If a Body Meets a Body

I always had a very low opinion of this one;it's been slightly softened by repeated viewings but t his is still an inferior remake of THE LAUREL&HARDY MURDER CASE(1930)----and that one was ruined by turning out to be a dream.

The Tex Avery cartoon WHO KILLED WHO?

No doubt re-activated interest in Fred Kelsey;whose casting here as the "house dick" is t he film's one stroke of genius.

Moe and Larry are reader to kick Curly out of their crummy flat for serving "horseshoe soup" until they find out he might be in line to collect millions. They arrive in t he middle of a driving thunderstorm(when don't they?) and find out they and other relatives are staying indefinitely until the Uncle's murder is solved/

Some funny scenes at the end where corpses keep turning in the hiding places the Stooges pick for themselves.

It isn't the creepy butler but the creepy housemaid(in drag) who is guilty.

And yes,somebody says "I hope you have a nice,LONG sleep". Sadly,Curly looks like he IS.

I understand that the Stooge films were a way of making a living for all involved, but I really think someone should've looked at the dailies and seen that Curly was very sick, and either halted production or sought Shemp as a replacement sooner. But all I could think while I was watching this film was "Poor Curly! He looks so miserable!", which is the last thing you want to be thinking while watching a Three Stooges film. True, the Stooges are always hurting each other (especially during the Curly era), but you want to think of them as cartoon characters who are never really impacted. You want to see them get up after being knocked down, brush themselves off, and move on to more pratfalls, just as strong as ever. But when Curly is incapable of doing that, the productions lose their trademark sense of humor.

Enjoying "If a Body Meets a Body" is something that's much easier if you've never seen "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" as this film is essentially a remake of this excellent Laurel and Hardy short. Now this isn't saying it's bad...it's just not especially original.

The story begins with Moe realizing that Curly is the missing Link. In other words, after the death of the millionaire, Bob O. Link, Curly is potentially in line to inherit a fortune. But when they arrive at the Link mansion, they walk into a murder mystery...and they might be the next victims.

Aside from the stupid gag involving the parrot climbing inside a very fake looking skull, the jokes aren't too bad here. There's a bit less slapping and stupidity in this one, which I appreciate, though some fans of the Stooges might dislike this. Worth seeing if not highly original.

If a Body Meets a Body (1945)

*** (out of 4)

Moe and Larry are about to kick Curly out of their home when they read a newspaper headline stating that a rich relative of his has died. The three make up and head off to Curly's relative's house only to soon run into various ghoulish things.

IF A BODY MEETS A BODY is a pretty good short for The Three Stooges but as many reviewers have pointed out, it was clearly beginning to show that Curly had suffered his stroke. His speech is a bit slurred here and he's just not nearly as quick with his physical and verbal deliveries here as in previous years. With that said, this is still a very funny short as once again the boys find themselves in an "old dark house" setting with the creepy house and a flying skull. There are plenty of nice laughs here but I've always thought the boys were terrific at showing fear. The jokes around the skull walking and then floating around all hit the right spot.

This is one of Curly's last short subjects but it is very good.Theodore Lurch is very good and of course the Stooges are as well.The stuff that happens in the room where the Stooges sleep is hilarious!This spooky short is very funny and a good one to watch around Halloween!