Hey! Here's hilarious horseplay!

Shot in the Frontier

1954 | B&W | 16 Min | Comedy | G | Columbia Pictures

Director: Jules White

Writer: Felix Adler (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Moe Howard

Larry Fine

Shemp Howard

HA! You all thought I was going to stick to my Horror guns on Friday the 13th didn't you? Well, guess what let's do something just a little bit different today. Special thanks to Holly's Horror land for hosting this Blog Hop! Make sure to check out the other post's the glorious day. 

Jules White became the head of Columbia's short subject department in 1933 dropping more than 500 short features on the movie-going public. Of Course, White will always be remembered as the main director of Moe Larry and Curly to name a few of the Stooges. White was nominated for four Oscars with one of them the 1935 Stooge classic "Men in Black" which he wrote long before he was behind the camera.

Anyway on with the show, this time around we have our lovable hero's spoofing Hitchcock's High Noon that came out a year earlier. In fact, they use the same soundstage for this short. Frontier is set in the old west, the stooges must defend their honor against the Noonan brothers, three desperadoes who want to marry the same girls the stooges are courting. Cue in returning regulars charters Ella, Bella, and Stella! 

After a quick wedding, the girls fill the boys in on the Noonan brothers letting them know they had to fight for their honor. Of course, this does not set well and we finally get to why we are here! In the next shot, we are tipped off to the date with destiny...

That's right our fight takes place on the unluckiest day Friday the 13th! So now let the slapstick begin. Now I'm the furthest from a Stooge fan or enthusiast all I remember about the Stooges growing up was waiting for it to be over so Our Gang would come on.  Followed by the great Banana Splits Gang, man I miss good TV. 

I guess after many years your going to get the same sight gag's over and over again and when it comes to the Three Stooges that's fine but as they get older it tends to not be as funny. Most of the time I felt Larry and Moe were in so much pain just walking around the set that it pull's you out of the comedy mood. And once we get to the shootout it just seems to linger on way too long. I just wanted it to find its ending. Mind you this is a 16 minute short. 

Obviously, the backdrop looks good being it is from a major motion picture and the director keeps the action framed well its the acting for me that drug this one down, and that is weird to say when we are talking about the Three Stooges. Again maybe I'm just missing the point here but this is not a very interesting short. 

On the upside, it was nice to see Emmet Lynn play the old coot. Lynn was a staple in a number of Republic features mainly playing one of the old grubby prospector sidekicks supplying the comic relief in a number of television shows throughout the forties and early fifties. He also appeared with the Three Stooges in "The Yokes on Me". His last two films were of a religious nature with "A Man Called Peter" and "The Ten Commandments". But I will always remember him from "Ozzie and Harriet" along with the many roles in "The Lone Ranger"

May Karma not strike me down this Friday the 13th but I can only give The Three Stooges Shot In the Frontier...

2 Crazy Curley's out of 5

But hey don't just take my word for it watchit here...

And again make sure to check out the other bloggers by clicking here! I will also be taking part of Outerspace on Film Blogathon this weekend.