Crazy House
Encyclopedia
Crazy House is a 1943
comedy film
starring Ole Olson
and Chic Johnson
as a pair of comedians who try to make a film with no budget, no story and no clue. Complications ensue when the final reel goes missing at the film's premiere. Cass Daley
costars. Stooge
Shemp Howard has a small role in the film. The film also features cameo appearances by Count Basie
, Basil Rathbone
and Nigel Bruce
(in the roles of Sherlock Holmes
and Dr. Watson), and Andy Devine
among others.
alumni lead by Shemp Howard as "Mumbo." Fred Sanborn
, who was the fourth Stooge in the team's debut feature Soup to Nuts
plays "Jumbo." And Frank Mitchell
in the patsy role as "Dumbo." Mitchell was part of the Three Stooges team twice in his career; a brief tenure with Ted Healy
in the early vaudeville days of the team, and again in the 70's taking over for an ailing Moe Howard
(Mitchell was the only actor to ever officially replace Moe Howard as a Stooge).
Crazy House is the only appearance of this unofficial team of Stooges, and the only known footage of Frank Mitchell as a Stooge in any capacity.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Ole Olson
Ole Olsen (comedian)
John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen was an American vaudevillian and comedian.Born in Peru, Indiana, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1912 with a degree in music and hit the Vaudeville circuit...
and Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson
Chic Johnson was the barrel-chested half of the Swedish-American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched laugh.-Background:...
as a pair of comedians who try to make a film with no budget, no story and no clue. Complications ensue when the final reel goes missing at the film's premiere. Cass Daley
Cass Daley
Cass Daley was an American radio, television and film actress, singer, and comedienne. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s....
costars. Stooge
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
Shemp Howard has a small role in the film. The film also features cameo appearances by Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
and Nigel Bruce
Nigel Bruce
William Nigel Ernle Bruce , best known as Nigel Bruce, was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes...
(in the roles of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Dr. Watson), and Andy Devine
Andy Devine
Andrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
among others.
The Three Stooges
The film contains a trio of veteran Three StoogesThree Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
alumni lead by Shemp Howard as "Mumbo." Fred Sanborn
Fred Sanborn
Fred Sanborn was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and musician. He was most notable as a member of Ted Healy's comedy troupe Ted Healy and his Southern Gentlemen .Sanborn appeared frequently in the group's early stage acts...
, who was the fourth Stooge in the team's debut feature Soup to Nuts
Soup to Nuts
Soup to Nuts is an American feature film written by Rube Goldberg and directed by Benjamin Stoloff, which marks the film debut of the comic trio who would go on to become known as the Three Stooges...
plays "Jumbo." And Frank Mitchell
Frank Mitchell (actor)
Frank Mitchell was an American film actor. He appeared in over 70 films between 1920 and 1980.-Career:Frank Mitchell was a short, stocky, mischievous-looking comic and acrobat who got his start in entertainment by entering contests imitating Charles Chaplin...
in the patsy role as "Dumbo." Mitchell was part of the Three Stooges team twice in his career; a brief tenure with Ted Healy
Ted Healy
Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the original creator of the Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own.- Early life :...
in the early vaudeville days of the team, and again in the 70's taking over for an ailing Moe Howard
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
(Mitchell was the only actor to ever officially replace Moe Howard as a Stooge).
Crazy House is the only appearance of this unofficial team of Stooges, and the only known footage of Frank Mitchell as a Stooge in any capacity.
Cast
- Ole OlsenOle Olsen (comedian)John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen was an American vaudevillian and comedian.Born in Peru, Indiana, he graduated from Northwestern University in 1912 with a degree in music and hit the Vaudeville circuit...
... Himself - Chic JohnsonChic JohnsonChic Johnson was the barrel-chested half of the Swedish-American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched laugh.-Background:...
... Himself - Cass DaleyCass DaleyCass Daley was an American radio, television and film actress, singer, and comedienne. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s....
... Herself/Sadie Silverfish - Martha O'Driscoll ... Marjorie Nelson, alias Marjorie Wyndingham
- Patric KnowlesPatric KnowlesReginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
... Edmund 'Mac' MacLean - Percy KilbridePercy KilbridePercy W. Kilbride was an American character actor. The son of Irish immigrants, he made a career of playing country hicks, most memorably as Pa Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle series of feature films.-Career:...
... Col. Cornelius Merriweather - Hans ConriedHans ConriedHans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...
... Roco - Leighton Noble ... Himself
- Richard Lane ... Hanley
- Thomas GomezThomas GomezThomas Gomez was an American actor.Born Sabino Tomas Gomez in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater during the 1920s and was a student of the actor Walter Hampden...
... N.G. Wagstaff - Billy GilbertBilly GilbertBilly Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
... Sid Drake - Edgar KennedyEdgar KennedyEdgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
... Judge - Andrew Tombes ... Horace L. Gregory
- Chester CluteChester CluteChester Clute , was an American actor familiar in scores of Hollywood films from his debut in 1930. Diminutive, bald-pated with a bristling moustache, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles, consisting usually of one or two lines, in nearly 250 films. He died of a heart attack aged 65...
... Fud - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
... Hotel clerk - Shemp Howard ... Mumbo
- Fred SanbornFred SanbornFred Sanborn was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and musician. He was most notable as a member of Ted Healy's comedy troupe Ted Healy and his Southern Gentlemen .Sanborn appeared frequently in the group's early stage acts...
... Jumbo - Count Basie OrchestraCount Basie OrchestraThe Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
with Jimmy Rushing and Thelma Carpenter