Rockin' in the Rockies

Rockin in the Rockies (1945)

* (out of 4)

Incredibly bad film is certainly the worst thing I've seen The Three stooges in, although it's more like The Two Stooges here. Moe, acting as a solo, cons a bunch of people into looking for gold while some of them also have plans to make it on Broadway. This is an incredibly uneven film that never really seems to know what it wants to do. There's the stuff with Moe playing the con man yet this never goes anywhere and at times it takes a back seat the the Broadway stuff. Then, at times, the film forgets all about the con and centers on the music. I think I laughed a total of two times throughout this film and by the forty-minute mark I was ready to pull my eyes out. The music itself isn't that good so when you mix that with the lack of laughs then you're stuck with a really bad film. Larry and Curly are wasted playing the dumb ones. Now that Columbia has issued The Three Stooges shorts on DVD there's really no reason to pay this film any attention.

It was said of the Three Stooges that they stuck to shorts because they couldn't carry a feature length film. Now with a 70+ minute length, Rockin' in the Rockies barely qualifies as a feature film. Still it might have been interesting if they had left the Stooges on their own out in the wild west.

Moe plays a character named Shorty Williams who lives, maybe a better word is mooches, off cousin Jay Kirby at his ranch. He's got a cash flow problem, needing some capital to go prospecting which is his first love. In come Larry and Curly who he manages to bilk out of their funds and makes them partners.

Before long a couple of stranded show girls, Mary Beth Hughes and Gladys Blake, and a quartet of cowboys who'd rather be on Broadway all get in on the scheme. Add to that a traveling Broadway talent agent played by Tim Ryan who's come west to get away from auditions and you've pretty much got Rockin' in the Rockies.

The Stooges do have their moments, especially pretending to be exterminators to try and get Tim Ryan to stay at the ranch, but I think Harry Cohn made a mistake in not letting them have more of the story. This might have led to feature films for them.

Still the film is to treasured by Three Stooges fans everywhere of every age. Watch the film and get in touch with your inner Stooge.

Moe Howard actually plays a non-stooge: "Shorty" Williams, a ranch foreman, but one who really wants to be a prospector.

He does a good job, too.

This movie is a must for Stooges fans, if only because it is not typical, but it is so unusual it's a must for any movie fan.

Besides, Mary Beth Hughes is in it. Someone with whom I was not familiar, Gladys Blake, but whose lovely legs make her very watchable, played her performing partner, Betty. She didn't act long, but had many gigs.

Most of the plot is to give excuses for musical numbers, and some of the numbers are pretty good, especially "Wahoo." Though Ken Trietsch was a guest on a TV show I directed, I hadn't realized the Hoosier Hotshots had been so active in movies. They actually had a lot of talent, as both musicians and actors. This film was a revelation.

Some of the alleged comedy was done poorly, and can't be called good slapstick. Probably the director should be blamed.

Still, this is a lot of fun, is a must for Stooges fans, a must for movie historians, a must for fans of Western Swing and for -- a term I think I coined -- Midwestern Swing, and a good time for anyone just looking for pleasant fun.

The Three Stooges in a feature length western comedy-musical? Perhaps "Rockin' in the Rockies" was meant to combine the Stooges comedy short with the western musical, in a matinée; if so, this was a pleasant way to break up a Saturday afternoon. Jay Kirby (as Rusty) is a handsome young hero; and, Mary Beth Hughes (as the blonde June) and Gladys Blake (as the brunette Betty) are pretty women. The Hoosier Hotshots are a harmonious group; their songs are quite tuneful; however, this is the 1940s, not the 1950s, so the film doesn't exactly "rock". There are a few laughs; but the Stooges' brand of humor is more subdued than usual. The talking horse is also underutilized.

**** Rockin' in the Rockies (4/17/45) Vernon Keays ~ Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Mary Beth Hughes

If you are a Stooges fan, like me, you should appreciate anything that they have done, even if it's something as corny as this feature. It could've been planned a lot better and give the boys better material to work with. I would've rather seen them in a comedy/mystery instead of a comedy/western/musical. Why the music ? At least though, they did get top billing- sort of, but why not use Moe's real name. The theater going audience knew who he was. But they used Larry and Curly's real names. Whatever. But just a few correction to the Reviewer before me, this was NOT the only feature with Curly and the short with the similar name is Rockin "THRU" the Rockies as opposed to "IN" the Rockies. The other features with Curly are pretty good and are: TIME OUT FOR RHYTHM, where they are not the stars, but do get a lot of screen time. Swing Parade of 1946, The Captain Hates the Sea, Turn Back the Clock, Fugitive Lovers, Myrt & Marge, Start Cheering, My Sister Eileen (cameo). They may not have gotten top billing, but they were in them. There might be others, but I think I've proven my point. But like all Stooges fans, even the worst of Stooge films are the most sought after because of their rarity and not much late-night TV play. We can only hope to see them via the "collectors underground". So if you get a chance to see ROCKIN' IN THE ROCKIES, appreciate it - if not for the content but for the Stooges commitment & contribution to the movie industry !