Dizzy Detectives

"Get the tools? "What tools? "The tools we've been using for the last 10 years!" "Oh, those tools."

Sound familiar? Well, that's just one of my lines used in the popular Three Stooges film. The first four minutes of this are full of "carpenter" gags with the classic scene in which Curley almost saws Moe head with a buzz saw. Moe takes a real beating, plummeting at one point through the floor to the next one. When he gets upset, Larry says, "Aw, you only fell 14 feet. Whaddya getting sore for??"

While beating each other up, a man enters th room and tells them the police have accepted their applications to be detectives, so they report to the station. At the same time, the local paper's headline reads, "Mysterious Burgarlies Panic City - Police Shakeup As Ape Man Strikes Again."

The boys begin their search at night for the ape man-crook at the "Gysom Good" antiques store. In the dark and spooky store, Curly gives us some of his classic routines, such as the cat and the rocking chair, and the hat on his foot with Curly thinking it's a person (much better seen than briefly explained). The chase scene with the gorilla, the real crooks and our three boys is hilarious.

There are a lot of puns used in this story, and Moe uses a lot of funny insulting names to his two partners. Curly calls the ape "a real chininy-panzee!"

This is another of the better Three Stooges Classics. Of the DVDs I have of them, each with six episodes, this one - "Cops and Robbers" - is one of the best.

Larry, Curly, and Moe are workmen trying to install a door. It goes badly as expected. The boys are excited to be new policemen. There is an ape-man burglar on the loose and the commissioner is under pressure to find him/it. The boys receive a tip and go to find the ape-man.

This is two stories in one. I really like the door story. It's hilarious in the best Stooges way. Then there is this non-sensical switch in the story. I know the Stooges are the masters of nonsense but the writing still needs to flow better than a random flip of a switch. It completely throws me off. This is really better as two separate stories. The gorilla is an often used Stooges device. It has its fun like Curly shooting at his own foot. I'm guessing it's a robo-ape at the end. It could be more explicit. The big thing here is that this needs to be two separate shorts.

The Three Stooges short films traditionally were shown on television during the 60's and 70's on Saturday mornings aimed at children. As funny as the three comedians were, some parents felt they were too violent for their kids. The second Stooges' shorts released in early 1943 gave them plenty of ammunition to support their case.

In February 1943's "Dizzy Detectives," this Stooges classic shows decapitations, a knocked-out police commissioner, and a three-way brawl which everyone except Curly is clonked unconscious, and ends with a gorilla blown up. Directed by Jules White, who was known for his affinity with physical comedy, "Dizzy Detectives" is strangely front-ended by a four-minute clip from the Stooges' 1935 "Pardon My Scotch," where they're carpenters. The scene is the one Moe actually was sent to the hospital after falling off a table Curly had cut in half with a power saw, causing him to break several ribs. The sequence seamlessly segues to the three as police officers assigned to capture the "Ape Man" (Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, the stuntman who specialized in dressing in his own gorilla costumes.). The ape is causing havoc in the city, but is controlled by three thugs, one who wants to be commissioner of the police to rip off the city.

The violence grows as the Stooges stake out an antique store where the ape is known to frequent. In one scene Curly is lying on a sofa napping when he wakes up to discover a hat on one of his feet. Startled, he shoots at it, clipping one of his toes off. As an early teenager, Curly was cleaning a rifle when it accidentally discharged, hitting his ankle, an injury causing him to limp throughout his life. Curly also sits on a chair rocking back and forth, not knowing there's a cat beneath him with his tail waging. Curly rocks one too many times crushing the feline's tail, causing the cat to scream while sending the Stooge flailing in fright. Later, Curly finds himself stuck in a guillotine, and unknowingly pulls on a rope in an effort to free himself, only to find its blade falling upon his neck. Moe and Larry, emerging from their hideout in a trunk, see the head of a mannequin next to them the gorilla has knocked off, thinking it's Curly's head decapitated.

This is a great Stooge short, especially the fight with Pickle and his two henchmen. I always love it when the boys get into a fight as they always get beat up in the beginning but in the end wind up knocking their opponents out in their own way. Also, the ending where Curly rams his head into the gorilla's stomach after it guzzled down a bottle of nitro glycerine is a classic gag. You can see that this was definitely an inspiration for Scooby Doo.

Dizzy Detectives (1943)

**** (out of 4)

Moe, Larry and Curly are working as carpenters when they accidentally cut through the floor and fall fourteen feet into a department where a detective tells them the chief wants to see them. The boys are made police officers with their only job to track down a gorilla who has been breaking into businesses stealing stuff.

DIZZY DETECTIVES is without question one of the greatest shorts that the Stooges ever made. From the opening to the very end there's one giant laugh after another and this is certainly a case where all the great things about the Stooges are done in one short and what a memorable and hilarious one it is. Throughout their careers they played carpenters countless times but never to perfection like they do here. There are some truly hysterical moments including some stuff lifted from their 1935 film PARDON MY SCOTCH.

The truly funny stuff happens during the second half when they respond to a call saying the gorilla is involved in another robbery. There are so many hilarious moments here including the various violence that breaks out. The Stooges were always known for beating one another and they certainly lay on some good slaps and punches here. The stuff dealing with the gorilla is just priceless including the finale where Curly has finally had enough and decides to go after him. Fans of the Stooges will certainly find this one here winner.