''Hook a Crook'' is a 1955

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 ...

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 comedian

Joe Besser Joe Besser (born Jessel Besser, August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor and comedian known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subject ...

and radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Jim Hawthorne (billed as "Hawthorne"). It is the ninth entry in the ''Joe Besser'' 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 comedian, who appeared in ten comedies at the studio between 1949 and 1956.

Plot

A gorilla escapes from the local zoo and prowls the city rooftops, enters Mrs. Van Sickle's (

Lela Bliss Lela Bliss (May 11, 1896 – May 15, 1980) was an American actress. She made her first silent film, '' Pretty Mrs. Smith'', in 1915 and appeared in at least over 40 movies until the 1960s. Career Bliss appeared in supporting roles and bit par ...

) apartment, and steals her diamond necklace. Wide Awake Detective Agency investigators Besser and Hawthorne answer the call for help, and trail the suspect to an antique dealer's offices in the same building. Thinking it may be a disguised thief, the duo confront the giant primate just as two antique thieves (

Joe Palma Joe Palma (born Joseph Provenzano; March 17, 1905 – August 14, 1994) was an American film actor. Palma appeared in over 120 films between 1937 and 1968. He was well known as a supporting player for The Three Stooges and his brief tenure a ...

Eddie Baker Eddie Baker (born Edward King; November 17, 1897 – February 4, 1968) was an American film actor. He supported Laurel and Hardy in several of their films, but is best remembered for his (uncredited) role as a boxing referee in Charlie Chaplin's ...

) enter the scene.

Production notes

''Hook a Crook'' is a remake of the 1951 film ''

'Fraidy Cat ''Fraidy Cat'' is a 1951 short subject directed by Jules White starring American comedian Joe Besser and radio disc jockey Jim Hawthorne (DJ), Jim Hawthorne (billed as "Hawthorne"). It is the third entry in the ''Joe Besser'' series released by C ...

'', itself a scene-for-scene remake of the 1943

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 ...

film ''

Dizzy Detectives ''Dizzy Detectives'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 68th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring t ...

''. Both films utilized a considerable amount of stock footage.''Hook a Crook'' at threestooges.net
/ref>

directed all three films.

References

External links

*
Hook a Crook'' at threestooges.net
''Hook a Crook'' is an American comedy short released by

on November 24, 1955. It starred

and Jim Hawthorne.

Plot

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

, who has been trained to commit crimes, is terrorizing the city. It also has stolen jewelry from a socialite, so she calls two detectives (Besser and Hawthorne) to track down the gorilla. They eventually find him in an antique store in an office building, where two criminals, who are responsible for the gorilla's criminal behavior, are waiting for them. They subdue the two men and retrieve the stolen jewelry.

Notes

* This was a remake of two shorts ''

'' (1943) and ''

'' (1951). * The original working title was ''Daffy Detectives.'' 1955 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White 1955 comedy films Columbia Pictures short films American comedy short films 1955 short films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language comedy short films {{short-comedy-film-stub