“A Bird in the Head” (1946) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

A Bird in the Head (1946)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Screenplay: Edward Bernds

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Vernon Dent and Robert B. Williams

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Larry, Curly and Moe are hired to wallpaper a room.  They totally destroy it and when running away from the guy who hired them, escape into Professor Panzer’s lab.  Panzer has been on the lookout for someone whose brain he can transplant into his gorilla’s head.  Curly looks to be a perfect fit!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

A Bird in the Head was Edward Bernds first directing job!  Bernds would go on to direct over 100 projects, including many Three Stooges Shorts, two Three Stooges feature films, several Bowery Boys films, television episodes and more.  Bernds also wrote this short and made changes when it became clear that Curly, who had suffered a series of strokes, was having a difficult time.  Bernds wrote increased “business” for Professor Panzer and his gorilla Igor.  This kept Curly’s screen time up but with less pressure to get laughs.

The animated sequence when Professor Panzer looks into Curly’s head was created by Tex Avery!

A Bird in the Head earns 4 of 5 stars.