The Three Stooges are to return to cinema screens, thanks to the Farrelly Brothers.

Warner Bros have given the writer-director team behind Dumb and Dumber the green light, and the movie is expected to be released in summer 2005.

The film will place the slapstick icons Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Jerome "Curly" Howard in the modern world.

According to Hollywood bible Variety, Warners are desperate for a high-profile comedy, and are placing their hopes on this revival.

The original trio made more than 100 two-reel shorts in the Thirties and Forties, releasing up to a dozen titles in a year.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly's current project is the comedy Stuck on You, about conjoined (Siamese) twins, which will be released in the States in December.

To buy The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History from Amazon