Production Information
Title: Don’t Throw That Knife
Studio: Columbia
Short Number: 131
Release Date: May 3, 1951
Running Time: 15:50
“Now remember… we’re census takers, not ordinary idiots.”
Short Take
The Stooges are census takers trolling through an apartment complex when they come upon a woman called Mrs. Wyckoff (Jean Willes). The Stooges learn that Wyckoff is one-half of a husband-and-wife Magician Troupe who perform regularly. Unfortunately, Mr. Wyckoff (Dick Curtis) is also an evil man-hating jealous man and a precise knife thrower who kills any perverted men who talks to his wife. When Mr. Wyckoff comes home, the Stooges make a failed effort to take cover. After several frightening threats, the trio departs as fast as their feet will carry them.
Don’t Throw That Knife Cast & Crew
| Directed by | Jules White |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Felix Adler |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Dick Curtis Jean Willes |
| Cinematography | Fayte M. Browne |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
Don’t Throw That Knife Trivia
Jean Willes was a contract Columbia player. After such Stooge short-films as “Don’t Throw That Knife”, she worked her way into minor (From Here to Eternity [1953]) and then major roles in features (Desire Under the Elms [1958] and Ocean’s Eleven [1960]).
Production Notes
- “Don’t Throw That Knife” was filmed on June 20–22, 1950. The film title is officially listed with quotation marks around it (as in “Don’t Throw That Knife”).
- Author Michael Fleming noted that “Don’t Throw That Knife” was the first effort by director Jules White that was a truly poor entry in the series. White had been alternating with Edward Bernds to direct the Stooges’ films, with Bernds’ efforts having a noticeable polish that White was beginning to lack. By the following year, a power struggle at Columbia Pictures broke out, resulting in the departure of both Bernds and producer Hugh McCollum. This left White as the sole director of the Stooges films from late 1952 to 1957 when the trio’s contract with the studio expired.
