Crime on Their Hands
| Crime on Their Hands | |
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| Directed by | Edward Bernds |
| Produced by | Hugh McCollum |
| Written by | Elwood Ullman |
| Starring |
Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Kenneth MacDonald Christine McIntyre Charles C. Wilson Cy Schindell |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Edited by | Henry DeMond |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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17:44 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Crime on Their Hands is the 112th short film released by Columbia Pictures in 1948 starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). The comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
The Stooges are janitors at a newspaper who stumble on a hot story about the priceless Punjab diamond being stolen by a crook named Dapper (Kenneth MacDonald). With dreams of becoming genuine reporters, the trio head for Squid McGuffy's cafe asking for the whereabouts of Dapper. They manage to convince everyone at the restaurant that they are actually police.
While searching several rooms above the cafe, the Stooges stumble on Dapper's moll (Christine McIntyre), who hastily hides the Punjab diamond in a candy dish. The boys refuse to leave, suspecting Dapper will eventually show his face. While killing time, Shemp starts to flirt with the moll, and manages to swallow the ice along with some mints from the candy dish. The gal nearly has a nervous breakdown but quickly discovers the Stooges are nothing more than reporters. She calls in Dapper and his henchman Muscles (Cy Schindell) and frantically try to pry the diamond out of frazzled Shemp.
After all else fails, Dapper decides to cut him open. Moe and Larry are locked in a closet by Muscles while Shemp is tied down on a close by desk-turned-operating table. As luck would have it, there happens to be a bag of tools in the closet, which Moe and Larry use to saw their way out of the closet, and right into a gorilla's cage on the other side of the wall. The gorilla knocks Moe, Larry, Dapper, and Muscles cold. The beast, however, befriends Shemp, and helps him cough up the diamond.
The title Crime on Their Hands is a parody of the expression "time on their hands." The press room scene was recycled in 1956's Commotion on the Ocean, while the remaining portion of Crime on Their Hands was utilized in 1955's Hot Ice. It is a partial remake of the 1942 Andy Clyde short All Work and No Pay.
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