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A Plumbing We Will Go

1940 film by Del Lord

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ4658927 ↗
Source-derived summary

A Plumbing We Will Go is a 1940 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 46th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are destitute vagrants, brought to trial on charges of chicken theft. Following their acquittal, the trio tries to procure a free meal by fishing in a pet shop aquarium. Officer Kelly intervenes, instigating a pursuit that compels the Stooges to adopt the guise of plumbers as a means to evade arrest.

Assuming their roles as "plumbers", the Stooges secure a position in an opulent residence. Their ineptitude unfolds dramatically, resulting in the destruction of the house's entire plumbing infrastructure. Curly, in attempting to address what he perceives as a bathroom leak, constructs a labyrinthine network of pipes, ensnaring himself. Simultaneously, Larry digs up the front lawn in an unsuccessful quest for the water shutoff valve. Moe and Curly, in their misguided efforts, connect a water pipe with another conduit containing electrical wires.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “A Plumbing We Will Go” as 1940 film by Del Lord. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Plumbing, Will and film.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1940, 1934, 1959—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1940-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Plumbing, Will and film providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “A Plumbing We Will Go”, the useful work is to connect “1940 film by Del Lord” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4658927. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1934 and 1959.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “A Plumbing We Will Go”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow A Plumbing We Will Go primary sources, A Plumbing We Will Go archive and Plumbing research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “A Plumbing We Will Go”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “A Plumbing We Will Go” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.