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. References External links A Bird in the Head at threestooges.net 1946 films Columbia Pictures short films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films 1946 comedy films Films directed by Edward Bernds American comedy short films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films