From Nurse to Worse (1940) User Reviews

doggy Curly

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 23 June 2020]

Larry, Curly, and Moe are convinced by unscrupulous insurance salesman Jerry to take out a policy on Curly. The scam is to pretend that Curly is crazy so they get paid. The boys drag Curly around like a dog. The problem is that the doctor wants to perform brain surgery.

The funniest scene is the dog scratching Moe's back. The visual of it is just hilarious and Moe is smiling like he can't believe that it's working. The premise is ridiculous and crazy weird. The only change I would make is the ending with Jerry. He should be stealing candy from a baby when the guys run into him.

Is There A Doctor In The House?

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 1 July 2021]

"From Nurse To Worse" was originally released back in 1940.

Anyway - As the story goes - Can you imagine Curly after a lobotomy? Neither can Moe and Larry, who must act fast after their insurance scam backfires and Curly winds up in Bellevue.

Beware: Mad dog!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 3 March 2018]

Curly Howard (Curly), Moe Howard (Moe), Larry Fine (Larry), Vernon Dent (Dr D. Lerious), Dorothy Appleby (receptionist), Lynton Brent (Jerry), Ned Glass, Charles Dorety (dog catchers), Johnny Kascier (orderly in hospital corridor), Cy Schindell (inhospitable hospital cop), Joe Palmer, Poppy Wilde (assistant surgeons), John Tyrrell (anaesthetist), Al Thompson, Dudley Dickerson (orderlies), Bert Young (photographer), Marjorie Kane (nurse), Blanche Payson (Bellevue nurse).

Director: JULES WHITE. Screenplay: Clyde Bruckman. Story: Charles L. Kimball. Photography: Benjamin Kline. Film editor: Mel Thorsen. Producer: Jules White. Copyright 19 August 1940 by Columbia Pictures of California. U.S. release: 23 August 1940. 2 reels. 17 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Curly acts like a mad dog so that the boys can collect on his insurance policy.

NOTES: Number 49 of the 190 Columbia shorts made by the Three Stooges.

COMMENT: Even more farcical than usual, this one not only focuses on Curly's hilarious canine imitations, but features some great slapstick chases through hospital corridors with Cy Schindell and Johnny Kascier.

Dr. D. Lerious Tries To Fix Curly's Brain!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 18 September 2008]

For those who have seen all the Three Stooges films, this is the one where Curly wears six vests and then has a purse underneath them. Inside the locked purse is a mousetrap and other gadgets. All of this was protect his savings: one moth-eaten dollar bill!

For those who haven't seen it, this is a funny Three Stooges, where the jokes hit more than they miss. The boys think they are to something good when their friend "Jerry" (Lynton Brent) has them go along with some insurance scam.

The boys have to prove their nuts to get the money! Dr. D. Lerious is the insurance examiner. Boy, classic comedies loved these puns and corny names. (I do, too). Anyway, highlights include Curly pretending he's a dog while flirting with a hot babe, and along several other classic routines I won't mention for fear of spoiling it.

A key element in Stooges humor is the sound, and the sound-effects are really funny in this one: such was when they examine Curley's brain; or the noise of people falling, getting punched, skidding to a half, Curley's teeth chattering, on and on and on. Just a ton of laughs in here.

"Hey! Quiet, Bowser!" "Eeyowser!"

[slymusic · 1 September 2009]

"From Nurse to Worse" is a wonderfully hilarious Three Stooges short starring Moe, Larry, and Curly. The boys scheme to collect five hundred dollars per month from an insurance company. How? By having Curly behave as a dog!

Highlights: As the Stooges are chased in the hospital corridors by the cop (Cy Schindell), they repeatedly bump into the waiter (Johnny Kascier). Supporting player Dudley Dickerson practically steals the show as the African-American orderly who screams and jumps out the window upon discovering that the three bodies underneath the sheet (soon to be cremated) are the alive Stooges. The boys escape from the hospital by riding a gurney (stock footage from "Dizzy Doctors" [1937]) and knocking a gentleman (who happens to be the indirect cause of their misadventures) into a trough of wet cement.

Director Jules White really did a great job taking the helm of "From Nurse to Worse". Also great about this film is the wealth of familiar Stooge supporting players, including Vernon Dent, John Tyrrell, Dorothy Appleby, Lynton Brent, Ned Glass, Joe Palma, Cy Schindell, Dudley Dickerson, and Johnny Kascier.

Great Three Stooges short!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 15 October 2004]

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!

This is one of My favorite Three Stooges shorts with Curly! All Appearing in this short are Vernon Dent, Dorothy Appleby, Lynton Brent, Dudley Dickerson, Joe Palma , Cy Schindell, Al Thompson, and John Tyrrell! This one is so hilarious! Curly has a great performance here and in My opinion its one of his best. I strongly recommend this Three Stooges short!

Most of the attempts at comedy go wrong

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 26 August 2017]

"From Nurse to Worse" is a 17-minute black-and-white short film from the days of World War II, so this one is already over 75 years old. Director is White and writer is Bruckman and this makes it another Three Stooges short. Curly is still in it, so it is one of the earlier, but not earliest short films from the gang. Not a propaganda film yet despite the global political climate. Not a really funny film either as it is loud and wild, but also all over the place. After a tip from a "friend", the Stooges decide to have Curly act insane to cash in with the insurance agency. But things don't go as planned when the doctor in charge suddenly wants to perform brain surgery on Curly. That's the center of it all and it is a bit more absurd and over the top than the Stooges usually are and that means quite something. It's also not really helping matters here. This film definitely needed a bit more subtlety, not to say more of a story (really thin plot, even for this runtime) and have better focus. I cannot say I was well-entertained here, so I was kinda fine with how quickly it ended. While I can understand why this is among the Stooges' more (but not most) known works, I definitely cannot agree with that based on the quality. It gets a thumbs-down from me, don't watch.

Classic Three Stooges Short

[Michael_Elliott · 11 July 2011]

From Nurse to Worse (1940)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hilarious short features the Three Stooges hanging paper when their old friend tells them the best way to make money is by filing for insurance and then going to a doctor to prove you're insane. This here will pay $500 a month so the boys get Curly to pretend he's a dog but the plan backfires when Dr. D. Lerious decides to try and operate on Curly's brain. FROM NURSE TO WORSE is classic Stooges because it features one big laugh after another and the film just keeps getting better and funnier as it moves along. The film starts off terrifically once the boys get to the doctors office and Curly must pretend to be a rabid dog. Curly was a genius at playing this type of stuff and he really goes all out here as he's barking, snapping and of course running around on all fours. From here it just keeps getting funnier after the boys end up in the back of a dog truck and soon find themselves about to be gassed. The sound effects were always a very important part to the Stooges' shorts and this is especially true here. We get one terrific effect when the doctor is examining Curly and shakes his head only to hear a few things rattling around in there. Another terrific bit is when the boys are in the back of the truck and everyone is scratching the others back including the dogs who get in on the action. Fans of the Stooges will probably already know this short but if you're introducing someone to the group then this here is a good place to start.