Losing Control of Oneself
by mariojacobs | created - 14 Feb 2021 | updated - 10 months ago | PublicWhenever Curly Howard, one of the most hilarious members of the legendary The 3 Stooges, heard the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel" he would completely lose control over himself and start knocking out everyone around and — occasionally — even himself!
Here you can watch the above-mentioned slapstick, a memorable moment in television:
Curly Goes Berserk Over "Pop Goes the Weasel"
Now follows a list of movies/episodes where:
- somebody suddenly loses control over the whole self or over a part (or extension) of his/her body
- a part (or extension) of the body mysteriously acquires its own will (e.g. the hand tries to kill its owner).
Which movie is the most incredible?
Join the Discussion Here in the IMDb Poll Community Forum
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1. Punch Drunks (1934)
G | 17 min | Short, Comedy, Sport
The stooges discover Curly's hidden talent for boxing, which appears only when he hears the tune "Pop Goes the Weasel". With the help of Larry's violin, Moe attempts to turn him into a champion.
Director: Lou Breslow | Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dorothy Granger
Votes: 1,503
Arms
2. The Hand (1981)
R | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A comic book artist loses his hand, which in turn takes on a murderous life of its own.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci, Annie McEnroe, Bruce McGill
Votes: 6,710 | Gross: $2.45M
Hand
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 518,531 | Gross: $0.28M
Arm
4. Santa Sangre (1989)
NC-17 | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou
Votes: 23,344
Arms
5. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,325,781 | Gross: $37.03M
Arms
6. The Red Shoes (1948)
Not Rated | 135 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A young ballet dancer is torn between the man she loves and her pursuit to become a prima ballerina.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann
Votes: 39,185 | Gross: $10.90M
Shoe
7. Dead of Night (1945)
Approved | 77 min | Drama, Horror
Guests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
Directors: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer | Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver, Mary Merrall
Votes: 14,224
The Dummy
8.
Star Trek (1966–1969)
Episode:
Plato's Stepchildren
(1968)
TV-PG | 51 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After Dr. McCoy helps the leader of a planet populated by people with powerful psionic abilities, they decide to force him to stay by torturing his comrades until he submits.
Director: David Alexander | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Michael Dunn
Votes: 3,288
Body, Star Trek (1966)
9. Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
R | 116 min | Comedy
A nice-guy cop with Dissociative Identity Disorder must protect a woman on the run from a corrupt ex-boyfriend and his associates.
Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | Stars: Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, Anthony Anderson, Mongo Brownlee
Votes: 251,339 | Gross: $90.57M
Hands
10. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
PG-13 | 81 min | Action, Comedy
A rough-around-the-edges martial arts master seeks revenge for his parents' death.
Director: Steve Oedekerk | Stars: Steve Oedekerk, Fei Lung, Leo Lee, Ling-Ling Hsieh
Votes: 48,539 | Gross: $16.03M
Tongue
11. Idle Hands (1999)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.
Director: Rodman Flender | Stars: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba
Votes: 46,777 | Gross: $4.00M
Hand
12. Possessor (2020)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An agent works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.
Director: Brandon Cronenberg | Stars: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rossif Sutherland
Votes: 45,855
Body
13. Telefon (1977)
PG | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence, Tyne Daly
Votes: 6,252
Body
14. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 61,797 | Gross: $14.23M
Head
15. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,266 | Gross: $232.91M
Neck
16. Liar Liar (1997)
PG-13 | 86 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A pathological liar-lawyer finds his career turned upside down when he inexplicably cannot physically lie for 24 whole hours.
Director: Tom Shadyac | Stars: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Amanda Donohoe, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 333,627 | Gross: $181.41M
Mouth
17. Lost in a Harem (1944)
Passed | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Romance
Two bumbling magicians help a Middle Eastern prince regain his rightful throne from his despotic uncle.
Director: Charles Reisner | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell, John Conte
Votes: 1,289
Arms
18. Falling Down (1993)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Rachel Ticotin
Votes: 206,773 | Gross: $40.90M
19. All of Me (1984)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A dying millionaire has her soul transferred into a younger, willing woman. However, something goes wrong, and she finds herself in her lawyer's body - together with the lawyer.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Madolyn Smith Osborne
Votes: 19,829 | Gross: $36.40M
Body
20. The Hands of Orlac (1924)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he doesn't know they once belonged to a murderer.
Director: Robert Wiene | Stars: Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Strassny, Paul Askonas
Votes: 3,385
Hands
21. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 182,015 | Gross: $5.92M
Arm
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