When the words ‘Niagara Falls’ triggered The Three Stooges
Published August 30, 2023 at 11:11 am
The Niagara Falls skit is considered one of the classic bits by the Vaudeville-era comedians, The Three Stooges primarily for one reason.
Performed by the trio of “Moe” Howard (born Moses Horwitz), “Larry” Fine (born Louis Feinberg) and “Curly” Howard (born Jerome Horwitz), their comedy dates back as far as 1922 when the trio was first introduced.
However, this particular skit became famous for the line, “Slowly I turned… step-by-step… inch by inch…” which was used in a number of comedy sketches after the Stooges did it first.
That particular line indicates the character is becoming progressively more irate. Performed in their 1944 short, Gents Without Cents, the words “Niagara Falls” become a trigger to two of the characters, Moe and Larry.
The premise is a simple one: Larry has run off with Moe’s unnamed wife. Larry then takes her from city to city, trying to evade the furious Moe before finally being caught in Niagara Falls – hence the city name (likely the American side) becoming the trigger words.
Both men become so engrossed in their own tales that they attacks the innocent listener, Curly, with the violent-tinged slapstick, which consists of hitting his face, ripping his clothes or strangling him, always knocking Curly down. The attackers come back to their senses, only to go berserk again when the listener says something that triggers the old memory again.
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Keeping in mind that the skit is 80 years old so the comedy doesn’t play well by modern standards, due to the violent nature. However, back in the day, Vaudeville comedy was filled with it as the audiences loved it.
Here’s the Niagara Falls skit in its entirety.
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