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Shot in the Frontier (1954)

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Offline metaldams

http://threestooges.net/filmography/episode/156
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047482/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HUxJofhvxug

Watch SHOT IN THE FRONTIER in the link above



      I don't know if it's because I'm so thankful to see an original short, but I like this one better than I remember.  Columbia must have had access to a nice western set in this one, as it does enhance the short.  The plot is pretty simple here - Stooges get married to girls, Stooges have to fight Noonan Brothers for girls honor, a comic fight ensues.  There is rare use of background music for a small part here, more reminiscent of Hal Roach than Columbia, and the guitar playing singing old man is also a bit of fun. 

      As for the fight itself, pretty much the highlight.  I enjoy Shemp using his body as a slingshot only to get shot in the ass, the random comic signs throughout town, especially on the tombstones, Moe's stunt double rolling on the ground with the Noonan Brother, and a late version of Shemp's shadow boxing routine.  The girls are great, all three, and dig that bottom shot of them on the theatrical poster below.  Yowza!  Fun short, one of the better westerns and from this point forward, only two Howard, Fine, Howard originals left.

9/10


- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Shemp_Diesel

Well--after 3 weeks of mostly remake hell--we get some all new material & how refreshing it is. I'm not as high on this one as Metal, but I think this and the later Blunder Boys shows that the stooges were still very much capable of turning out good or even great, new material.

As always, it's never bad to have Diana Darrin in any short & the old man twanging his guitar throughout this short is a fun comic touch. I also enjoyed the tombstones--especially "Mama loved Papa." And Moe rolling on the ground with Joe Palma--again, very funny.

I also think this may be one of Kenneth McDonald's smaller appearances in any stooge short, given that he gets taken out pretty early in the shootout between the Noonans and the stooges.

7 out of 10....
Talbot's body is the perfect home for the Monster's brain, which I will add to and subtract from in my experiments.


Offline Paul Pain

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SHOT IN THE FRONTIER is a short with an unfair reputation.  It's a Stooge Western, and as such people dismiss it as bad (like most Stooge Westerns) and view it having already judged it in their minds.  But this one is a fairly strong selection among the Shemp canon.  It isn't GOOF ON THE ROOF by any means, but it isn't VAGABOND LOAFERS, either.  It's one of those shorts that, when airing, I will always put on and, under the right circumstances, might put on just because I want to SHOT for SHOT's sake.

Since it hasn't been mentioned, one can't help but smile when the girls say they boys are riding "Hell bent for leather" and promptly arrive, all three of them riding on the back of a trotting horse.  The wedding and the boys with the alcohol and the clock also makes for a good moment.  We have a well choreographed chase sequence between the boys and the Noonans that leads to a slapstick fight.  Some coward on the Three Stooges site claims the hot dogs in the shotgun was "predictable," and I call BS and say that the poster is merely looking for excuses to degrade the short because it's a western.  Shemp "losing" his drinking glass while Moe and Larry look on in horror at all the booze being spilled on the floor is the highlight of that particular scene.

We re-enter Shemp remake hell... it's no use; we're doomed.  Only two more original Shemps left, although not every remake is going to be all that bad (ahem, introducing Miss Helen Blazes).

8/10
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Offline Lefty

Most definitely, this is one of the top Shemp shorts, and not because it's an oasis of originality in a rat hole of remakes.  It's fun to watch from start to finish.  The fight scene is the best, the tombstone rhymes are very funny, and I liked how the clock kept resetting itself to 12:05 and then showed the Friday the 13th message.  "No use, you're doomed!"  And I was also surprised that Kenneth MacDonald had such a little part in the action.  As for "hell bent for leather," the first time I ever heard that phrase was in the "Rawhide" theme song, surprised that the censors would allow that way back then.


Offline metaldams

First time I heard the phrase "Hellbent for Leather," well, Google it, and consider my name is METALdams.  You should be able to figure it out.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Tony Bensley

First time I heard the phrase "Hellbent for Leather," well, Google it, and consider my name is METALdams.  You should be able to figure it out.
I wonder how a "Great Judas Priest" catchphrase for Perry White might have gone over!  ;)

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!  :)

CHEERS!  [pie]


Offline metaldams

I wonder how a "Great Judas Priest" catchphrase for Perry White might have gone over!  ;)

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!  :)

CHEERS!  [pie]

LOL
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Big Chief Apumtagribonitz

I'm O K with this one.  The old coot with the guitar is O K,  the background music is O K ( I'm always a fan of that ), and Moe rolling around with the bad guy is O K.  I'm less enamored of the rhyming gravestones, I think the bit is too slow and the rhymes were public domain even back then.  The stooges themselves are slowing down, too, not terribly, but a bit.  Considering what's coming up, this is a masterpiece, but even standing alone, it's O K.  I give it an  O/K.


Offline Dr. Hugo Gansamacher

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Since bullets do nothing but richochet harmlessly off the human posterior in the Stooge universe, one wonders why the boys are so afraid to confront the Dillons.

What a shame that Kenneth MacDonald gets taken out of action so soon.


Offline Kopfy2013

Definitely nice to get fresh stuff.  This is an OK short.  I got a little bored.  Shemp getting punched in the face, Moe calling Shemp a coward and then running, rolling in the dirt - those were the highlights.

I give it a 6.
Niagara Falls


Offline Woe-ee-Woe-Woe80

I've thought this was a decent short but nothing to write home but I do like the outdoor western scenery and how this short has all new footage which was rare by this time period, this short has some good moments but the fighting/gun battle scenes went on way too long, Moe also doesn't seem to dish out much punishment either

Overall I give this short a 6/10


Offline Desmond Of The Outer Sanctorum

Until my most recent viewing I never watched closely enough to notice this, but... it's really quite obvious that the actor playing the old man never actually plays an instrument.
"Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day." -- Samuel Goldwyn

The people who have your best interests at heart...
...are generally not the ones telling you whatever you want to hear.


Offline Dr. Mabuse

Enjoyable "High Noon" spoof that benefits from its rare underscoring and outdoor setting.  A few slow spots, but a refreshing throwback to the Curly era. The best of the Shemp westerns and, with the exception of "Blunder Boys," the last truly memorable Three Stooges short.  Interestingly enough, the only Stooge western directed by Jules White.

8/10
« Last Edit: December 02, 2020, 01:14:10 AM by Dr. Mabuse »


Offline Daddy Dewdrop

It looks like I'm once again in the minority on this one (no surprise).  As I stated earlier, I'm not a fan of the Stooge westerns in general.  The old coot rubs me the wrong way.  There are a few chuckles, but overall this one is pretty dull.  The highlight is probably the "rolling" fight with Moe and the bad guy.

#182. Shot In The Frontier