The Tooth Will Out (1951) Plot Summary Explained

After being fired from a dish shop and restaurant for repeatedly breaking dishes, the Stooges fled from an angry chef chasing them with a cleaver. They hid in a dental office and decided to pursue dentistry as a safer career alternative. With no other options and needing steady work, they enrolled in dental school under Dr. Keefer.

Foreshadowing: Their previous jobs already established that cooking was dangerously chaotic for them, making the shift to dentistry seem like a logical escape from kitchen disaster.

• stooges dentists
• dental school
• career change
• Moe Howard
• Larry Fine
• Shemp Howard

The film glosses over their actual dental training, showing them enrolling under Dr. Keefer and subsequently graduating. As a comedy, the rapid progression is played for laughs, the implication is that despite their typical incompetence, they managed to complete the program, though the audience is meant to doubt their actual competence.

• dental school graduation
• Dr. Keefer
• training
• professional license

When the Sheriff arrived with a severe toothache, Shemp panicked under pressure and grabbed the nearest book, which happened to be The Amateur Carpenter instead of How to Be a Dentist. This mistake led him to improvise dental procedures using carpentry techniques, which were completely unsuitable for dentistry.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, their first patient already suffered from Shemp's misguided treatment, establishing his tendency to rely on the wrong methods.

• wrong manual
• carpentry book
• dental tools
• Shemp Howard
• amateur carpenter

During their very first patient encounter, Shemp attempted treatment that went terribly wrong, causing smoke to curl from the patient's mouth. This early disaster foreshadowed the bigger problems to come with the Sheriff and demonstrated that the Stooges were completely unqualified despite their recent graduation.

• first patient
• tooth treatment
• mishap
• smoke
• dental clinic

The man who visited the Stooges' dental office claimed to be the Sheriff and sought help for a severe toothache. While the film presents him as the actual Sheriff of the western town, his aggressive behavior and the quick escalation suggest he may have been another troublesome patient rather than a legitimate authority figure, the confusion fits the film's chaotic tone.

• sheriff
• law enforcement
• patient
• western town
• authority

Because Shemp was following carpentry instructions instead of dental procedures, his extraction method was fundamentally flawed. The combination of improper technique and panic led to a mishap that made the Sheriff's condition worse rather than better, triggering his violent reaction against the Stooges.

Foreshadowing: Shemp's earlier mistake with the first patient already showed smoke coming from the patient's mouth, indicating his methods were dangerous.

• tooth extraction
• mishap
• Sheriff
• dental tools
• failure

The Sheriff's confrontation was triggered by the failed tooth extraction, which worsened his toothache and left him in greater pain. Angered by their incompetence and possibly realizing they weren't real dentists, he escalated the situation to confront them directly outside the dental office.

Foreshadowing: The arrival of an 'agitated' Sheriff seeking dental help already foreshadowed a violent clash with the unprepared Stooges.

• sheriff confrontation
• escalation
• tooth pain
• outlaw
• chase

The film ends with the Stooges facing a confrontation with law enforcement after the dental disaster, but their typical pattern in the series is to escape consequences through chaos and quick thinking. Their uncertain future is left ambiguous, following the series' tradition of ending with another narrow escape rather than a clear resolution.

• arrest
• escape
• chase
• stooges ending
• comedy finale