Gold Raiders

GOLD RAIDERS (1951)

A dull western/comedy feature with the Three Stooges (including Shemp Howard at this point, who I've always enjoyed as the "third Stooge") doing their usual schtick, and directed by the normally dependable Edward Bernds, who also did some of their funniest classic shorts -- so one has to wonder, just what went wrong this time? The most probable answer is that what worked pretty good as a 15-minute two-reeler comes up as too much for a 55-minute feature film. Unlike so many of their classic short subjects, GOLD RAIDERS is not worth revisiting.

*1/2 out of ****

The Three Stooges save the day when the gold must go through in this amusing Western that will tickle the funny bone of any Three Stooges fan. Clem Bevans is hilarious as an old man with a few problems of his own. The film would have gained more had the Stooges been given a larger role. Director Ed Bernds was given a tiny budget and about one week to knock this picture out. Nevertheless, worth the price of admission for the Stooge in you.

The three stooges had gotten their start in the 1930s, so they were in the biz for twenty years already, by the time this "short, but full length film" came out from United Artists. The stooges rescue George O'Brien, who is playing .... George O'Brien in this one, trying to set up an insurance office. Sheila Ryan co-stars as Laura. Lyle Talbot and Monte Blue are in here as well. .. they were hired for most of the westerns made in hollywood! This one is SO three stooges! lots of slapping, tripping, falling, mauling, and saloon fighting. a good mix of stooges and typical western. has a good storyline, and good quality sound and picture. Directed by Ed Bernds, who had directed many of the Three Stooges, Blondie films, and a whole bunch of the Bowery Boys films. interesting story about an oscar mistake.. Bernds was nominated, but he politely declined, since the oscar was meant for another film. check it out on Wikipedia dot org. As usual for westerns, this was filmed in the rocky hills above Los Angeles.

Gold Raiders finds B western star George O'Brien, a former US Marshal now in a new line of work. He's in the insurance game both in sales and protection. He's signing up mine owners for insurance, but in that corner of the west, the mine shipments have been regular prey to bandits. To make his insurance work or pay out big time, O'Brien's got to find the robbers.

He could sure use some good help, but that's hard to find so instead he gets the Three Stooges. Moe, Larry, and Shemp are a trio of itinerant peddlers/con artists and none to good. So why O'Brien thinks they'll be of help to him is a mystery. Still they do their slapstick best.

This was George O'Brien's final starring role, he did a comeback appearance in John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn in a much more serious film and part. He doesn't look like he minds too much playing second fiddle to Three Stooges.

Not too much mystery here, we know right away who the bandits are. Some similarity in plot to Abbott&Costello's The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap. For Stooge fans everywhere.

While by the time this movie was made, Shemp Howard had appeared with his brother Moe and Larry Fine in several shorts as The Three Stooges, this is only the second-and final, it turned out-time he appeared with them in a feature. The first time was in Soup to Nuts back in 1930 when they were teamed with Ted Healy before Shemp first split from them and was replaced by his brother Curly who he eventually replaced in 1946 when Curly had his stroke. Anyway, this was sorta a straight western starring George O'Brien with the Stooges providing comic relief. They're certainly funny enough whenever they appear on screen. By the way, if the leading lady Sheila Ryan seems familiar to you, you may have seen her with another familiar comedy team-namely Laurel & Hardy-in Great Guns and A-Haunting We Will Go. Anyway, Gold Raiders is a pretty enjoyable western/comedy if you don't take it too seriously. P.S. I had previously tried to watch this on the DVD that also had Meet the Baron but the first two shipments from Netflix had either no pic or it froze in several places. I had some of those same problems here from the third shipment but since I kept changing machines, it seemed to work fine...until it pixilated quite a bit near the end though I could still figure out what was going on almost to the very end. Update-8/4/16: Just watched the end on YouTube from a clear print. Rating stays.