“Gypped in the Penthouse” (1955) featured a gag in which a jealous husband (Moe) is searching his home for a man (Shemp) whom he suspects of having an affair with his wife. Shemp hides under the bed while Moe searched around him. At one point, Moe’s wife convinces him to lay down on the bed, right before a mouse and a pursuing cat run up Shemp’s pants leg, causing him to yell “Oh!” and stand up, knocking the bed over and dumping Moe onto the floor.
I know memory plays tricks, but I recall the timing of the mouse and cat gag slightly differently. And I was wondering if anyone remembers this gag with the following differences:
In “Gypped in the Penthouse” (at around 13:35), the cat is in close enough pursuit that the cat and mouse enter Shemp’s pants leg at almost the same time. Consequently, there is a single reaction from Shemp.
The way I remember the gag is that the mouse is shown running up Shemp’s pants leg, followed by a cut to Shemp’s face. He gives his trademark, “Yeebeebeebeebee” reaction (in a hushed tone), but doesn’t do anything further. Then, the cat is shown running after the mouse into the pants leg, causing Shemp to give a much louder reaction, giving away his presence and knocking the bed over. (This was the single reaction he gave in “Gypped in the Penthouse”.)
The comic tension was greater, seeing Shemp trying to stay quiet, yet knowing what was coming next.
Was there another Stooges short featuring this version of the gag?
Stooges scholars?