grads@ut-ngp.UUCP (Steve Poole) (01/10/86)
There was this skit the Three Stooges occasionally got into. One of them would get this crazy look and start an attack on the other two. He would say "Slowly I turn. Step by step. Inch by inch. ...". I've always wondered where that came from, what it was about. Does anybody know? Steve Poole
paver@milano.UUCP (Bob Paver) (01/10/86)
In article <2778@ut-ngp.UUCP> grads@ut-ngp.UUCP (Steve Poole) writes: >There was this skit the Three Stooges occasionally got into. >One of them would get this crazy look and start an attack on >the other two. He would say "Slowly I turn. Step by step. >Inch by inch. ...". I've always wondered where that came from, >what it was about. Does anybody know? > >Steve Poole My weak recollection is that the quote is from an Edgar Allen Poe poem, but I'm probably wrong.
boren@randvax.UUCP (Pat Boren) (01/13/86)
>One of them would get this crazy look and start an attack on >the other two. He would say "Slowly I turn. Step by step. >Inch by inch. ...". I remember that in an "I Love Lucy" episode, too. I think it's an old vaudeville routine. -- Patricia Boren decvax!randvax!boren boren@rand-unix.arpa
gbr@mb2c.UUCP (Jerry Ruhno) (01/13/86)
> There was this skit the Three Stooges occasionally got into. > One of them would get this crazy look and start an attack on > the other two. He would say "Slowly I turn. Step by step. > Inch by inch. ...". I've always wondered where that came from, > what it was about. Does anybody know? > > Steve Poole It would happen whenever someone mentioned Niagara Falls.,.@#ag?.% NIAGARA FALLS...SLOWLY I TURN STEP BY STEP INCH BY INCH and I grabed him and choked him and kicked him,.,kj(*$#^&&(%$^^%()_%$E_)($ ..,,ds9jn9843(*&%#((*KMNI dlj jlkdksjdkjffj *&$ke. dv Sorry about that. I just lose control when somebody mentions that name to me. What name you ask? Why, Niagara Falls..,/*(&$(*ke896&*%^ NIAGARA FALLS...SLOWLY I TURN STEP BY STEP INCH BY INCH..*(*&^K6787kj7 jlk9*&3$%%^ kl738*&&./.,8 Jerry 'Sorry about that' Ruhno epsilon!mb2c!gbr
tommyo@ihuxw.UUCP (Tom O`Connor) (01/14/86)
The skit was "Niagra Falls". They did it in vaudeville, and must have put it in at LEAST one of their 2-reelers. It was something about one of them losing a love or something at Niagra Falls, and never wanting to hear the name of the place. Naturally, the words come out from one of the Stooges ( I don`t know who usually had which roll). Then the despondant Stooge would say, "NIAGRA FALLS! Slowly I turned. Step by step. Inch by inch." and then proceede to hit and pummel the other while he said what he`d done back at Niagra Falls.
paul@umich.UUCP (Paul Killey) (01/14/86)
How do you mean "where did the step by step, inch by inch" thing came from? I thought the stooges came up with it. I didn't think there were any literary allusions there. The context is that they are doing a show as vaudeville-style performers within their "regular" show. They are then called upon to save the day when the "scheduled" performers can't make it, for some reason. At least, I think so. That show ends with Curley looking at a road sign to see how far they are from Niagra Falls (for their honeymoon), and Larry and Moe (and the "girls") all say "step by step", etc. while they drive after Curley, who runs for his life. I'll bet the Stooges brought that bit from their Ted Healy/pre-short subject days to the silver screen. --paul
dlo@drutx.UUCP (OlsonDL) (01/14/86)
[] >There was this skit the Three Stooges occasionally got into. >One of them would get this crazy look and start an attack on >the other two. He would say "Slowly I turn. Step by step. >Inch by inch. ...". I've always wondered where that came from, >what it was about. Does anybody know? As I recall, one of them either was getting married and got jilted, or was married, but his wife left him on their honneymoon. Anyway, afterward whenever he heard the words "Niagara Falls", he would say, "Niagara Falls! Slowly I turn. Step by step ...". David Olson ..!ihnp4!drutx!dlo
dws@mit-eddie.UUCP (Don Saklad) (01/15/86)
But, what was the origin in vaudeville of the Niagara Falls routine?
andrew@hammer.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) (01/16/86)
This also appeared in the movie "Godspell," where the chant included
the word "moving":
"Slowly I turn. Moving step by step, inch by inch ..."
-=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!tekecs!andrew) [UUCP]
(tekecs!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay) [ARPA]