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Scrambled Brains

  • 1951
  • 16m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
422
YOUR RATING
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Vernon Dent, Shemp Howard, and Emil Sitka in Scrambled Brains (1951)
SlapstickComedyShort

Shemp is a sick man, suffering from hallucinations. His worst vision is that his ugly nurse Nora is actually beautiful. When Moe and Larry come to take him home from the sanitarium, they dis... Read allShemp is a sick man, suffering from hallucinations. His worst vision is that his ugly nurse Nora is actually beautiful. When Moe and Larry come to take him home from the sanitarium, they discover he's become engaged to Nora. On the way to Nora's apartment for the wedding, the boy... Read allShemp is a sick man, suffering from hallucinations. His worst vision is that his ugly nurse Nora is actually beautiful. When Moe and Larry come to take him home from the sanitarium, they discover he's become engaged to Nora. On the way to Nora's apartment for the wedding, the boys get in a fight with a stranger who promises to get even with them if he ever sees them a... Read all

  • Director
    • Jules White
  • Writer
    • Felix Adler
  • Stars
    • Moe Howard
    • Larry Fine
    • Shemp Howard
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    422
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jules White
    • Writer
      • Felix Adler
    • Stars
      • Moe Howard
      • Larry Fine
      • Shemp Howard
    • 12User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

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    Top cast9

    Edit
    Moe Howard
    Moe Howard
    • Moe
    • (as Moe)
    Larry Fine
    Larry Fine
    • Larry
    • (as Larry)
    Shemp Howard
    Shemp Howard
    • Shemp
    • (as Shemp)
    Babe London
    Babe London
    • Nora
    Emil Sitka
    Emil Sitka
    • Dr. Gesundheit
    Vernon Dent
    Vernon Dent
    • Nora's Father
    Pamela Britton
    Pamela Britton
    • Pretty Nora
    • (uncredited)
    Johnny Kascier
    • Orderly
    • (uncredited)
    Royce Milne
    • Little Betty May
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jules White
    • Writer
      • Felix Adler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    7.6422
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    Featured reviews

    10John Doggett

    Greatest short bar none

    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.
    10simeon_flake

    Scramble those 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.
    8wbhickok

    Best Shemp Short

    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.
    angus_dei

    Roll over, Kafka, you've got company.

    Even back in the 1950's, socialized medicine was an issue, especially psychiatric medicine. Here we have poor Shemp, institutionalized in a sanitarium, and Moe and Larry are forced to withdraw him because they can no longer afford the hospitalization. Ah, the pathos! Apparently though, they can still afford Shemp's medication, as we see him popping pills like crazy in the opening reel. Whether this medicine has side effects, or is just plain ineffective, we don't know, but we do know Shemp hallucinates like mad. He imagines Babe London, his nurse, as a shapely blonde. Of course Babe, blacked-out teeth and all, is no dummy. She's not about to let a great catch like Shemp get away, hallucinations or not. Just the same, it's best she's not in the scene when Shemp imagines he's grown two extra hands whilst pounding away a lively jazz tune on a piano. By the way, the look on Shemp's face, just before realizing he has four hands, is priceless. It doesn't last, though. He goes into utter hysterics, pounding Larry's and Moe's heads while ranting like a lunatic. Yeesh! The best part of the short is when Vernon Dent, bedecked in a ten gallon hat, interacts with the Stooges in the usual way, in a phone booth, no less. He's Babe's father who has arrived in town for the impending nuptials. The final scene gives us round two of the Vernon Dent-Stooges fracas, where we see that Babe inherited her strong and independent will from her great uncle Jack when she grabs Shemp out of the fracas, hoists him over her shoulder, and hums the wedding march. She may not be much for looks, but she knows what she wants and she takes it! I know there's an allegory here in all this, but I haven't figured it out yet. Do you want a deep, complicated, thought-provoking Stooges short? Brother, this is it.
    10Movie Nuttball

    Good Three Stooges short!

    The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

    One of the most unique Three Stooges shorts is Scrambled Brains. In this short are Babe London, Emil Sitka, Vernon Dent, and Royce Milne. The acting by these actors are good especially by Dent and Sitka. There are many funny scenes here that I think most Three Stooges fans will love! In My opinion this one of the most different Three Stooges shorts. I strongly recommend this one!

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      One of Larry Fine's favorite films; he screened it often when he lived at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.
    • Goofs
      A line that Shemp was about to say is cut off when Moe tells him to keep practicing.
    • Quotes

      Larry: Wait a minute! I got a brainstorm!

      Moe: Anything in his brain is a storm.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Ryan Phillippe/Ke$ha (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Nora
      Written and performed by Larry Fine, Moe Howard and Shemp Howard

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 7, 1951 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • YouTube - Video
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Impatient Patient
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 16m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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