''A Bird in the Head'' is a 1946

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader and straight man of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

). It is the 89th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

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

as Moe *

as Larry *

as Curly *

Vernon Dent Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil, main antagonist, and an ally to The Three ...

as Professor Panzer *

Frank Lackteen Frank Lackteen (born Mohammed Hassan Lackteen August 29, 1897 – July 8, 1968) was an American film actor best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1915 and 1965, including several Three Stooges shorts. ...

as Nikko *

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

as Mr. Beedle

Uncredited

Art Miles Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

as Igor the Gorilla

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." ''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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on April 12, filming ended early out of respect for the deceased Commander-in-chief.

Curly's illness

Prior to the filming of ''A Bird in the Head'', 41-year-old

had endured a series of minor

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

s, which adversely affected his performance, leading to slurred speech and slower timing. This film marked the directorial debut of former Columbia

sound technician In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

. Initially elated at the opportunity to direct, Bernds was dismayed to discover the extent of Curly's deteriorated condition, a fact that Columbia's head of short subjects and director,

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

, had failed to disclose. In later years, Bernds recounted the challenging experience he faced during the production of ''A Bird in the Head'': Recognizing Curly's diminished ability to perform at his previous capacity, Edward Bernds implemented strategies to accommodate his condition. Curly retained his starring role, but the focus of the action was redirected to other characters, such as the eccentric Professor Panzer and Igor. In ''A Bird in the Head'', this shift allowed Curly to maintain a significant presence on screen without necessitating extensive participation. Bernds frequently remarked on his strained relationship with Jules White. Bernds was concerned that his directorial career might be prematurely curtailed if ''A Bird in the Head'', featuring a weakened Curly, was his debut release. To mitigate this risk, producer

Hugh McCollum Hugh McCollum (March 9, 1900March 16, 1968) was an American film producer best known for his credits on Three Stooges short subject comedies. Career McCollum was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, Ridley Park, Pennsyl ...

rearranged the release schedule, allowing the more successful ''

Micro-Phonies ''Micro-Phonies'' is a 1945 short subject directed by Edward Bernds starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 87th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring t ...

'' to premiere first, thereby solidifying Bernds's position as a director. The television print distributed by

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

in the late 1950s omitted a scene in which Curly and the gorilla consume alcohol in the laboratory and subsequently experience humorous aftereffects.

References

External links

*
''A Bird in the Head''
a
threestooges.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird in the Head, A 1946 films Columbia Pictures short films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films 1946 comedy films Short films directed by Edward Bernds American comedy short films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Films about gorillas