Smudge tool in PS starts working OK but soon freezes up. When it does it also freezes all tools

In PS, If I select the smudge tool it starts working OK but soon does not smudge.  When the smudge tool becomes inoperative, the action of smudge no longer works and I cannot access any tools including the close key.  Furthermore I cannot access any menu selections.  I've found that the only way I can regan use is to use the task manager to shut down the program then restart it.   This only occures whan the smudge tool is selected.  Any ideas out there???