Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"If a Body Meets a Body" is an American black-and-white short film from 1945, the year WWII ended over 70 years ago. It runs for a bit over 18 minutes and that makes it one of the longer Three Stooges short films. It is a bit of a family affair not just for the cast, but also for the crew as here we got 4-time Oscar nominee Jules White, who worked on so many Stooges films, collaborate with his brother James, who was in charge of the screenplay here. Apparently this one is based on a Laurel&Hardy work from a few years earlier, so it is not the most original work to be honest. But it has a few fine moments here and there, most of all the vanishing skull that manages to disappear every time Moe is looking, which makes it even scarier for poor Curly, who really sadly does not look too healthy in here. And how did Larry manage to keep sleeping during all the talk. Pretty unreal, but it also shows sadly that as almost always he is the one with the weakest material as he is literally sleeping over some of the best moments and action here. All in all, I was not too impressed by this one though and I'd only recommend it to the biggest Stooges fans as for me personally comedy, story-telling, horror and suspense weren't on a level that impressed me whatsoever. It's rare though you have people/characters actually dying in Stooges (short) films. Nonetheless, the main focus is on the comedy as always. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
simeon_flake
Well, I'm sure very ardent stooge fan knows the story behind this particular short. The first one where it's painfully obvious Curly was not his old self--given that he suffered a stroke or possibly multiple strokes when this 2-reeler was filmed. Whatever the case may be, anyone with eyes can see that Curly is definitely "off." And yet--in spite of that--I still like this one. One plus to the "Sick Curly" era is that this is when Larry's character started getting more development for the first time in years, and old "porcupine" really steps up his game during this time period.Plus, even Curly at half-strength still beats most comedians in their prime & old Jerry was still capable of getting laughs--i.e. that hilarious backwards jump he does in reaction to poor Mr. Link being murdered on the very spot he was standing.8 stars
slymusic
Directed by Jules White, "If a Body Meets a Body" is a pretty good Three Stooges comedy with a spooky premise. HOWEVER, this film offers the first signs that Curly Howard was not a well man, that his health was beginning to deteriorate from years of living in the fast lane. He would only make about a dozen more Stooge shorts with Larry and Moe before a major stroke forced him to leave the act for good.Here are my favorite highlights from "If a Body Meets a Body." The Stooges dodge a parrot flying inside a skull. They also humorously agonize over 67 cents. When the boys first arrive at the haunted house, they shake the rainwater off of their garments and onto the butler, named Jerkington (played by Theodore "Ted" Lorch). Curly (known as Curly Q. Link in this film) does a hilarious backward high jump when he learns that his uncle was murdered on the very spot where he's standing.Despite Curly's poor health, "If a Body Meets a Body" manages to succeed with its "haunted house" theme. Ted Lorch does a great characterization of a sinister butler, and bushy-eyebrowed Fred Kelsey is fine as a tough, no-nonsense detective.
csweetleaf2
This short would've been a classic like the successful from the early 1940's if Curly have'nt suffered his stroke which led to his decline but what Curly couldn't do, Moe and Larry make up for him, although they're were some slow scenes in the haunted house, the highlight comes when Curly and Larry constantly wake up Moe and Moe gets grouchy, I thought that it was hilarious and the parrot in the skull routine is a classic and it was later reused in Ghost Talks and Scotched in Scotland, I thought that this was one of the better shorts during the 1945-46 period even though Curly was showing signs of slowing down and slurring his speech a bit, watch the next short that the boys did (Bird in the Head) and Curly was worse in that short but fortunately the short after that called Micro Phonies Curly pulled off a great performance even though Micro Phonies was released better Bird in the Head.
AD
