''Do Detectives Think?'' or ''The Bodyguard'' is a 1927 silent

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short film 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 ...

starring

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

and

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

prior to their official billing as the duo

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

Production

''Do Detectives Think?'' is most notable for featuring the comedians in their familiar garb of crumpled suits and

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

s for the very first time, the standard costumes of

detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

of the time.

Plot

A Judge (Finlayson) sentences a murderer, the Tipton Slasher (

Noah Young Noah Young, Jr. (February 2, 1887 – April 18, 1958) was a champion weightlifter and actor. Biography Young was born in Cañon City, Colorado. His father, Noah Young, was a foreman of the Glenrock coal mine who later became a coal mine in ...

), to death. The murderer vows revenge on the judge. Following the escape of the condemned man, the judge engages a detective agency which sends its two least-skilled detectives (

) to protect him. In a sequence that establishes their routine, their hats blow off and land in a cemetery. They are scared to retrieve them. Stan is scared of his own shadow, thinking it is another person. Meanwhile the Slasher is in the judge's house, taking on the role of a butler. Hardy demonstrates his shooting skills to the judge, claiming his uncle was

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

. He tries to shoot an apple from Laurel's head but destroys a nearby vase. The judge's wife sees the butler with a huge knife and screams. He hides in a bedroom where Laurel and Hardy sit in bed together. The judge is having a bath. Laurel and Hardy overpower the Slasher but Hardy gets handcuffed instead of the Slasher. The judge in a large white towel falls down the stairs and an odd mask jams on the back of his head. From the back he looks like a ghost and scares the Slasher. The police arrive and arrest the Slasher. The sleuths, after many mishaps, manage to capture the murderer.

Cast

Homages

Canadian musician

Nash the Slash James Jeffrey "Jeff" Plewman (March 26, 1948 – May 10, 2014), better known by his stage name Nash the Slash, was a Canadian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he was known primarily for playing the electric violin and mandolin, as well as the h ...

chose his stage name based on the character in ''Do Detectives Think''.Nash the Slash
at the ''

Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia The ''Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia'' is a two volume encyclopedia of Canadian pop music, available in hardcover and online, detailing Canadian music from 1949 onwards. History The ''Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia'' was started by Jaimie Verno ...

'', by Jaimie Vernon ''et al.'', published 2011; retrieved May 13, 2014

References

Do detectives think
by Lordheath. Last updated on May 2, 2017.

External links

* * * * 1927 films 1927 comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films American courtroom films Films directed by Fred Guiol Laurel and Hardy (film series) Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker 1927 short films American comedy short films 1920s American films Silent American comedy films Silent American drama films {{short-silent-comedy-film-stub