The Outlaws IS Coming! | |
---|---|
Directed by | Norman Maurer |
Screenplay by | Elwood Ullman |
Story by | Norman Maurer |
Produced by | Norman Maurer |
Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Joe DeRita Adam West Nancy Kovack Mort Mills Don Lamond |
Cinematography | Irving Lippman |
Edited by | Aaron Nibley |
Music by | Paul Dunlap |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Normandy Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,000,000 [1] |
The Outlaws Is Coming (stylized as The Outlaws IS Coming!) is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita (dubbed "Curly Joe"). Like its predecessor, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze , the film was co-written, produced and directed by Moe's son-in-law, Norman Maurer. The supporting cast features Adam West, Nancy Kovack, and Emil Sitka, the latter in three roles.
In the year 1871, in the frontier town of Casper, Wyoming, a nefarious individual named Rance Roden devises a scheme to eradicate the buffalo population, thereby inciting unrest among the Native American population. His ulterior motive is to eliminate the U.S. Cavalry, his true adversary, allowing him and his cohorts to seize control of the Western territories.
Simultaneously, the editorial board of a Boston magazine learns of the buffalo massacre and dispatches assistant editor Kenneth Cabot to Casper to investigate the matter. Coincidentally, Cabot learns of his new assignment while Moe, Larry, and Curly-Joe visit his photographic studio to capture an image of his pet skunk.
Upon arriving in Casper, Cabot's adept marksmanship, clandestinely aided by the sharpshooter Annie Oakley, earns him the position of town sheriff. Unbeknownst to Rance, his plan to eliminate Cabot is thwarted when the Stooges surreptitiously infiltrate his gang's hideout and immobilize their firearms. Confronted by Cabot, the gang members opt to embrace the path of justice over lawlessness. Meanwhile, Rance and his associate Trigger endeavor to arm the Native American population, including the provision of an armored wagon equipped with a Gatling Gun and cannon. However, their scheme is foiled by the Stooges, who capture photographic evidence of the illicit arms sale.
In addition to his acts of valor, Cabot demonstrates his mettle in various other endeavors, ultimately culminating in his union with Annie Oakley, cementing their shared commitment to justice and righteousness.
The Outlaws
Upon release of The Outlaws IS Coming, a number of English teachers expressed displeasure over the movie's grammatically incorrect title. [2] The title itself was a satire of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds , which featured the tagline "The Birds is Coming". [3] The film satirises many 1960's fads, films and television commercials as well as the Western.
In a nod to television's key role in the resurgence of the Stooges' popularity, the outlaw characters featured in the film were played by local TV hosts from across the U.S. whose shows featured the trio's old Columbia shorts.
On A&E's Biography , Adam West spoke about his involvement with the film and with the Stooges:
The Outlaws IS Coming. What a wonderful experience! Our first meeting at the Columbia ranch, one morning quite early, and I went in to makeup and got on my western duds and came out in the street. And I saw Larry Fine sitting in a chair and I think his wife was yelling at him about something. Actually, the guys were very serious off camera, their demeanors. They were very serious artists in their own way and I was surprised how quiet they were in respect to their screen personae. I think the funniest little incident of the picture that I remember, the main thrust of the plot was that we were trying to save the buffalo and I was the young lawyer from Boston and we had the same interests and that's how we got together. So we spent the movie trying to save the buffalo. The wrap party at the end of the movie and Moe says, 'Ok, everyone's invited to my place in Bel Air for a buffalo barbecue!' And that sort of typifies these three restless knights. I never really spent much time with them away from the set. People don't do that often in Hollywood, you know, you're doing a series and you spend eighteen hours a day with people and you just kind of want to get away from them, it's probably more helpful that way. I wanted to go home with the Stooges every night, but they wouldn't let me!
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick. Six total Stooges appeared over the act's run ; Moe Howard and Larry Fine were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run, while the "third stooge" was played in turn by Shemp Howard, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita.
Moses Harry Horwitz, better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades. That group initially started out as Ted Healy and His Stooges, an act that toured the vaudeville circuit. Moe's distinctive hairstyle came about when he was a boy and cut off his curls with a pair of scissors, producing an irregular shape approximating a bowl cut.
Louis Feinberg, better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American comedian, actor, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle Stooge".
Jerome Lester Horwitz, better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was as a member of the comedy team The Three Stooges, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and Shemp Howard, as well as actor Larry Fine. In early shorts, he was billed as Curley. Curly Howard was generally considered the most popular and recognizable of the Stooges.
Joseph Wardell, known professionally as Joe DeRita, was an American actor and comedian, who is best known for his stint as a member of The Three Stooges in the persona of Curly Joe DeRita.
The New 3 Stooges is an American animated television series that ran during the 1965–66 television season starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita, with actor and close friend Emil Sitka co-starring, as well as Margaret Kerry. The stories took place in varied settings, including Newport Beach and sailing as buccaneers on the Spanish Main.
Joe Besser was an American actor, comedian, and musician, known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subjects of 1957–59. He is also remembered for his television roles: Stinky, the bratty man-child on The Abbott and Costello Show, and Jillson, the maintenance man on The Joey Bishop Show.
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Kook's Tour is an American comedy television film produced in 1969. It was the final film to star the Three Stooges and was originally intended as the pilot for a television series. However, on January 9, 1970, before filming was completed, Larry Fine suffered a severe stroke, paralyzing the left side of his body. When it became clear that Fine was not expected to recover fully from the stroke, production of the series was cancelled and the Kook's Tour pilot film was shelved.
Emil Sitka was an American actor who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and who is best known for his numerous appearances with The Three Stooges. He was the unofficial "last Stooge", since he was tapped to be the new middle Stooge when Larry Fine suffered a stroke in 1970. He is one of only two actors to have worked with all six Stooges on film in the various incarnations of the group.
The Three Stooges In Orbit is a 1962 American comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Released by Columbia Pictures and produced by Normandy Productions, The Three Stooges in Orbit was directed by long-time Stooge director Edward Bernds, whom Moe later cited as the team's finest director.
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules is a 1962 American comedy fantasy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules was directed by long-time Stooges director Edward Bernds. It was the most financially successful of the Stooges' feature films.
The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze is the fifth feature film made by The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita. Directed by Howard's son-in-law Norman Maurer, the film was loosely based on the Jules Verne classic Around the World in Eighty Days.
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