SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 16:00 Min. (Black & White)
Jules White is credited as having produced and directed this 1956 Stooges comedy – though he only filmed the opening sequence. For historical purposes, For Crimin’ Out Loud presents the Stooges’ last Columbia Pictures episode released that Shemp Howard had filmed some new footage for – prior to his passing in late 1955.
Specifically, the opening sequence at the Miracle Detective Agency is this comedy’s sole new footage. The remaining 70-75% of the plot is archive footage lifted from and slightly re-edited/dubbed by White from 1949’s Who Done It?, with a Stooge group close-up or two evidently taken from other stock footage.
Note: Who Done It? was actually filmed by writer-director Edward Bernds back in December of 1947, but Columbia Pictures didn’t release it to theaters until March of 1949.
In the big city, the Stooges comprise the Miracle Detective Agency. At their office lab one night, as the trio ineptly conducts forensics/ballistics tests, former client Councilman Goodrich (Sitka) calls desperately needing their help.
Suspecting that the missing Goodrich has been deep-sixed (or soon will be) by nefarious relatives, the Stooges descend upon the spooky family manor to investigate. Awaiting them is Goodrich’s sinister heirs (along with their butler and a monstrous henchman), who have no intention of letting these would-be rescuers escape alive.
Moe: Moe Howard
Larry: Larry Fine
Shemp: Shemp Howard
Newspaper Delivery Girl: Barbara Bartay
Councilman Goodrich: Emil Sitka (archived footage)
Delores – Goodrich’s Niece: Christine McIntyre (archived footage)
Delores’ Husband: Ralph Dunn (archived footage)
Nikko the Henchman: Duke York (archived footage)
Butler: Charles Knight (archived footage)
Notes: Having retired from Hollywood in 1954, this comedy is among McIntyre’s last official film credits due to her recycled footage. The same also applies to her late co-star, Duke York,
REVIEW:
On its surface, it’s easy to assume For Crimin’ Out Loud is merely another cheap and lazy retread riding the Stooges’ descent in the final years of their 25-year stint with Columbia Pictures. Still, among the innumerable remakes the Stooges were pushed to do of their own prior work, this one actually merits a fair comparison to its 1949 predecessor.
Speaking of the original film (Who Done It?), the 1949 version seemingly has two distinct advantages: 1. A far better yet hardly clever title; and 2. The haunted house/mystery noir cliché spoofing gags are no doubt far fresher the first time that audiences watched them. Still, director Edward Bernds’ two opening sequences (one featuring Emil Sitka’s panicked “Goodrich” and the other with character actor Dudley Dickerson as an office building janitor saving the tied-up Stooges from their unexplained predicament) are easily replaceable.
Having Jules White subsequently replace these scenes with sadistic Stooges forensics lab slapstick somehow makes his remake gel better. Apart from a few minor discrepancies (i.e. tweaks in Moe and Shemp’s hairstyles), White syncs together Bernds’ old footage remarkably well with the Stooges, as they now appeared in late 1955.
In either film, two sequences remain timeless Stooge gems. One is Shemp’s cartoony matching-of-wits against Christine McIntyre’s sultry femme fatale trading off on the old poisoned-cocktail switcheroo game. A game McIntyre, in particular, concocts a delightfully naughty vamp. The other applies to the storyline’s amusing lights-out battle royale at the finish.
Given a choice between the two films, despite its weak title, the remake actually delivers the better Stooges mystery caper. It’s just a shame that For Crimin’ Out Loud’s credits make it seem as though White came up with this comedy’s witty noir hijinks all by himself. In homage to one of Shemp’s best (and overlooked) Stooge capers, credit should be allotted to Edward Bernds and a spot-on guest cast nearly eight years after they had made their contributions.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7½ Stars
