''Goofs and Saddles'' is a 1937 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

short subject film directed by

Del Lord Delmer "Del" Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Career Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the theatre, he t ...

and starring the slapstick comedy team

The Three Stooges 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 Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

). It is the 24th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

Set in the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, the Stooges are scouts for the United States Cavalry. They are sent by General Muster (

Ted Lorch Theodore "Ted" Lorch (September 29, 1873 – November 12, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1908 and 1947. Biography Born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1873, Lorch appeared in several Three Stooge ...

) to catch a gang of cattle rustlers, so they hide as bushes to try to find the gang's leader, Longhorn Pete ( Stanley Blystone). However, the rustlers see past their disguises and shoot at the trio, forcing them to flee. The Stooges eventually wind up in Longhorn Pete's saloon, and the Stooges disguise themselves as gamblers and get into a card game with Pete as they wait for the cavalry. Moe attempts to send a message to General Muster for help via carrier pigeon, but the pigeon returns to Pete, who reads the incriminating message aloud. The Stooges are forced to escape for their lives, jumping on a covered wagon filled with household equipment — and a monkey. The trio toss pots and pans from the wagon onto the ground, which the hoofs of the rustlers' horses catch them. The wagon loosens up from the horse team, and goes down in its own power until it stops. The Stooges lock themselves within a small house, forcing the rustlers to use their guns on it from the outside. A bullet knocks off the monkey's hat, and he is forced to use a dipper as a helmet. Amidst the melee, Curly spots a meat grinder and decides to make a hamburger. The whizzing bullets accidentally topple a box of ammunition into the grinder, and the grinder becomes a makeshift Gatling gun. Discovering the chance, they add more ammunition and even a gun belt serving as an ad hoc ammunition belt. The increase in opposing firepower overwhelm the bandits until General Muster and his soldiers arrive and capture them. As the Stooges are given kudos for a job well done, the monkey goes to the grinder and twists the handle, firing a few shots that caused the three to be hit and flee the area.

Cast

Credited

as Wild Bill Hiccup *

as Just Plain Bill *

as Buffalo Billious''Goofs and Saddles'' at threestooges.net
/ref>

Uncredited

* Stanley Blystone as Longhorn Pete *

as General Muster *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

as Tex * Hank Mann as Lem *

Sam Lufkin Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin (May 8, 1891 – February 19, 1952) was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films. Career Born in Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the W ...

as Colonel *

Eddie Laughton Eddie Laughton (20 June 190321 March 1952) was an American film actor. Laughton appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1952, and is best known for his work with The Three Stooges. Career Laughton's family immigrated to the United State ...

as Bartender *

Lew Davis Louis Davis (July 16, 1884—January 13, 1948) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 75 films between 1916 and 1948. Career A New York native, Davis appeared in his first film in 1916. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columb ...

, William Irving as Poker players *

Cy Schindell Seymour "Cy" Schindell (March 4, 1907 – August 24, 1948) was an American actor. He appeared in 37 Three Stooges short subjects, mostly as a heavy, though he was never credited in any Stooge shorts. Career Brooklyn-born Schindell was born Seym ...

Hank Bell Hank Bell (January 21, 1892 – February 4, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1920 and 1950. He was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack A myo ...

Blackie Whiteford John Penman "Blackie" Whiteford (April 27, 1889 – March 21, 1962) was an American film actor. Biography In 1903, Whiteford was a seaman between jobs when he was offered a chance to work on '' The Great Train Robbery'' film. That opportuni ...

, Jerome "Blackjack" Ward as gang members * Ethelreda Leopold, Eve Reynolds, Elaine Waters as saloon girls

Production notes

The title ''Goofs and Saddles'' is a spoof of the term "hooves and saddles". Filming was completed on April 14–19, 1937. The Stooges' names in this short are Buffalo Billious (Curly), Wild Bill Hiccup (Moe), and Just Plain Bill (Larry). The cultural references are to, respectively, American Old West figures Buffalo Bill and

Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...

, and ''

Just Plain Bill ''Just Plain Bill'' was a 1932-1955 15-minute American radio drama program heard on CBS Radio and NBC Radio. It was "a story of people just like people we all know.” Originally called ''Bill the Barber'', the program began on CBS on September 19 ...

'', an iconic radio soap opera of the era. The chase sequence on horseback would be recycled in 1954's ''

Pals and Gals ''Pals and Gals'' is a 1954 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 155th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the c ...

''. This short has the smallest slap count. Moe smacks Curly softly on his head and he slaps Larry when he thought Larry pulled them off the horses after hitting a tree branch.

References

External links

* * {{The Three Stooges 1937 films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Films directed by Del Lord Columbia Pictures short films American Western (genre) comedy films 1930s Western (genre) comedy films American slapstick comedy films 1937 comedy films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films