I Can Hardly Wait

I Can Hardly Wait is the 73rd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

Cast

 * Moe Howard
 * Larry Fine
 * Curly Howard
 * Lew Davis
 * Bud Jamison
 * Adele Mara
 * Al Thompson

Plot
The Stooges, who are defense workers, prepare a late night meal of a single slice of ham, and an egg. Moe and Larry share the food, and Curly gets the bone and the eggshell. While eating, Curly breaks his tooth while attempting to eat the hambone, resulting in a major toothache. Moe suggests he simply get some sleep, and in the morning the toothache will be gone.

The boys situate themselves for bed in a conveniently placed three-tiered bunk bed. Curly naturally receives the top bunk and his ascent thereto is not without mishap. While Curly does finally fall asleep, we are introduced into his dreams where he is still whining on about his current state of affairs. His persistent moaning and complaining about his toothache finally aggravate the other two into action. His fear of dentists leaves the Stooges with precious few options, leaving them to improvise their own brand of home dentistry techniques. These techniques include tying the tooth to the doorknob and violently closing it, tying the tooth to a ceiling light fixture and jumping from a ladder, and lastly, firecrackers.

At their wits' end, Curly is dragged off to the dentist, who admits to being a butcher. The first dentist is exhausted from wrestling with Curly, so he asks his partner to complete the extraction. However, the second dentist, unaware who the actual patient is, knocks Moe cold, and pulls his tooth instead. Curly tells the dentist that he is the patient. The dentist realizes his mistake and leaves out of fear before Moe wakes up. This understandably angers Moe to no end and he takes it out on Curly, who attempts to defend himself. This flailing action in the dream translates to similar action in his sleep, causing the entire bunk bed to collapse in a heap, on top of his two sleeping compatriots. This, in classic Moe fashion, angers him once again and he gives Curly a solid slug to the jaw. This dislodges the problem tooth and all is well. The boys fall asleep where they lie among the bed cushions and splintered wood.