Dizzy Detectives is the 68th short film

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

 starring the American slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 comedy team the Three Stooges

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,...

. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

After an attempt at installing a door with mishaps galore, the boys are recruited by the police chief (Bud Jamison

Bud Jamison

Bud Jamison was an American film actor. He appeared in 450 films between 1915 and 1944.-Career:...

) as police officers. The head of the citizen's league, Mr. Dill (John Tyrrell

John Tyrrell (actor)

John Tyrrell was an American film actor. He appeared in over 250 films between 1935 and 1947.-Career:Tyrrell is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges short subjects. Like many actors in the Stooge comedies, Tyrrell was a salaried contract player...

), warns the police commissioner that he must capture the ape man that is terrorizing the city, or he will have his job.

The boys get a tip that the ape man is burglarizing a particular store and head out to catch him. They patrol the store, with Curly pausing for a while in a rocking chair

Rocking chair

A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands of wood attached to the bottom of the legs . The chair contacts with the floor at only two points, giving the occupant the ability to rock back and forth by shifting his/her weight or pushing lightly with his/her feet...

 aside a cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

 whose tail

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...

 happens to swing simultaneously with the rocker. The tail gets caught eventually, causing the cat to screech, and Curly to scurry away.
While there, they encounter a live gorilla, and the thugs that are running the racket, including Mr. Dill, who is conspiring to remove the chief so he can be the successor. The gorilla was taken from a circus and not used to this job. The Stooges proceed to beat up the thugs with all manner of fights. After encountering a fake guillotine

Guillotine

The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...

 set, which shocks Larry and Moe, Curly disposes of the gorilla by head butting him. But beforehand, the gorilla drinks a bottle of nitroglycerin the thugs were carrying. This causes the gorilla to explode. At the end, Curly growls at the severed gorilla head he is holding, which growls back at him.