Mutts to You 1938

The Stooges—Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard—are the lively owners of a thriving dog-grooming business, where their quick wits and mischievous charm keep clients and pets smiling. One day they stumble upon an infant left on the doorstep of the affluent Mannings, and a strong sense of duty suddenly takes hold. Interpreting the scene as abandonment, they, driven by a feeling of responsibility, escort the child to their apartment complex, even though the building bans infants and dogs.

When the afternoon newspaper carries a report of a kidnapping, the Stooges set out to reunite the infant with the rightful guardians. To stay close to the child, Curly dons a bold disguise as the baby’s mother, turning the situation into a tangled web of mistaken identities and comic near-misses. The trio’s efforts to keep up the ruse lead to a chance encounter with an Irish policeman, Bud Jamison as O’Halloran, who wrongly suspects they are abductors and triggers a high-spirited chase through the city.

A frantic pursuit follows as Moe and Larry push a makeshift laundry cart carrying Curly and the infant, all while dodging arrest and weaving through doors, hallways, and bustling rooms in classic slapstick rhythm. The chase tightens as the truth slowly edges into view: the Mannings’ family drama and the Stooges’ innocence eventually come to light, and the trio is cleared of any wrongdoing.

Yet the comedy crescendos in a chaotic, final gag involving a dog-washing machine. In a flurry of reversals and bungled attempts, Curly’s well-meaning meddling sends the machine into motion, producing a relentless, cartoonish sequence in which the contraption repeatedly slaps the baby’s bottom, leaving everyone in a relieved, comically exhausted mood as the infant remains safe.