A Plumbing We Will Go
1940 film by Del Lord

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.
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.
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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.
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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.