Grips, Grunts and Groans is the 20th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges, released on January 15, 1937.
Having escaped from the railroad police after stowing away on a train, the Stooges hide at a wrestling gym and are quickly hired as sparring partners. They befriend a champion wrestler named Ivan Bustoff (Harrison Greene) through their bumbling antics at the gym. His trainers, who are part of the mob, have a large bet placed on Bustoff to win the big match. But Bustoff likes to go out drinking, and after a wild night out with the boys ending in Bustoff downing "a little bit of tequila, vodka and cognac" and passing out drunk, the mobsters hire/force the Stooges to become Bustoff's managers and get him to the ring sober. In the locker room at the arena, the boys are trying to wake Bustoff up, but end up knocking him out with dumb bells and causing the locker to fall on him.
In fear, the Stooges substitute Curly, who possesses a tendency to get violent in reaction to the smell of Wild Hyacinth perfume. This can be used to their advantage. But the subsequent wrestling match is not a good time for Curly as he performs poorly. Moe then spots a woman spectator holding a bottle of Wild Hyacinth and gets it from her. By this time, the mobsters got wind of Bustoff's non-participation and are threatening the Stooges with harm if Curly does not win as planned. The Wild Hyacinth is then applied to Curly, and soon the challenger is knocked out cold along with nearly everyone else in attendance as Curly goes on a rampage using the match bell as a cudgel. The bell then slips out of Curly's hands and lands on his head, knocking him out as well.
Tropes
- Baby Carriage: While running from some train depot guards, the Stooges knock over a baby carriage - that contains a baby - and use the commotion of two women panicking over the injured infant to hide from their pursuers.
- Berserk Button: "Wild Hyacinth" perfume drives Curly into a violent, unstoppable frenzy, which is what they use to help him win the wrestling match. It then escalates into a brawl between Curly and the entire arena, including a whole riot squad of police.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Bustoff shows how much he likes the Stooges by slapping them all across the face. And that actually is why he did it.
- Big Eater: Bustoff takes the stooges out for a huge turkey dinner. What do they want for dessert? Another turkey.
- Gargle Blaster: Bustoff's drink of choice is a large tumbler filled with tequila, vodka and cognac. He finishes the drink and then happily exhales a plume of smoke.
- Identical Stranger: Bustoff (without his beard) and Curly. When Bustoff got knocked out thanks to the Stooges' antics, Curly wore Bustoff's beard and took his place in the championship match. It fooled everyone... for a while.
- One-Man Army: What Curly turns into at the end, courtesy of more Wild Hyacinth. Capable of beating up whole squads of riot policemen.
- Pro Wrestling Episode: One of the few shorts where the Stooges take to a wrestling ring. The plot being trying to keep a wrestler sober so that he can wrestle in the championship match. Not surprisingly, the Stooges flub it up entirely.
- Pro Wrestling Is Real: The wrestling match is treated with the same seriousness as a professional boxing match, and it's implied that the fight is not scripted. Granted at the time, fewer people knew about kayfabe, and moves weren't always done the "safe" way.
- No-Sell: The first boxer Curly spars with doesn't even notice when Curly punches him.
- Vodka Drunkenski: Bustoff has a strong Russian-like accent and likes his drinks of "vodka, tequila, and cognac". The plot involves the Stooges keeping him sober long enough for the title fight.
- Water Wake Up: A coach does this to the Stooges after all three get knocked out by Curly's sparring partner, and Bustoff does it too after they've already woken, just for laughs.
