Tricky Dicks

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Tricky Dicks

Directed by	Jules White
Produced by	Jules White
Written by	Felix Adler Jack White
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Benny Rubin Connie Cezon Ferris Taylor Phil Arnold Murray Alper Suzanne Ridgeway
Cinematography	William P. Whitley
Editing by	Edwin H. Bryant
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	May 7, 1953
Running time	15' 50"
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Loose Loot
Followed by	Spooks!
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Tricky Dicks is the 147th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

[edit] Plot

The Stooges are detectives who have nearly mastered the game of Gin Rummy. Their police chief B. A. Copper (Ferris Taylor) has just about had it with their goofing off, and demands that they find the murderer of Slug McGurk within 24 hours. Right from the start, the trio have Chopper (Phil Arnold), a prisoner who attempts to confess to the crime. Unfortunately, the eloquent wording of his confession ("I am the culprit who perpetrated this incident!") confuses the simple-minded Stooges, who insist he is avoiding the question. Fustrated, the Stooges throw Chopper back in a jail cell.

The next man they bring up is a witness, an organ grinder with a monkey named Antonio Zucchini Salami Gorgonzola dePizza (Benny Rubin). The witness begins to download his information to the Stooges, but his italian looks do not match the English cockney accent that comes out of his mouth.

Next, Shemp takes a call regarding a dismissed bootlegging charge, stating "The D.A. says we can't make a case out of 11 bottles" (!). Just when all seems lost Larry returns with Chopper who says he wants to confess to the murder. However, while taking down his confession, the real killer finally shows up (Murray Alper). Upset that Chopper is going to take the credit of the murder away from him, he pulls out a gun and starts shooting everything in site. The Stooges take cover, and are trapped in their office until dePizza's monkey drops several bowling balls on the killer's head, knocking him cold. Unfortunately, Shemp was shot several times by the killer. While Moe gives Shemp a drink to help with the pain, he tells Larry to call an ambulance for Shemp, who replies "No, call a plumber." and suddenly starts leaking water from the bullet holes! Moe and Larry then shrug and decide to take a shower instead.

[edit] Further reading

Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard (Citadel Press, 1977).
The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion; by Jon Solomon (Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002).
The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg (Citadel Press, 1994).
The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).