Half Shot Shooters

Perhaps one of the more controversial stooge shorts, regardless of who was 3rd stooge. I've seen many take issue with this one--in particular, the character of Sergeant MacGillicuddy played by Stanley Blystone; the argument being that the violence he dishes out on the stooges is too real.

I think I can see where those views are coming from--but, I've always looked at MacGillicuddy as being a more extreme version of the already cartoonish stooges. Besides, some of the pain he dishes out on the boys is just plain funny--i.e. the punch that Larry gets after he kisses Blystone on the cheek.

And there are just too many funny moments in this short for me not to give it a passing grade--maybe the best of them all being the stooges free-wheeling destruction with the cannon--which leads to another moment that a lot of fans take issue with; the ending with the Sarge blowing the stooges away.

Maybe I'm weird, but that scene never fails to crack me up--especially that slo-mo pan to the smoking boots. Overall, "Half-Shot" is one of the best by the stooges during a time period (1936) where they never turned out a bad short.

It's World War I, and the Stooges are tormented by their sergeant (Stanley Blystone). Even when the war ends, Curly and Larry receive black eyes and Moe gets his arm broken by the sarge. The Stooges exact some delicious revenge upon him, however!

Cue ahead 17 years to the depression. The Stooges are tricked into re-enlisting in the army, and their good ol' sarge is their to take them by the hand once again. Will the Stooges and the sarge mend fences this time?

"Half-Shot Shooters" was banned in Holland, and it's not difficult to see why: ultra-violence permeates this short. One reason the Stooges are funny is that the slaps and pokes they receive are brief and the pain is minimal. We can relax knowing that and enjoy their films.

What is NOT funny is seeing the Stooges inflicted with long-lasting pain that is fully in view of the audience (black eyes, a broken arm, busted eardrums). In addition, this torment is inflicted by a sadistic sergeant who enjoys what he does to the boys.

"Half-Shot Shooters" has some funny moments, but the violence level here can make even the most devoted Stooge fan uncomfortable. 5 out of 10.

Half Shot Shooters (1936)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Seventeen years after the end of WW1, the Three stooges find themselves poor and hungry so they accidentally sign up for the Army to cause more trouble. There are a few gags here that work but most of them miss. One of the best gags has Curley pulling his shoe up and another has the three firing off a canon, which hits their Admirel's boat.

Now available on Columbia's 2-disc set, which features over 20 shorts, all digitally remastered and looking better than since they were originally released.

This kind of story happened in at least three of The Three Stooges short, and all of them are pretty funny. This wasn't as good as the others until the last five minutes when it takes a strange turn with a big cannon, and then finishes strong.

The basic storyline - see if this sounds familiar - is the boys are in the army, are lazy slobs and then get picked on my a gruff sergeant. They are discharged (or the war is over), the boys immediately get revenge on the sergeant when they find out he has no power over them anymore. Later, through a mistake, they re-up into the army and now face that same sergeant, who is out to kill them, at this point.

Here, it's 1918 and World War I is raging. We see real footage of soldiers on the battlefield, running and shooting. Then we see the Three Stooges snoring away in a foxhole. The sergeant gives them the business. The same day, it's announced the war is over and on their way out the door, the Stooges really do a number on the Sarge, beating the crap out of him.

There are parts of this comedy, I might say, that almost shocked me in that some of it wasn't slapstick, but almost downright meanness and torture. The violence goes past the normal laughs. For example, in one scene the Sargent has the boys put their heads underwater and then fires a pistol in the water, deafening the boys. That is nasty. It reminded of a brutal scene in the film noir, "The Big Combo."

Anyway, fast-forward to 1935. It's the Depression and the boys are desperate for work. (They haven't aged a bit, by the way.) Because they are kind of ignorant and never read signs, they wind up re-enlisting....and, of course, the same sergeant is there! What happens afterward is a bit of a surprise. The gag turns out to be something else besides the animosity between the Stooges and the Sarge, but the boys' misuse of a huge cannon during a supposed practice session. The Stooges wind up blowing up houses, chimneys and finally, a ship in our own Navy! Those scenes with the cannon are very funny and ends this comedic short on a high note.

Since my childhood The Three Stooges was in my Life and l grew up watching the show until now....in this episode our friends are in World War I sleeping behind the walls when the war is over,a mad Sergeant catch they and beats on them...after discharge they made a revenge...in 1935 unaware they are on Army again...you can guess who they meet again???....The Three Stooges Forever!