Topic: Tricky Dicks (1953)

[metaldams]

http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/146
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046460/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fcEzZL-Uxdk

Watch TRICKY DICKS in the link above



      HOLD THAT LION, for the third short in a row, gets milked again, though only for about one minute with the filing cabinet gag.  The rest of this thing is completely original.  TRICKY DICKS plays out like a school play where all the kids get a little part thrown in.  The setting is as bare as any Stooge short will get, truly a one room comedy.  Connie Cezon, a usually silent Suzanne Ridgeway, Benny Rubin, Phil Arnold, and Murray Alper all get their little walk on gags and do a fine job.  Connie Cezon does show talent and while nobody replaces Christine McIntyre, I believe she came the closest.  Her on screen chemistry with Shemp is fantastic.  Benny Rubin as the Italian crumpet eating Brit is also worthy of a mention, this would mark his first Stooge role.

      I don't really have too much more to say about this one, other than it's an overall entertaining short that has a variety show feel.  Just a lot of random, quick gags thrown in.  Would rank higher if an all time classic, focused gag could be thrown in, but still enjoyable.  Score this as a lower budget, less zany version of MEN IN BLACK.  These mostly original Shemp films will be few and far between in the future, so enjoy them while you can.

8/10

[Lefty]

Yes, "Tricky Dicks" is a pretty good Shemp short.  The supporting cast does an ab-fab job.  Connie Cezon was the best villainess of them all.  That look on her face when she tells Shemp that he's handsome says it all.  Even though it is all make-believe, how could all of those gunshots be fired with no one getting killed?

Long ago, our local TV station that showed the Stooges cut out the filing cabinet scene in "Hold That Lion," something I did not know until I got the DVDS, so I had no idea until then that it was stock footage in "Tricky Dicks."

There were so many classic quotes too.

"But gentlemen, I reiterate!"  "Not in here, you won't!"

"Antonio Zucchini Salama Gorgonzola de Pizza!"  "Sounds like a bad meal."

"I know he's guilty, but the D.A. says we can't make a case out of 11 bottles."

[Big Chief Apumtagribonitz]

Benny Rubin was quoted in later years dissing the stooges pretty badly.  That said, however, George Burns has a great story in one of his books about Benny's vaudeville act: Benny made sure he followed the dog act, and would enter doing a soft shoe dance.  After a while he would slip, look at the sole of his shoe, and give a dirty look towards offstage.  Then he'd slip again, and again the dirty look and some pretend mumbling.  Pretty soon he's slipping all over the stage in pretend dog-shit, and trying to carry on with his act while getting more and more furious.  I find this hilarious.

[Shemp_Diesel]

As I've said before, whenever Moe, Larry and Shemp are playing detectives, it is almost always a classic 16 or 17 minute trip. A short packed with many great lines and some good slapstick, too. Although--now that I think about it--the gags in this one seem to be more on the verbal side, rather than Moe dishing out punishment.

This short--and the later Blunder Boys--shows that the boys were still capable of making an original hit, rather than the slate of hodgepodge recycles that are coming up soon.

Maybe my favorite part is a little thing, where after Moe pokes Shemp in the eyes, you hear Shemp saying "don't spin me Moe, don't spin me." Then we see Moe grasping Shemp's tie and spinning it around as Shemp goes "oh." And exactly how many shots did Murray Alper squeeze off. Some reports have it being 80 (lol).

I also enjoyed the boss, "B.A. Copper." Why you no good, playing cards while the whole town is in an uproar.

9.5 out of 10....

[Dr. Hugo Gansamacher]

Of course, as there were a few minutes of Hold That Lion that didn't get scavenged into the preceding two shorts, they had to appear here. Amazing that they didn't reuse the credits. But I don't mind seeing Moe give Shemp the punch in the face by transfer of motion from a kick in the shoe. By the way, what is going on with the chief of detectives' eyes, anyway?

I counted (subject to error) 83 shots from the thrill killer's revolver. That's quite a magical six shooter. I can't say that I find the gunplay funny. Okay, maybe the bullets that ricochet metallically off the Stooges' posteriors, but beyond that, I find the business rather painful to watch.

[Kopfy2013]

'How dare you look like someone I hate'

Choppers confessions.

These were the high points for me.

I give it a 6.

[Paul Pain]

How can no one mention the ever increasingly loud telephone that gets Moe in a rage?  There are a lot of great bits in this one, but I just don't get the love for Connie Cezan, who is hammy if anything good in this one.  I guess maybe if the role calls for bad acting... I digress.  And you know my rule about chiminipanzees: they are terrible EVERY SINGLE TIME.

This short needs Bud Jamison, pronto (I know we can't, but I still am going to wish!)!

I wish I had a 6-shooter that holds 83 bullets, but I ain't Murray Alper either!  But you have to like how Moe throws him out when he tries to confess earlier in the short.

I give this 9/10.  Not a classic, but always worth watching.

 

[Larrys#1]

Always enjoyed this one. Moe yelling in the phone, "Detective Bureau! Sergeant Moe speaking!" Talk about bad phone etiquette, lol. And the beginning with Shemp and "Slick Chick" was a funny one. Then the scene with Shemp and the monkey was pretty funny. I also like the ending shooting scene with that Slug McGurk killer guy (whatever his name is), though I did feel it dragged on a bit longer that it should've.

9.5/10

[Shemp_Diesel]

I don't know if anyone creating these short films kept track of the exact number of shorts, but this is the 50th Shemp short & the 3rd in a row to pirate some footage from Hold That Lion--although I don't hold that against the enjoyment I get from this episode.

I guess the real "anniversary" moment was the 100th short overall, the previously mentioned Lion, with, of course, the Curly cameo...

 

[Allen Champion]

This is one of my favorite Shemps.  Hilarious from start to finish, mainly because of the Stooges absolute mastery of and expert timing in Verbal Humor, which they never get any credit for.  This should have been the pilot for a Three Stooges TV show!

[Daddy Dewdrop]

Another solid Shemp outing.  I rank it #17 (Shemp) and #68 overall.