Flat Foot Stooges

Plot

The trio are firemen (a la 1936's False Alarms) at an engine company that still employs horse-powered engines. Sleazy salesman Mr. Reardon (Dick Curtis) fails to convince Fire Chief Kelly (Chester Conklin) that horse-powered engines are on the way out. His ideas are rejected, and he is sent on his way. Mr. Reardon, however, tries to sabotage the firehouse by committing arson. He drops a can of gunpowder into the old-fashioned pump boiler and the chief's daughter (Lola Jensen) sees him. Reardon does not know that the can has a leak, and a duck has been eating the spilled gunpowder. The duck alights on a window ledge in the station and lays an egg, which falls to the floor and explodes like a hand grenade, starting a fire. The explosion startles the chief's daughter which causes her to fall backwards and knock her head on the bed, unconscious. Before the incident takes place, the Stooges take their horses, Fanny and Annie to clean them up by engaging themselves in a Turkish bath steam, and rubbing the horses down, for the fireman's picnic. Also, Curly has an invention where he says repeatedly.: "All you have to do is to pull the string", in which the harness falls from the ceiling of the firehouse, which however, causes the two horses to run out of the firehouse.. While the fire is raging at the firehouse, the Stooges notice a mouse, and send their mascot dog, Butch, to go after the mouse, however, the mouse outwits Butch, following a struggle underneath the sink. When the alarm sounds, the Stooges rush out to look for where the fire is coming from, not realizing that it's in their own firehouse, while being stopped by a patrol man, the fire pump, with the gunpowder explodes, however, no one is hurt. They then, go on a horse and buggy, which collapses with their weight, causing Curly to grab a piece of wood, taken off a fence, in order to keep their balance. When Reardon wakes up in the fire, the Stooges turn around and return to the firehouse, where they prepare the net for him. At this time, the fire chief's daughter, also wakes up and screams at the other window where she leaps into the fireman's net, while Reardon hits the ground, unhurt. When the daughter points out to the chief that it was Reardon for starting the fire, the Stooges go after him, but they are stopped by a hole, where the Three Stooges fall in. Reardon returns now about to chase the Stooges out of the hole, as the film ends.