From Nurse To Worse is the 49th short subject

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

 starring American slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 comedy team the Three Stooges

Three Stooges

The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...

. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The boys are painters who run into their old friend Jerry, an insurance salesman (Lynton Brent

Lynton Brent

Lynton Brent was an American film actor. He appeared in over 240 films between 1930 and 1950.Brent is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges short subjects such as A Ducking They Did Go and From Nurse to WorseIn addition to his film career, Brent also wrote a...

). He promises them that if they take out a policy on Curly proving that he has gone insane, they can collect $500 a month. Moe and Larry bring Curly on a leash to the office of Dr. D. Lerious (Vernon Dent

Vernon Dent

Vernon Bruce Dent was a comic actor who appeared in over 400 films in his career. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil to the Three Stooges.-Early career:...

). Curly's pretending to be a hound is so over the top that the doctor declares he must operate. The Stooges flee, and hide out in the back of a dog catcher's truck and are soon infested with flea

Flea

Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...

s. Dr. Lerious eventually catches up with the Stooges, and Curly is sent straight for the operating room. Eventually, the trio get away on a gurney

Gurney

A gurney, known as a trolley in British medical context, is the U.S. term for a type of stretcher used in modern hospitals and ambulances in developed areas. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed on a wheeled frame which may be adjustable in height. For ambulances, a collapsible gurney is a...

, bump into their pal Jerry, and give him the works.