Fling in the Ring is the 159th 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.

Plot

The Stooges are trainers for the boxer "Chopper Kane" (Richard Wessel). Their boss, Big Mike (Frank Sully), a mean-spirited prankster and mobster bets on Chopper's opponent, Gorilla Watson. He then tells the boys (after they bet all their money on the Chopper) to make the Chopper throw the fight or they will be murdered.

The Stooges try to fatten up their boxer so he will lose against Watson. However, the boys have a stroke of luck when Gorilla Watson breaks his hand (attempting to punch Moe) on fight night. Unfortunately, their boss is not pleased and sends his goons after them. After the Stooges get some Stooge-style revenge on Big Mike, they are chased by his henchmen. Shemp manages to knock them out, but ends up knocking himself out as well. Moe and Larry try to revive Shemp but accidentally revive the goons, thus they take Shemp and flee the scene.

Notes

• Fling in the Ring is a reworking of 1947's Fright Night, using ample stock footage from the original.
• In the new footage, you can clearly see the double's face (Joe Palma) for Cy Schindell (Schindell had died in 1948), despite trying to hide his appearance with a large hat.

Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard , (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg (Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry , (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).