If A Body Meets A Body is the 86th short subject starring the American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.
THE PLOT
The Stooges are unemployed, and looking through the want-ads for work. As the trio sets the table, Curly brings a pail of soup from a meat bone; Larry remarks that Curly's soup smells like a dead horse, and Moe finds a large horseshoe in the pail. The duo become angry with Curly about the fact that he "didn't go to the butcher shop for meat; he went to the glue factory", so they kick him out. As Curly is about to leave, Moe stumbles upon a newspaper article stating that Curly's uncle, Bob O. Link, has died and left his nephew, Curly Q. Link, a large inheritance. Upon arriving at the uncle's mansion for the reading of the will, the lawyer in charge of the will disappears, along with the will itself; he is later found murdered. All potential heirs, including the Stooges, are held as suspects and forced to spend the night.
While getting a tour of their sleeping quarters, Curly gets spooked when it is revealed that he is standing on the exact spot his uncle was murdered. The rest of the night consists of various occurrences which frighten the Stooges, among them a parrot walking around inside a human skull, howling wind, and uncle Bob O. Link's corpse leaning on Moe.
In fright, the Stooges flee down a stairwell and knock over the maid (Joe Palma), who turns out to be the killer in disguise; he is discovered when his wig flies off during the collision, revealing the will, which was hidden underneath it. After excitedly reading the will, Curly learns that he has been bequeathed an amount substantially less than what he first thought.
TRIVIA
The film title is a pun on a line from the traditional Scottish song by Robert Burns, "Coming Through the Rye" (as in "Should a body meet a body/Coming through the rye/Should a body kiss a body/Need a body cry?").The plot device is borrowed from the The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, which also features actor Fred Kelsey.
If a Body Meets a Body was filmed on March 9-13, 1945. It was the first film produced after Curly Howard suffered a mild stroke. As a result, his performance was marred by slurred speech and slower timing. Though the trio did not know it at the time, Curly's health would gradually deteriorate, resulting in languid, sickly performances through his final film with the Stooges, Half-Wits Holiday.
If a Body Meets a Body premiered the final version of "Three Blind Mice" as the Stooges' theme music, an updated, faster version arranged by John Leipold and Nico Grigor. (The original "sliding strings" version was regularly used from 1938's GC6FNN2 Curly Howard: Flat Foot Stooges until 1942's GC6TRQ0 Curly Howard: What's The Matador?.) Due to the timing of this theme's usage, it is often associated with the post-stroke Curly Howard era, as this revamped version coincidentally made its debut in the same film that Curly's illness became apparent. This version of "Three Blind Mice" would be utilized for the first four shorts produced during the Shemp Howard era: Fright Night, Out West, Squareheads of the Round Table and The Hot Scots.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
It is very apparent in this short how much Curly's first stroke is effecting his performance. He is extremely slow and sluggish, including one of his lines in the clips below that is simply unintelligible. Very sad as I proceed through the final set of his performances.
As a youngster, this is one of the "scariest" Stooges shorts I can remember watching.
In the first clip below, after Curly serves up a vile soup for dinner, Moe refers to him as "Lucrezia Borgia". This intrigued me, so I had to look it up:
She was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) by one of his mistresses. Lucrezia Borgia gained a reputation as a poisoner and plotter. She was more likely a victim of malicious gossip that exaggerated her actual misdoings, and likely was not an active participant in her father's and brother's infamous plots. Accusations of incest with her father and/or brother are suspect. She had three political marriages, arranged for her family's advantage, and likely had several adulterous alliances including, probably, one illegitimate child. She was also for a time a papal secretary, and her later years were spent in relative stability as the "Good Duchess" of Ferrara, sometimes acting as de factor ruler in her husband's absence.
THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES.
Watch the following short Curly clips
Curly Gets Kicked Out: Episode 86 If A Body Meets A Body Clip1
Curly's Inheritance: Episode 86 If A Body Meets A Body Clip2
SUBTRACT the inheritance amount (in cents) left to Curly Q. Link FROM the last three digits of the posted North coordinate.
ADD the numeric portion of Professor Robert O. Link’s address TO the last three digits of the posted West coordinate.
Have fun! Get the family involved.
Curly Code: XXX-XXX (The Curly Code is no longer valid for this one)