris

Mildred Harris

Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...

). He then strikes the match on her bare foot

Barefoot

Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. Being barefoot is regarded as a human's natural state, though for functional, fashion and social reasons footwear is worn, at least on some occasions...

, startling her. Angered, she is about to storm off the set until the trio convince her to stay. The trio then act out the love scene as they want it filmed, leading its stars to abandon the set.
Another telegram arrives with the news that three actual executives were delayed by a storm. Angered at the deception, the studio boss goes after the Stooges, who run for their lives into a room which has a couple of lions. At first Moe thinks he heard Larry growl, but when they see the lions they pile into a convenient car. One of the lions hops into the car with them and it speeds out of the studio, weaving wildly down a Hollywood street.

Quotes:

• Curly: "How're WE gonna get into movies? WE don't know nuthin' about pictures!"
• Moe: "There's a couple thousands guys in Hollywood don't know nuthin' about pictures! Three more won't make any difference!"

• Curly: "If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking 'til you DO succeed!"