‘A Ducking They Did Go’ ( 1939) is the 38th short comedy made by The Three Stooges for Columbia Pictures. It was photographed from Tuesday, November 15th through Friday, November 18th, 1938 and was released on Friday, April 7th 1939 (the 97th day on the Gregorian Calendar as well as being the day Francis Ford Coppola was born). Although it’s a very enjoyable prime Curly entry, I have two problems sitting though it. One is my loathing for anything having to do with killing animals for sport. When Curly manages to find a bunch of ducks to lead into the water, to their certain deaths, I thought of turning it off. Fortunately the filmmakers might have felt the same way, leading to the ‘duck revenge’ chunk of the scenario which mitigates the whole notion of the murder of ducks somehow being acceptable. (Having said that, one of my favorite dishes is Peking Duck. So I guess my feelings on this matter are kind of bullshit.) I also found myself cringing at the number of firearms pointed right in peoples faces (mostly the Stooges pointing them at each other). Has Alec Baldwin actually managed to ruin the ability to enjoy an eighty-four year old two-reeler? Aside from all this, it’s a solidly paced and tightly scripted effort. Two points of interest: when the police officer is chasing the Stooges down a sidewalk, the “HOLLYWOODLAND” sign (abbreviated to “HOLLYWOOD” in 1949) is visible in the background. And when they stop the policeman in front of the newsstand, among the magazines on offer are several copies of TIME, it being the November 14, 1938 issue. The streets these are shot on appear to be the side streets adjoining Columbia Studios, on Gower Avenue. And that, as they say, is that.