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» » Dopey Dicks (1950)

Short summary

The stooges become detectives and go to the aid of girl in the clutches of a mad scientist. The boys arrive at a spooky mansion where the madman is building a mechanical man that needs a human head. After declining the opportunity to supply a stooge-head for the experiment, they find the girl and escape, only to wind up in a car driven by the headless robot.

Christine McIntyre is wearing the same wardrobe as the previous short "Hugs and Mugs".

Detective Sam Shovel is a nod to hard boiled film noir detective Sam Spade played by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Columbia production number 4131.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Aiata
    For pure entertainment, this is one of the best Three Stooges short films EVER, one that features a nonstop suspenseful (and hilarious) chase scene for one minute less than the entire 15 minutes. I've always found these ones which mix suspense, a little horror, a lot of slapstick and a good chase to be among the most fun to watch in this long series.

    What you usually get - as in this film - are insane chases around different rooms connected by a main corridor. The Stooges are then chased by either crooks, insane people, monsters or gorillas. In "Dopey Dicks," it's two guys who recently escaped from a mental institute and want to play "Dr. Frankenstein." These need a head to cut off and put on their "robot." Stanley Price, as "Ralph," the assistant/butler, is hilarious, as is Philip Van Zandt as the "Professor."

    In the opening minute, which sets the stage, we see a corny sign on a door which says, "Sam Shovel, Private Investigator." (Sam Spade was a famous "dick.")

    Series regular Christine McIntrye then bursts in with: "You've got to help. Strange men are following me!"

    SHEMP: "They'd be strange if they WEREN'T following you."

    McIntyre's pleading leads to boys to the spooky house, where they pretend to be detectives. The rest of the film (with a constant thunderstorm in the background) has the boys running away from room to room, literally trying to save their heads as the two weird men with swords, daggers or meat cleavers chase them. In other words: a lot of fun!
  • comment
    • Author: Goltigor
    This Stooge short is very spooky with the storms,wind,and everything!Christine McIntyre is very good in this and as always she is very beautiful and she is My favorite actress in the Stooges episodes.Stanley Price and Philip Van Zandt put on good performances.This is a great one to watch during Halloween time!
  • comment
    • Author: Hulore
    This time they pass themselves off as detectives to help a woman who's been chased by a mad scientist and his thugs, and she later on gets kidnapped and Moe, Larry, and Shemp come to her rescue and get lead to a haunted house. Inside the mad scientist invents a headless robot that needs a head and the Stooges become eligible candidates!

    I loved Shemp's impersonation of 'Desmond of the Inner Sactum"! That cracks me up everytime I hear it! IMHO, Shemp was a very chrismatic, energetic, and very colorful member of the Stooges as well as other comedians from the past, too. That's why he's always been my favorite of the Stooges. Heck, Shemp makes Stan Laurel look like a null, dull, and void, and a whiny crybaby.

    I also laugh at the grand finale of this episode when we see Moe, Larry, Shemp, and the girl in a car being driven by the headless robot! Another episode of the Stooges that is a definate must-see!
  • comment
    • Author: Dogrel
    "Dopey Dicks" is a SPLENDID Three Stooges short directed by the very capable Edward Bernds. Larry, Shemp, and Moe are janitors mistaken for private-eye detectives. Since an innocent young lady's life is at stake, the Stooges willingly go along with their unexpected vocations. (DON'T read the rest of this commentary if you haven't yet seen this short.)

    Stooge author Jeffrey Forrester accurately pointed out that "Dopey Dicks" contains some distinctly scary moments. Some examples are: Larry and Shemp watch the kooky butler Ralph (Stanley Price) leading Moe into an adjoining room to introduce him to the equally kooky professor (Philip Van Zandt), then Ralph gives a very sinister laugh after telling Larry & Shemp not to go away; Ralph's shadow can be seen holding a cleaver as he approaches Moe in hiding; Larry hides under a table with his head protruding upward from between the table's two halves, then Shemp becomes horrified to see Larry's head and thinks he's been decapitated; and finally, the Stooges & the girl (Christine McIntyre) hitch a ride and soon discover that the driver is the professor's headless mechanical man. Other highlights: As Moe and Shemp crawl on their hands & knees to search for the girl in the detective's office, they unexpectedly collide with a loud thud. In order to hide from the the two mad fiends, Larry disguises himself as a lamp.

    "Dopey Dicks" is one of the best Three Stooges shorts featuring Shemp as the third Stooge. The supporting cast is excellent as well: Christine McIntyre, arguably the most beloved Stooges supporting actress, is terrific as the scared, helpless young lady who mistakes the boys for detectives. Philip Van Zandt, a prominent Stooges villain, is superb as the mad scientist. And Stanley Price was PERFECT for the role of Ralph, a frighteningly sinister butler.
  • Complete credited cast:
    Shemp Howard Shemp Howard - Shemp (as Shemp)
    Larry Fine Larry Fine - Larry (as Larry)
    Moe Howard Moe Howard - Moe (as Moe)
    Christine McIntyre Christine McIntyre - Louise
    Philip Van Zandt Philip Van Zandt - Professor Potter
    Stanley Price Stanley Price - Ralph
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