The Stooges are mediocre paperhangers. Their boss Mr. Beedle advises the boys to do a good job, but the end result looks like it was quickly cluttered with paper towels. Beedle is fuming, and threatens the boys, who make a quick escape across the hallway into the laboratory of the insane Professor Panzer and his assistant Nikko. Panzer is searching for a human brain puny enough to place in the head of his gorilla Igor. Curly becomes the prime candidate, and Panzer locks the boys in his lab in order to secure Curly's "contribution." Then Igor gets loose, but takes a liking to Curly, which the feeble-minded Stooge reciprocates. Eventually, the boys destroy Panzer's lab and quickly depart, taking Igor with them.
Production notes
The title A Bird in the Head is a pun on the phrase "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." A Bird in the Head was filmed over a period of five days, which was longer than usual. Due to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, filming ended early out of respect for the deceased Commander-in-chief. 41-year-old Curly Howard had suffered a series of minor strokes prior to filming A Bird in the Head. As a result, his performance was marred by slurred speech, and slower timing. This film was the first directing effort for former Columbia sound man Edward Bernds. Bernds was thrilled that he was being given a shot at directing, but was horrified when he realized that Curly was in such bad shape. Years later, Bernds discussed his trying experience during the filming of A Bird in the Head: Realizing that Curly was no longer able to perform in the same capacity as before, Bernds devised ways to cover his illness; Curly could still be the star, but the action was shifted away from the ailing Stooge. In A Bird in the Head, the action focuses more on crazy Professor Panzer and Igor. This allowed Curly to maintain a healthy amount of screen time without being required to contribute a great deal. Bernds often commented that he and Jules White never really got along. Bernds feared that his directing days would be over as soon as they began if he released A Bird in the Head with a weak Curly as his first entry. Producer Hugh McCollum reshuffled the release order, and the superior Micro-Phonies was released first, securing Bernds directing position. The Screen Gems television print deleted a scene where Curly and the gorilla drink some alcohol in the laboratory and suffer hilarious after effects.
