Rockin' in the Rockies

I saw this film on TCM with a slightly different attitude. I recently viewed a DVD set called "SHOWTIME USA;" this was a compendium of circa 1950 low budget musicals from Lippert Productions. ROCKIES, though a Columbia film, share some of the same musical cast seen in the later Lippert movies (including a subliminal Snub Pollard appearance) and it's the musical element, so snidely dismissed here, that I find the most worthwhile! My God, you have Spade Cooley, the Hoosier Hotshots, the charming Mary Beth Hughes, etc. So even if it's musically not to your taste, it's still a valuable thing to have on film. For Stooge-centrics there's obviously way better Stooge stuff elsewhere, but this film definitely has its own merits.

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.

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.

After many years of only reading about this, I finally got to check the DVD of this movie from the library-the only feature during Curly Howard's lifetime he got to star (as opposed to supporting other players) in with his brother Moe and Larry Fine-The Three Stooges. Initially, Moe is separate from them (In fact, he plays Shorty while the other two are under their own names) but they get together soon enough. The plot is pretty much a mess so I didn't pay too much attention to that and just enjoyed their antics. Many of the musical acts were also enjoyable like that of the Hoosier Hot Shots-who I previously was familiar with when hearing their recording of "I Like Banannas (Because They Have No Bones)" on an album of Dr. Demento's collection of novelty songs-as well as the Cappy Berra Boys and Spade Cooley-King of Western Swing-and a couple of female singers, Mary Beth Hughes and Gladys Blake. What can I say, as a longtime Stooges fan, I simply couldn't get enough of Rockin' in the Rockies!

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