''Dopey Dicks'' is a 1950

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is ...

). It is the 122nd entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are janitors who have just finished moving furniture and assorted items into the office of a detective. Shemp fantasizes about the exciting life of a private eye, when a beautiful blonde in distress ( Christine McIntyre) rushes in begging for help, claiming she is being followed. While the Stooges search the hallways, she quickly scribbles a note and is captured by a mysterious figure. The Stooges follow her note to a dark house on Mortuary Road, where an evil scientist (

Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt (October 4, 1904 – February 15, 1958), sometimes billed as Phil Van Zandt, was a Dutch-American actor of stage, film, and television. He made nearly 250 film and television appearances between 1939 and 1958. Life and career ...

) is building an army of robot men. Fanning out to search, Shemp finds the girl tied up and gagged in a curtained alcove at the end of the main hallway. The scientist and his assistant (

Stanley Price Stanley Price (December 31, 1892July 13, 1955) was an American film supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1956. He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild. Career Price was an actor whose artistic career sp ...

) then try to dispose of the Stooges, but the Stooges overcome the odds and escape with the girl in a car driven by one of the scientist's headless robots.

Cast

* Gene Sheldon as Headless Robot (uncredited) * William Kelley as Driving Headless Robot (uncredited)

Production notes

''Dopey Dicks'' was filmed on January 11–14, 1949, and released nearly 14 months later on March 2, 1950. The film's title is a spoof of

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

's 1851 novel ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...

''.Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 348-349; Comedy III Productions, Inc., The unseen private eye is named Sam Shovel, a play on

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

's famed detective Sam Spade. A colorized version of ''Dopey Dicks'' was released in 2007 as part of the DVD collection ''Hapless Half-Wits''.

In popular culture

''Dopey Dicks'' was one of four Stooge films included in the TBS 1992 Halloween special ''Three Stooges Fright Night''.http://www.rarehalloweenvideos.blogspot.com/2012/20/1992-1995-three-stooges-fright-night.html This short was replaced by ''

Malice in the Palace ''Malice in the Palace'' is a 1949 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 117th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures sta ...

'' in its 1995 airing.

References

External links

* * {{The Three Stooges 1950 films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Edward Bernds Mad scientist films 1950 comedy films Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films