Fuller Bull, the head of the ailing Daily News, confronts the reporters he hired for not getting him a story to keep up with a competing newspaper called the Daily Star Press. Bull catches three shirtmen outside; thinking they are reporters from the Daily Star Press, he immediately hires them to get a picture of visiting Prince Shaam of Ubeedarn. Word has it that Shaam has plans to marry local wealthy socialite Mrs. Van Bustle. The trio disguise themselves as servants, and work their way into a party being held at Mrs. Van Bustle's home in the honor of the prince. The Stooges all but sabotage the festivity by serving hors d'œuvresconsisting of peas and dog biscuits, along with a turkey stuffed with a live parrot. The prince leaves in disgust, with the majordomo, Flint following close behind. Undaunted, the Stooges manage to expose both the prince and his majordomo as crooks who were planning to rob the house. The next day, the Stooges tell Bull that the man claiming to be Prince Shaam is not a prince, but a crook, and they had both him and Flint arrested. As a result of their findings, Bull becomes overwhelmed with joy, and tells the people printing the paper to stop the presses for an extra. He gives the boys a large bonus, and Mrs. Van Bustle thanks the boys for saving her from being robbed by Shaam by deciding to marry Curly.
Cast
Credited
Uncredited
Symona Boniface as Mrs. Van Bustle
Judy Malcolm as Fuller Bull's secretary/party guest in white dress
Crash Goes the Hash was filmed October 11–13, 1943. It would be supporting actor Bud Jamison's final appearance in a Stooge film. A Type 2 diabetic in his later years, Jamison appeared in 16 more films before his untimely death in September 1944. A devout Christian Scientist, he died on September 30, 1944 at age 50 after refusing treatment for kidney cancer. The parrot's "Jeepers creepers! What a night!" exclamation combines the 1930s slang euphemism from "Jesus Christ" and the parrot's "What a night!' from the Stooges' 1936 entry Disorder in the Court. Even though the story and screenplay is credited to Felix Adler, this film borrows considerable dialogue, situations, and even shot set-ups from the 1937 Columbia Short New News, starring Monte Collins and Tom Kennedy, which was written by Al Giebler, Elwood Ullman and Searle Kramer.
The Stooges made many public appearances during the height of World War II in support of the war effort. The demands of the heavy touring took its toll on Curly in particular, whose timing and energy began to deteriorate. In Crash Goes the Hash, Curly's speech is slightly slower and his falsetto had begun to lose its crisp high pitch. The dialogue spoken at the lemonade table where he covertly tells Larry to take a picture of Prince Shaam features Curly talking in his normal speaking voice, which is noticeably deeper than Moe's or Larry's.
