A Gem of a Jam 1943

During the graveyard shift, the night crew—Moe Howard, Curly Howard, and Larry Fine—work as janitors at a quiet medical facility, and their routine quickly spirals into a catalog of ridiculous mishaps. A sudden electric shock from a faulty outlet sends Moe into a wild, improvised dance that somehow resembles a Cossack performance, setting the tone for the kind of chaos that defines their night. Soon after, Curly finds himself with his head trapped inside a fishbowl, and Moe and Larry scramble to free him, tugging and twisting the glass vessel until Curly pops free—only for the gag to twist again when Curly feels an odd tickling sensation inside after swallowing a stray goldfish.

The trouble deepens when a fleeing robber, wounded in a botched getaway, stumbles into the doctor’s office seeking shelter, assuming the place is a genuine medical facility. The Stooges, thinking they’re treating patients, assume the roles of makeshift physicians and administer anesthesia with a rubber mallet, a gag that escalates as they concentrate on their work with backs turned. In a chaotic moment, the immobilized criminal slides off the gurney and crashes through a window, landing in a waiting police car beneath. The remaining gang members, spooked by the commotion, scatter, but not before law enforcement closes in to round them up.

Seeking safety from the ensuing uproar, the trio retreats into a shadowy storage area where a jittery night watchman Dudley Dickerson and a cabinet of eerie props—most notably a hulking jack-in-the-box—add to the surreal atmosphere. Curly, pressed into plaster that dries at a frightening speed, ends up immobilized and ghostly pale, his sudden appearance terrifying everyone around him and amplifying the comic farce of the night. The whole sequence blends brisk chase gags with physical humor, turning a routine night into a parade of surprised reactions, quirky sounds, and a cascade of slapstick moments that linger in the memory long after the frolics have ended.