''Creeps'' is a 1956

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

. It was directed by

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

, starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader and straight man of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...

and

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

). It is the 168th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges regale their three sons with tales of their past exploits, recounting instances when they worked as movers tasked with relocating furniture from haunted locales. In one narrative, they recall their assignment at the foreboding Smorgasbord Castle, where they encounter a suit of armor allegedly inhabited by the ghostly figure of

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

. Despite initial apprehension, the Stooges are reassured of Tom's benign nature. However, their determination to relocate the haunted armor leads to a series of comedic misadventures, including encounters with disruptive elements like frogs and close brushes with perilous contraptions such as a guillotine.

Cast

Credited

as Moe/Moe Jr. *

as Larry/Larry Jr. *

as Shemp/Shemp Jr.

Uncredited

Phil Arnold Phil Arnold (born Philip Aronoff Arnold; September 15, 1909 – May 9, 1968) was an American screen, stage, television, and vaudeville actor and dancer. He appeared in approximately 150 films and television shows between 1939 and 1968. Arnold ...

as voice of Sir Tom **

Johnny Kascier Johnny Kascier (born John Kacerosky; July 1, 1889May 10, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in over 90 films between 1932 and 1957. Modern viewers will recognize Kascier as the Emir of Schmow in the Three Stooges film ''Malice in the Palac ...

as Sir Tom *

as voice of Red Skeleton (stock footage)

Production notes

''Creeps'' is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of '' The Ghost Talks!'' (1949), incorporating substantial stock footage from the original film. Filmed on May 16, 1955, new scenes includes the babies (also the Stooges) and introduce a torture room sequence wherein Moe's trousers undergo an unfortunate encounter with slicing implements. Notably, during Sir Tom's narrative, a brief shot depicts the Stooges smoking, followed by a recycled clip where they are not. In addition, ''Creeps'' incorporates the distinctive sounds of the

NBC chimes The NBC chimes are a sequence of three tones played on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) broadcasts. Originally developed in 1927 as seven notes, they were standardized to the current three-note version by the early 1930s, and possibly as early ...

: first, when Moe administers three strikes to Shemp's head, and again when the Stooges employ hammers on the babies' heads.

References

External links

*
''Creeps'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1956 films 1956 comedy horror films 1956 short films 1950s ghost films The Three Stooges films American haunted house films American slapstick comedy films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures short films The Three Stooges film remakes Films directed by Jules White American ghost films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films set in castles Films about father–son relationships Frame stories English-language comedy horror films English-language comedy-drama short films