# My hands are clean. Hey nonny nonny nonny! (Movie ID) \[solved after 4 years\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253 "2010-05-30T02:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/21 "2013-03-30T10:48:42Z")
I don’t know the answer, but given the time frame most people are putting on it, I think a likely suspect is one of the rotating Universal/NBC anthology shows (Columbo, McMillan & Wife, McCloud, etc.). Those might not be the first things that would pop into your head, but my recollection is that in the hands of the right writer(s) and director, some of them had scenes that went pretty far out there. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/22 "2013-03-31T01:11:12Z")
Using **DonLogan’s** suggestion, I looked at the NBC Mystery Movies. There was an episode of _Columbo_ from 1972 that has this description: **Dagger of the Mind** > [@](#): > > Lilian Stanhope and Nicholas Frame are two actors in London. They have to act in Macbeth and the producer is Sir Roger Haversham who is Lilian’s lover. Sir Roger finds out he has been deceived by the couple and he threatens to interrupt the performance. Lilian kills him accidentally during a fight and afterwards the two actors take the corpse to his mansion, staging an accident. But Lt. Columbo is in London to learn about the new methods to investigate used by Scotland Yard. And Columbo smells something fishy in the accident. Could that be it? StG ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/23 "2013-03-31T01:42:00Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Could it be [Two For The Money](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067891/)? Could you please explain why you suggested this one? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/24 "2013-03-31T01:54:45Z")
It does sound familiar. I remember ABC had a Movie of the Week back in the early 1970s, and it may have been one of those. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/25 "2013-03-31T01:58:34Z")
I’ve been lurking here for years and remember this thread from when it started. But tonight I’ve registered and am telling you that I’m dead sure that this is the movie in question > **[Shooting Stars (TV Movie 1983) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086307/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7)** > > Shooting Stars: Directed by Richard Lang. With Parker Stevenson, Billy Dee Williams, Edie Adams, Edwin Avedissian. Two television actors who play detectives are fired when the show's star gets upset that they are getting the better parts to play. So,... You’ll know it too if you remember that the guy they were looking for was hiding out in a mental institution. The guy who suggested “Two for the Money” may well have been thinking of this movie due to conceptual similarities. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/26 "2013-03-31T01:59:14Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Using **DonLogan’s** suggestion, I looked at the NBC Mystery Movies. There was an episode of _Columbo_ from 1972 that has this description: **Dagger of the Mind** > > Could that be it? > > StG [I think we have a winner.](http://archive.org/stream/shaksperepersona00joyciala/shaksperepersona00joyciala_djvu.txt) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/27 "2013-03-31T18:35:03Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Using **DonLogan’s** suggestion, I looked at the NBC Mystery Movies. There was an episode of _Columbo_ from 1972 that has this description: **Dagger of the Mind** > > Could that be it? Hmm… Could be. I don’t recall any English accents, though. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It does sound familiar. I remember ABC had a Movie of the Week back in the early 1970s, and it may have been one of those. That’s what I was thinking originally; but it could have been an episode of a detective show. > [@E-DUB](#): > > I’ve been lurking here for years and remember this thread from when it started. But tonight I’ve registered and am telling you that I’m dead sure that this is the movie in question > > [Shooting Stars (TV Movie 1983) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086307/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7) > > You’ll know it too if you remember that the guy they were looking for was hiding out in a mental institution. Not enough information at the link. I don’t recall the brother and sister (?) hiding out in a mental institution. I recall them in a house or hotel. > [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [I think we have a winner.](http://archive.org/stream/shaksperepersona00joyciala/shaksperepersona00joyciala_djvu.txt) Ar? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/28 "2013-03-31T20:45:00Z")
OK, what I remember about the movie is this. The two main guys were looking for a guy with a bounty on him. They found him at a mental institution, hiding out by acting like a crazy person. The “Hey, nonny” girl was a legitimate inmate who the quarry revved up to go after one of the guys with a pair of scissors. Short of trying to e-mail Parker Stevenson though, I don’t know of any way to support my assertion. I also think that she was in there for killing someone. The real creepy thing was her rocking and singing in that flat voice that crazy people have “And you’ll be blith and bonny.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/29 "2013-03-31T21:24:42Z")
The phrase came from _Much Ado About Nothing_, FWIW. “And be you blithe and bonny…” ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/30 "2013-03-31T23:12:45Z")
Went and checked viewer revieews on IMDB for both “Two fore the Money” and “Shooting Stars”. I may have to change my vote here. Both movies featured “salt and pepper” leads. But the one of the reviews for the former mentions Mercedes McCambridge playing a "crazy lady. Dang, I was so sure, now I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/31 "2013-04-02T20:44:12Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Using **DonLogan’s** suggestion, I looked at the NBC Mystery Movies. There was an episode of _Columbo_ from 1972 that has this description: **Dagger of the Mind** > > Could that be it? > > StG I got the DVD and watched it. Not it. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![jtrax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@jtrax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtrax)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/32 "2013-04-29T11:43:06Z")
