Scrambled Brains (1951) User Reviews

Best Shemp Short

[wbhickok · 8/10 · 11 July 2001]

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.

Hilarious Short With An Odd Premise

[abbazabakyleman-98834 · 9/10 · 11 November 2019]

Shemp is mostly the showcase for this bizarre outing who is suffering severely from hallunications, so much so that he thinks his ugly nurse Nora (Babe London, a successor to Dee Green, who always played ugly characters in the Shemp shorts) is a beautiful angel. The great supporting performances by Emil Sitka as a near-sighted German doctor and Vernon Dent as Nora's hot-headed father adds a lot of belly laughs to a typical Jules White-directed short.

What's wrong with Shemp?

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 6 December 2020]

This 3 Stooges short subject has Moe and Larry getting Shemp out of an asylum. But he may be worse than when he went in. He's fallen in love with a nurse played by Babe London. To all else she's a plane Jane, but to Shemp she's a playboy bunny.

The guys try all kinds of things leading into a number of burlesque routines to cure Shemp. All of course to no avail.

Love is truly blind, for sure it's nt 20/20.

Roll over, Kafka, you've got company.

[angus_dei · 11 March 2006]

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.

Greatest short bar none

[John Doggett · 10/10 · 19 November 2001]

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.

Scramble those brains...

[simeon_flake · 10/10 · 10 June 2013]

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 & god 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.

Excellent Shempcentric Stooge Short

[sevenlilxenos · 10/10 · 24 September 2014]

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!

Good Three Stooges short!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 17 February 2005]

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!

Solid start, but quickly loses steam

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 11 January 2018]

"Scrambled Brains" is an American black-and-white short film from 1951, so this one's already over 65 years old and still it is among the later career efforts from the Three Stooges. Curly died less than a year after the release of this one and White/Adler made many other Three Stooges movies. Shemp is a bit in the center of it all as he may (not) be cured after a hospital stay and early on this was a fairly entertaining watch. But it doesn't really stay that way eventually as, even if the supporting characters are more interesting than usual, this one goes south fairly quickly because the Stooge-to-Stooge conversations are simply not too interesting or funny in here sadly. Shame because I think in terms of characters and scenarios this one definitely had more zo offer than it finally delivered. It is a bit mean too when it comes to the nurse's looks I guess early on, but probably not in an unrealistic fashion. What else can I say here. Oh yeah, the high rating really baffles me, but my review and comments should be seen and read knowing that I am generally not the biggest Stooges fan, so if you like them more than I do, also including Shemp, then perhaps you will appreciate this one. Still, it can probably not be denied that this is nowhere near their most known efforts if you take a look at the number of ratings here that maybe also explains the high rating. That's all now, good acting mostly, especially by the non-Stooges, but the plot is not even good enough for under 20 minutes sadly. Watch something else instead.

Another funny misadventure for The Three Stooges!

[wishkah7 · 27 January 2001]

Scrambled Brains is another one of my favorite Stooge episodes! It starts off as Moe and Larry come to pick up Shemp whom was staying at a hospital and plays the role of a bedlam suffering from hallucinations. Moe and Larry bring him home thinking they could cure him themselves. And along the way discover Shemp is engaged to an ugly nurse he meet at the hospital named Nora. To top it all off, Shemp has a hallucination that the nurse is beautiful!

The funniest scene in this whole episode was when our heroes encounter Nora's domineering father (played by stooge-regular Vernon Dent) in a phone booth! That whole scene just keeps me laughing for a long time!

Shemp was a very photogenic, bubbly, and I have always adored his charisma as a comedian! And I have always loved that about him! He had a wonderfully hilarious sense of humor, too! But sadly, Shemp is the most underrated Stooge. That's because Curly (who I like second best) was always more popular.

So, please stooge fans RUSH to see Scrambled Brains! I have this episode on tape, reserve your copy today! Long live Shemp Howard!!!! :)

Nerves, hallucinations, and seeing things that aren't there

[slymusic · 6 February 2008]

"Scrambled Brains" is a superb Three Stooges short starring Shemp, Moe, & Larry and directed by Jules White. The only thing I need to reveal about the plot is this: Shemp suffers from hallucinations.

Highlights: The crowded phone booth gag (with supporting actor Vernon Dent) is quite amusing. As Shemp practices the piano, his hallucinations cause him to see more hands joining in! When Dr. Gesundheit (Emil Sitka, complete with wild hair, a German accent, and Coke-bottle glasses) listens to Shemp's heart, his rocking chair repeatedly rests on a talking doll that says "Mama"; also funny is the doctor's hypnosis technique. As Shemp leaves the hospital, he gives handshakes to several pieces of furniture; when he gets to the fireplace, an actual hand protrudes from above the hearth and shakes Shemp's hand! And finally, the Stooges harmonize a nice rendition of "Nora" on Shemp's wedding day.

As a director of Three Stooges shorts, Jules White was beginning to slip considerably during the 1950s, but "Scrambled Brains" was quite an exception. Some folks might say that it was the best Stooge short that White directed in the fifties. And to top it off, Larry Fine claimed "Scrambled Brains" to be his personal favorite of all the shorts he ever made as one of the Stooges.

The best stooge short IMHO

[holme-1 · 5 July 2001]

"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+