Topic: If A Body Meets A Body (1945)

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

I think A BIRD IN THE HEAD would benefit the most from a healthy Curly.  All that manual labor would be classic Stooging.

"A Bird In The Head" was unfortunately never one of my favorite Stooge films, not just because of Curly's illness but I didn't think it was a very good episode in general, Moe & Larry didn't seem to put in their best either.

[Dr. Mabuse]

I don't know if anyone has noticed this, but the opening shot in "If a Body Meets a Body" awkwardly fades in during the Stooges' "Want Ad" conversation. The original script reveals the missing dialogue.

https://natedsanders.com/ItemImages/000054/54015c_lg.jpeg

[Dr. Mabuse]

Not one of my favorites, but there are worse Curly two-reelers ("Three Loan Wolves" comes to mind). Fred Kelsey and Ted Lorch certainly help.

Classic dialogue: "Thanks, Dracula."

4.5/10

[donman32350]

I just re-watched it today .......... many parts made me laugh.  Curly may not have been his "old self"; but he's much worse "Three Loan Wolves" and "G.I. Wanna Home".

[metaldams]

I just re-watched it today .......... many parts made me laugh.  Curly may not have been his "old self"; but he's much worse "Three Loan Wolves" and "G.I. Wanna Home".

Health wise it’s arguable, but acting wise I still say nothing in the later shorts tops the blown timing of the match gag.  If you or anybody else can think of instances they feel are worse, I would love to hear your opinions.  My opinion is the match bit.

That said, agreed about the laughs.  If Curly were in better form, this short would be halfway decent.  I watched it since my initial review and I can see the potential. 

[donman32350]

I still say nothing in the later shorts tops the blown timing of the match gag.

That said, agreed about the laughs.  If Curly were in better form, this short would be halfway decent.  I watched it since my initial review and I can see the potential.

It took Curly about 1 second to react ...... slower than a younger Curly would've.  Parts of 3 Loan Wolves and Beer Barrel Polecats, Curly's almost comatose.  No expressions or very slurred words.

[metaldams]

It took Curly about 1 second to react ...... slower than a younger Curly would've.  Parts of 3 Loan Wolves and Beer Barrel Polecats, Curly's almost comatose.  No expressions or very slurred words.

I’m one of the few Stooge fans who likes BEER BARREL POLECATS and never found Curly to be any worse than the other films of the era.  I’m in the minority here.

Curly was bad in THREE LOAN WOLVES, agreed.  They knew at that point to have Larry cover for him.

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

Another scene I thought was really sad & difficult to watch was Curly's line "Let's tur-- light a cannle and sear--look unner da bed!" He sounded like he was crying when he said that, I thought this was one of Curly's most sickly performances along with "Three Loan Wolves" and the second half of "Half Wits Holiday".

[Dr. Mabuse]

The first time I saw "If a Body Meets a Body" was on KPLR Channel 11 during a 1985 visit to St. Louis.  I was in my early 20s and immediately noticed that something was wrong with Curly, which hindered my overall enjoyment.  As a result, I find it a difficult short to revisit and would prefer to watch "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case."

[donman32350]

The Parrot in the Skull w/ the Sheet flying around and cackling ......... so absurd and yet, I laugh!!

[Dr. Mabuse]

Moe sensed there was something wrong with Curly in January 1945 and suggested Curly see a doctor.  Curly's condition was considered so grim that he spent several weeks in a sanitarium to recuperate in January into February 1945. 

Variety:  "3 Stooges Call Off Tour" (January 24, 1945)

https://ia801305.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?id=variety157-1945-01&itemPath=%2F25%2Fitems%2Fvariety157-1945-01&server=ia801305.us.archive.org&page=leaf0316

[metaldams]

Variety:  "3 Stooges Call Off Tour" (January 24, 1945)

https://ia801305.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?id=variety157-1945-01&itemPath=%2F25%2Fitems%2Fvariety157-1945-01&server=ia801305.us.archive.org&page=leaf0316

Nice find, and it completely coincides with this time period.  This short was shot two months later.

[Daddy Dewdrop]

One of those shorts where Curly's illness really shows.  That said, there are some good moments, especially from Moe and Larry.

#147. If A Body Meets A Body

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

One of those shorts where Curly's illness really shows.  That said, there are some good moments, especially from Moe and Larry.

#147. If A Body Meets A Body

For some reason I thought Curly showed more energy in the opening scenes than he did in the haunted house scenes, I thought the scenes in the haunted house was one of Curly's most sickly performances.

[Dr. Mabuse]

There's a very good MGM cartoon whose title I don't recall about a detective in a spooky house, and the detective, drawn as a bulldog, is a dead ringer for Fred Kelsey in this.

The Tex Avery MGM cartoon with the Fred Kelsey caricature was "Who Killed Who?" (1943).

[Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80]

     This is why, Doctor, I'm glad you're back...Haratounaonian is a word that not many of us were about to Google, and by implication shows that someone on the writing staff of this short had enough esoteric knowledge to not only be aware of the original, but also to be enough on his game to make a joke of it, tailored to Moe.  I'm guessing that it was written properly in the original script, the joke being that Moe would read the proper name, but that Moe in rehearsal garbled it in such a way as improved the line, so they kept it in.  Again, just a guess.
     The extremely shaky guy with the cane is so distracting that one wonders if he was someone's relative placed there to add ( maybe ) to the spooky atmosphere, although he really doesn't.  Sad to hear that Fred Kelsey, one of my very favorites, ended up with the shakes ( sounds like Parkinson's ) himself.

     Off subject, this is driving me nuts:  in what episode does Curly, being somehow unintentionally thwarted ( I'm guessing some situation where a wall separates him from the other two ) yells out: " Don't be so mean!"  I should know it, and I can't recollect it, and I'm going insane.  Help me, anybody.

That would be from "The Sitter Downers" at the 12:42 mark