Hello, I think I have an answer to your question. When I was a little boy in the early 70’s my older sisters & I would watch the the tv show “The Rookies” & I am convinced that this scene happened on an episode of that show. The reason I’m convinced is that particular scene the woman was a mental patient & the police were interviewing her if I recall correctly. That scene also stuck with me because I was so unnerved about it that my older sisters used to terrorize me with it all the time by repeating that phrase; “My hands are clean, my hands are clean hey nonny nonny nonny!” I know that Netflix has the complete series of “The Rookies” and I’m going to rent them & hopefully find that episode. I hope this helps clear up any confusion. ---
**Author:** ![LaurenIpsum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@LaurenIpsum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LaurenIpsum)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/33 "2013-05-07T13:25:07Z")
Has this scene been definitively ID’ed? I’ve never seen it, but I’ve read this entire (zombie) thread and now I’m dying to know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/34 "2013-05-07T13:37:58Z")
Not yet, though **jtrax** remembers the scene from _The Rookies_ because he was tormented by his sisters. All I remember is that scene, and that the movie (or TV show) was a crime drama. That makes it difficult for me to identify it from other clues. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/35 "2013-05-07T18:42:11Z")
Someone else out there in internet land believes it was “Two for the Money”, as well. [http://faac.us/adf/messages/6087/209045.html?1279156735](http://faac.us/adf/messages/6087/209045.html?1279156735) This is not definitive, of course, as it’s just on some other message board. Look for the post dated March 27. 2010 2:48 am. ---
**Author:** ![apcavallo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@apcavallo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apcavallo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/36 "2013-07-02T18:45:54Z")
I have always had that same recollection of that movie and have had that song and crazy woman in the chair in my memory for years! From the early 70s I remember and I think it is called The Mad Room with Shelley Winters and Stella Stevens. I remember the scene where Stella Stevens hacked up Shelley Winters and at the end the family shaggy dog finds Shelley Winters hand and is bringing it all over the place and drops it at the foot of her son, hand with rings still on it! (or her nephew or something like that) Stella Stevens kid brother and sister were in an asylum so I think that’s where the crazy lady comes in. > **[The Mad Room (1969) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064617/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)** > > The Mad Room: Directed by Bernard Girard. With Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Skip Ward, Carol Cole. Ellen Hardy gets a rude awakening when she discovers that her brother and sister are scheduled to leave the mental institution where they were put... Here’s the link to the movie at IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![cathat67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cathat67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cathat67)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/37 "2013-09-15T18:42:22Z")
It was an old woman singing the song. She was in an institution. When the song ended she poked either scissors or knitting needles through her knitting. That scene was at the end of the movie when they were closing in on the “bad” guy. I think the guy the two bounty hunters were looking for had coerced the woman, and he may have used her to kill others searching for him, or giving him trouble, in the past - but not sure. I always thought the two bounty hunters were both white . Certainly wasn’t Shooting Stars - because I remember watching the movie in the early and mid 70s. I’ll keep thinking and searching, now that I know other people are interested. Update: Hmm…maybe it was Two For The Money. Just read that other thread. ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/38 "2013-09-15T23:28:03Z")
I’m thinking this thread itself would make a great movie plot. Dozens of strangers remember being traumatized by something they saw on TV when they were kids, but none of them can pin down what it was they saw. Each one remembers different details, but the “hey nonny nonny” has haunted them all for years. And then it turns out the lady with the scissors - she’s real, and she’s coming after them all, one by one… ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/39 "2013-09-16T00:07:04Z")
> [@JohnDude](#): > > Wow I remember that as well and was somewhere around 10yrs old at the time. Right around the 1069 to 1071 time period. Creepy. Wasn’t there some secret passages at the institution. Something down the basement and a ventillation shaft outside the building. From what I remember it was a made for TV movie. I wish there were a way to search for these things. I, for one, am disappointed that we can’t identify a simple made for TV movie that’s over a thousand years old. There couldn’t have been that many, back then! (But I’m bored, so I’ll poke around a bit anyway and see if I can find anything) \ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253/40 "2013-09-16T00:49:48Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > There couldn’t have been that many, back then! At the time, they were called ‘Movie of the Week’; so I’m guessing there were at least two dozen per year for at least a few years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hands-are-clean-hey-nonny-nonny-nonny-movie-id-solved-after-4-years/541253.md?page=3)