A Bird in the Head

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A Bird in the Head
BirdinHeadTITLE.jpg
Directed by Edward Bernds
Written by Edward Bernds
Produced by Hugh McCollum
Starring Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Howard
Vernon Dent
Robert Williams
Frank Lackteen
Art Miles
Cinematography Burnett Guffey
Edited byHenry Batista
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 28, 1946 (1946-02-28)(U.S.)
Running time
17:18
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Bird in the Head is a 1946 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 89th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Contents

Plot

The Stooges, employed as paperhangers, fail to meet their boss Mr. Beedle's standards, resulting in a botched job that incites his wrath. In their haste to escape his anger, they inadvertently stumble into the laboratory of the eccentric Professor Panzer and his assistant Nikko. Panzer, obsessed with transplanting a human brain into his gorilla Igor, identifies Curly as the ideal candidate. The trio finds themselves locked in the laboratory as Panzer schemes to extract Curly's brain.

Amidst the chaos, Igor breaks free but forms an unexpected bond with Curly, leading to a reversal of allegiance. In a bid to evade Panzer's clutches, the Stooges dismantle the laboratory, facilitating their escape with Igor in tow.

Cast

Credited

Uncredited

Production notes

The title A Bird in the Head is a pun on the phrase "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." [1] A Bird in the Head was filmed over a period of five days (April 9–13, 1945), which was longer than usual. Due to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, filming ended early out of respect for the deceased Commander-in-chief.

Curly's illness

41-year-old Curly Howard had suffered a series of minor strokes prior to filming A Bird in the Head. As a result, his performance was marred by slurred speech, and slower timing. This film was the first directing effort for former Columbia sound man Edward Bernds. Bernds was thrilled that he was being given a shot at directing, but was horrified when he realized that Curly was in such bad shape (something Columbia short subject head/director Jules White failed to alert Bernds of). [2] Years later, Bernds discussed his trying experience during the filming of A Bird in the Head:

"It was an awful tough deal for a novice rookie director to have a Curly who wasn't himself. [3] I had seen Curly at his greatest and his work in this film was far from great. The wallpaper scene was agony to direct because of the physical movements required to roll up the wallpaper and to react when it curled up in him. It just didn't work. As a fledgling director, my plans were based on doing everything in one nice neat shot. But when I saw the scenes were not playing, I had to improvise and use other angles to make it play. It was the wallpaper scene that we shot first, and during the first two hours of filming, I became aware that we had a problem with Curly." [2]

Realizing that Curly was no longer able to perform in the same capacity as before, Bernds devised ways to cover his illness; Curly could still be the star, but the action was shifted away from the ailing Stooge. In A Bird in the Head, the action focuses more on crazy Professor Panzer and Igor. This allowed Curly to maintain a healthy amount of screen time without being required to contribute a great deal. [1]

Bernds often commented that he and Jules White never really got along. Bernds feared that his directing days would be over as soon as they began if he released A Bird in the Head with a weak Curly as his first entry. Producer Hugh McCollum reshuffled the release order, and the superior Micro-Phonies was released first, securing Bernds directing position. [3]

The Screen Gems television print deleted a scene where Curly and the gorilla drink some alcohol in the laboratory and suffer hilarious after effects.

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References

  1. 1 2 Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Comedy III Productions, Inc. pp. 272, 273. ISBN   0-9711868-0-4.
  2. 1 2 Maurer, Joan Howard; Jeff Lenburg; Greg Lenburg (1982). The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Citadel Press. p. 76. ISBN   0-8065-0946-5.
  3. 1 2 Fleming, Michael (1999). The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons. Broadway Publishing. pp. 79–80. ISBN   0-7679-0556-3.
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