The Outlaws Is Coming

Just watched this again on YouTube, several years after originally seeing this late at night on TNT. This was the last theatrical movie for The Three Stooges and it's quite a good one to go out on even though they had one more film to go (that would be Kook's Tour which was another of their TV pilots and which I'll review next). Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe are photographers in Boston when the movie starts. Adam West runs their newspaper department and is passionate about the possible extinction of the buffalo. When their boss (regular Stooge supporting player Emil Sitka) tells of how low that speices seems to be in number, they go west to try to prevent it. I'll stop there and just say the Stooges are as funny as ever with their physical comedy and there are also some anachronistic gags about modern times that were nice surprises especially a couple of ones about The Beatles! The producer/director was Norman Maurer-Moe's son-in-law. Also Maurer's son Jeffrey Scott appears as the only underage kid here. And Don Lamond-who's the main villain here-is Larry's son-in-law. The famous gunslingers whose names get printed on screen as they are introed are all played by TV kid show hosts who showed Stooges shorts on their stations. Among them was Joe Bolton who previously appeared in the Stooges-with-Curly compilation film Stop! Look! And Laugh! Interesting sidelight: After this movie, Adam West would become a big star in the "Batman" series and Henry Gibson-the college-educated young adult Indian who criticizes the Pidgin English Lamond communicates to his father-would be a regular on "Laugh-In". So on that note, I recommend The Outlaws Is Coming.

Technically it was the last and final productions of my infancy-heroes on cinema industry, after for few appearances on screen, they make me laugh during the seventies when I was a little boy, those shorts aired in my local TV, I used to gathered with a bunch of buddies around TV in every single TV sessions, their physical humor cracked me up with the power trio Moe, Larry and Curly follow up by Shemp, aftermaths by Joe Besser and Joe DeRita in those four full-length productions, unfortunately all them didn't live up their early career no matter how their trying to.

Ours friend as usually are the clumsy old sidekicks on a famous magazine addressed to protect American wildlife in Boston, due an upcoming Buffalos massacre in western they were sent there to hinder such cruelty with the younger editor Adam West (prior Batman stardom), upon the arrival the unable gunslinger Adam West is perforce to become a local Sheriff in absent of previous four late lawmen properly buried on graveyard, therefore Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe also hired as deputies to enforce a law in lawless western city helped by the gorgeous quick draw Annie Oakley (Nancy Kovack), meanwhile dealing with Indian's rebellion and a crocked men.

Apart a Columbia low-budge production, the screenwriters provides many funniest lines for ours friends and the supporting casting as when the badmen trying selling an armored wagon and guns to Indian chief using small quotes and body language, when appears a modern and schooled son talking in stylish American jargon, in meantime the Stooges keeping their slapstick comedy, in fact nothing unusual on three previous feature films, anyway let it see easy, however don't expect anything like the golden days whatsoever.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 1993 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD-R-Youtube / Rating: 6.

I thought it was a good stooge movie with Curly Joe, but their westerns have always been my least favorite of their shorts or movies. This movies funnier than any Besser short at least. This is still the best western comedy I've ever seen. I think the movie would be more entertaining and make less sense if Adam West was Batman in this movie. If you are a stooges fan then you'll love this movie.

Some grown-up dialog -- "Look at all those fighting Indians" (and if you don't get the joke, then you never heard the original story about the Custer memorial) -- far-above-average acting and just generally good production values elevate this Stooges movie.

Of course there is the usual Stooges schtick, without which we would feel terribly bereft, and Joe DeRita shows he is a superb Stooge.

Emil Sitka played three parts! As is mentioned elsewhere, he had been a "Fourth Stooge" for so many pictures, he was slated to become a Third Stooge, to replace the ill Larry Fine, but no movie ever got produced.

That is a shame for him and for us, for us who loved the Stooges, and especially for us who loved him.

Most of the cast members, except for Adam West, were not very well known, but they showed some understated acting ability that proved their talent and demonstrated how good a Stooges movie could be.

The guys were lucky. So many other comics and comedy groups or teams declined, but their last picture might well be their best.

I hope everyone will get a chance to see this, for the sheer fun of it, and for the chance to evaluate the Three Stooges and their work.

This not only has some great Stooge schtick but lots of funny satire on old west films, modern life, even spoofing the Stooges themselves. Some bits are like a forerunner to Saturday Night Live "A Japanese Beetle?" Not my favorite Stooge feature film that goes to Hercules for its wonderful story, and great fun. However it is the funniest and most clever in delivery of humor.

I like the Stooge 2 reelers a lot, seen them all. However lets face it, how many times can you laugh at Moe slapping or doing an eye poke? The feature films matured them, pun intended, into good story, cast and broader humor. The stooges morphed into whatever era situation was required to keep going. They should be proud of this, well done boys.

So if you want non stop eye pokes and slaps, watch a Jules White directed 2 reeler, if you are in the mood for something different, this is for you.