Scrambled Brains

One of the greatest Three Stooges 2-reelers. Hell, one of the best comedies by anybody. Shemp is a very sick man, suffering from nerves, hallucinations & who knows what else. Moe & Larry can't afford to keep him in a sanitarium, so they have to bring him home to cure him.

Of course, the fact that Shemp suffers from hallucinations leads to some very hysterical moments, the best of them being that he envisions this homely nurse (to put it mildly) as a shapely blonde who he intends to marry. And there's a piano playing session that doesn't end well. Some other funny bits include Shemp's reactions to swallowing his liquid medicine, Emil Sitka as the screwy doctor who examines Shemp and of course, the immortal phone booth scene with Vernon Dent.

How anyone can watch this short & not laugh is beyond me, Shemp fan or not. Funny is funny and "Scrambled" delivers big time. A definite 10 stars.

Even if you don't agree with the summary line, it's hard to argue the greatness of this 2 reeler. Shemp, suffering with hallucinations & delirium falls in love with Babe London(never has there been a more ironic name). The first reaction shot of Moe and Larry seeing Babe is a 4 star moment within itself. More hilarious mayhem ensues at home, Shemp can't swallow his pills then has an adventure with a piano playing session. The granddaddy of all comedy moments is the phone booth scene where the stooges get jammed in the phone booth with Vernon Dent. It's truely priceless. If you're sitting around waiting for AMC to get this short, don't bother. Run out to the video store and snap this baby up.

Although were not told specifically why a recently released Shemp was temporarily institutionalized, it may have been the accumulation of his many years of receiving physical and mental abuse by Moe, this however sets the stage for one of the best Stooges short of the Shemp era (approx. 1947-1955).

Shemp carries this short with a variety of gags, many of which don't appear to be rehashed as by 1951 the creative juices in the writing department were running a little dry.

One exception being Shemp viewing some things a little different from Moe and Larry so to speak, but this time it involves the attractiveness of his love interest (not whether she is a real girl or a big bird) and a couple extra pair of hands. BTW, Shemp can play a mean piano especially when getting a helping hand or two.

This short is NOT a remake of any other Shemp or Curly short which undoubtedly contributes to its uniqueness. Vernon Dent and Emil Sitka provide great foils for the boys. If your a Stooge fan, do not miss this one!

It really is to bad that Shemp gets such harsh criticisms, it isn't fair to always compare him to Curly. He had the impossible job of trying to fill Curly's shoes, but he was a master of broad slapstick, besides he, not Curly was in the original line-up. Not many people know that. This short finds Larry and Moe taking Shemp home from the sanitarium. The problem is that he still has hallucinations, including imagining that the shapley blonde nurse he is engaged to is really fat and ugly. To complicate matters, Larry and Moe have a run in with a man in a phone booth who turns out to be her father. Once at the wedding, Larry and Moe realize who the man is, get beat up, while Shemp gets married and live happily ever after.

"Scrambled Brains" is the best episode they've ever done, this episode makes up for the previous short "Don't Throw That Knife" which was a very pointless short. Shemp's hallucinations are hilarious, especially while playing the piano! Overall I believe this is the best short ever. Every stooge fan should add this short to their collection.

Grade: A+