''Punchy Cowpunchers'' is a 1950

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

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

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Lithuanian Yiddish, Litvak accent. He is ...

). It is the 120th 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

It is 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 ...

and the Dillon clan are making life miserable for a small Western town. Sweetheart Nell (

Christine McIntyre Christine Cecilia McIntyre (April 16, 1911 – July 8, 1984) was an American actress and singer who appeared in various films in the 1930s and 1940s. She is mainly remembered as the beautiful blonde actress who appeared in many of The Three St ...

) sends her dashing but dimwitted boyfriend Elmer (

Jock O'Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

) to find help. Meanwhile, in the

United States Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...

, cavalrymen the Stooges are making life miserable for their superior, Sergeant Mullins (

Dick Wessel Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "C ...

). Mullins tries to whip the boys into shape, but his plan backfires and he has a run-in with his superior, Captain Daley (

Emil Sitka Emil Sitka (December 22, 1914January 16, 1998) was a veteran American actor, who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with The Three Stooges. He is one of only two acto ...

). Before that goes far, the Colonel informs Mullins about the Dillon clan's evildoings, and needs some men to run them out of town. Mullins does not miss a beat, and volunteers the unsuspecting Stooges. The trio are made up to look like tough desperadoes, and happen upon the town saloon. They take jobs as waiters and do their best to spy on Dillon ( Kenneth MacDonald) and his hombres without being discovered (complete with fake mustaches) However, Moe's mustache flies off his face, right onto Dillon's nose. The gang tie up Moe and Larry, and manage to corner Shemp into a safe. As this is going on, Elmer is stumbling his way to the door of

, who are temporarily unavailable, it being pay day and all ("Boys will be boys," shrugs Cavalry colonel

Vernon Dent Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...

). Disillusioned, Elmer returns to rescue his Nell, who is busy knocking every cowboy who enters her room out cold. Eventually, the Stooges emerge victorious.

Cast

Credited

Production notes

''Punchy Cowpunchers'' was filmed on February 7–10, 1949 at the

Columbia Ranch The Warner Bros. Ranch is located at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank, California and was formerly called the Columbia Ranch. It was the backdrop for many Columbia Pictures films and Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television shows, including ...

on Stages X and W. It is one of the few entries in the Stooge canon to feature an extensive musical soundtrack. It also features all four of the core supporting actors who appeared in the majority of the team's post-Curly films:

, Kenneth MacDonald,

and

External links

* *
''Punchy Cowpunchers'' at threestooges.net

References

{{The Three Stooges 1950 films 1950 comedy films 1950 short films 1950s Western (genre) comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures short films Films directed by Edward Bernds The Three Stooges films Western (genre) cavalry films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films