Production Information
Title: Space Ship Sappy
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 178
Release Date: April 18, 1957
Running Time: 16:3
“Sunev is Venus spelled backwards, but don’tchu tell somebody, it’s a secret!”
(Benny Rubin)
Space Ship Sappy Short Take
Vagrants Moe, Larry and Joe answer a want ad for merchant seamen, and arrive at the futuristic house of eccentric Professor A. K. Rimple, and his beautiful assistant/daughter. Rimple’s house is actually a rocket ship, and the Stooges find themselves shanghaied for a trip to the planet Sunev (Sunev is Venus spelled backwards, but don’tchu tell somebody, it’s a secret!). Exploring the planet surface, the Stooges are captured by amazon cannibals and inadvertently saved by the arrival of a giant-sized reptile monster. Returning to the ship, the boys accidentally knock out the Rimples, and are left to pilot the ship to safety by themselves before the monster destroys it.
Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Jules White |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Jack White |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Joe Besser Benny Rubin Doreen Woodbury Emil Sitka Lorraine Crawford Harriette Tarler Marilyn Hanold |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Edited by | Saul A. Goodkind |
Production Notes
Space Ship Sappy was filmed on August 27–29, 1956. 49-year-old Joe Besser suffered a mild heart attack shortly after filming was completed. Production of the Stooge shorts went on hiatus to allow Besser time to recover. Production eventually resumed on November 19 with Horsing Around.
Space Ship Sappy features Moe and Larry’s more “gentlemanly” haircuts, first suggested by Joe Besser. However, these had to be used sparingly, as most of the shorts with Besser were remakes of earlier films, and new footage had to be matched with old. Larry mentions Elvis Presley.
