Scrambled Brains
| Scrambled Brains | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jules White |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Felix Adler |
| Starring |
Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Babe London Vernon Dent Emil Sitka |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Edited by | Edwin H. Bryant |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 15' 50" |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Scrambled Brains is the 132nd short subject starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
Moe and Larry are at a sanatorium where Shemp is being treating for suffering from hallucinations. Shemp says he is indeed cured, and insists on saying farewell to his new fiancée, beautiful nurse Nora (Babe London). When Nora calls out to Shemp, she appears, much to the scare of Moe and Larry: poor Nora is a homely, toothless thing who seems to have won Shemp's heart. It then becomes clear that Shemp is far from cured, and needs additional therapy.
While Shemp is home, the boys receive a visit from Dr. Gesundheit (Emil Sitka). The blind-as-a-bat doctor tries his best to cure Shemp, but runs into difficulty when the stubborn stooge refuses to swallow a sleeping pill. Later, Shemp hallucinates an extra set of hands while enduring his piano lesson. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Shemp insists on seeing Nora, with hopes of finally getting married.
On their way to the doctor, the Stooges become wedged in a phone booth with a stranger (Vernon Dent), leading to a fist and pie fight. Back in their apartment, they find she is waiting for her father who happens to be the man the Stooges brawled with in the phone booth.
Production notes
Larry Fine often cited this film as his all-time favorite, with You Nazty Spy! and Cuckoo on a Choo Choo his runner ups. He would often screen this film during his last days residing at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.[1]
The gag of making a doll whine by leaning a rocking chair on it was borrowed from Laurel and Hardy's 1940 film Saps at Sea.[2]
