Production Information
Title: Bedlam In Paradise
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 162
Release Date: April 14, 1955
Running Time: 15:9
“Dear Uncle Mortimer…”
(Shemp)
Bedlam In Paradise Short Take
In Heaven, Shemp is confronted at the Gates by the Devil and his temptress Helen Blazes (Sylvia Lewis). Angel Uncle Mortimer (Moe Howard, in a dual role) tells Shemp that he can redeem himself if he reforms Moe & Larry. The two remaining Stooges plan to use the money Shemp left them to sell a phony fountain pen invention (“It writes under whip cream!”), thanks to the Devil’s advice.
Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Jules White |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Felix Adler Zion Myers |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Philip Van Zandt Sylvia Lewis Vernon Dent Victor Travers Symona Boniface |
| Cinematography | Ray Cory |
| Edited by | Allen Siegler |
Bedlam In Paradise Trivia
- A remake of HEAVENLY DAZE (1948), with stock footage.
- An interview with costar Sylvia Lewis (‘Helen Blazes’) appears in The Three Stooges Journal # 112 (Winter 2004).
Production Notes
- The new footage was filmed on July 9, 1954. Coincidentally, as the musical Carousel was a hit in Broadway at the time of the making of Heavenly Daze, the film version of Carousel was in production when Bedlam in Paradise was made.
- A sequence in the film’s script required a fountain pen to be propelled into the center of Larry’s forehead. This was to be achieved by affixing the pen to a wire and aiming it at a small aperture in a tin plate secured to Larry’s head. However, an error by the special effects team resulted in the pen’s sharp point penetrating Larry’s skin, causing a significant laceration and substantial bleeding. Subsequently, Moe pursued director Jules White around the set, as White had assured that the gag would be without risk.
