MERRY MAVERICKS

Edward Bernds' only truly bad film (his weaker Curly films are excusable due to Curly's bad health), and boy is it a bad one! The first half is nothing but a rip-off of PHONY EXPRESS, and the redone scenes and gags are done very slow and weak here, and Moe and Shemp have to steal some of Curly's gags (I especially hated seeing Moe do the "Curly Shuffle"). It doesn't get any better with the new plot twist in the second half; Bernds had done the "scare routine" much better before. The main supporting actors in this are terrible and come off as cheap replacements for the better-known Stooge supporting actors who would usually play these types of roles (Don Harvey for Kenneth MacDonald, Marian Martin for Christine McIntyre, and Paul Campbell for Jock Mahoney). Marian Martin, in particular, was lifeless in this and didn't look like she was even trying. Barely any genuine laughs here overall. I guess Bernds was having an off-day when he made this.

The opening scenes of this short when Moe takes down the wanted poster is good stuff. I especially liked his little speech about going out west where you can lounge in the lazy sun & he slaps the other two for falling asleep. After that the laugh meter is going at empty for the most part. Shemp's line "hey bud, you got a calender" when he gets locked in the jail cell is great.2 pokes

An average short, but not Bernds's best. The first half was very slow and Christine McIntyre should have been used instead of Marian Martin as the dame. The whole scene in the Old Horton Place ups the grade a lot, especially the chase scene.Grade: B-

Will you knucleheads quit knocking this short? It's great. I enjoyed Emil Sitka's brief appearance as the jailer (and you said there were no regular supporting players!) but I didn't like the girl in this short. She wasn't attractive and she was just okay as an actress. I also wish they would've had Jock Mahoney instead of that dopey Jock-wannabe. I did like his "Eww, blood!" line at the end.This is probably the only time in the history of film that the western theme and the haunted house theme came together. I thought it worked very well. I enjoy all kinds of spooky stories and legends, which contributed to my enjoyment of this short.ISLIPP, you catch me. ©2001Edited by - ISLIPP on 8/25/01 12:17:47 AM

This was just okay, it isn't nearly as good as "Phony Express" but I did like the haunted house part somewhat. I'd give this short a C. Mike Holme

I'm going to take the middle route on this one. I find this watchable on its own merit, but the supporting actors are second rate as oppsosed to the regulars, and this short is not anywhere near as good as Out West, Punchy Cowpunchers, or Phony Express. I do like the what's this routine. You know, where Moe asks Larry the questions and gives Shemp the abuse.C

I thought this was one of Edward Bernds best shorts. I thought all of the supporting players were great as well. I love the "scare routine" in this short as well.A- B. Bopper - President of The Amalgamed Association of Morons, local 6 & 7/8

This is pretty bad...sickly almost. It depresses me when I see a bad one. I think to myself, how could such great comedy minds not notice how bad this is? And then I always realize, they just had to keep goin. I relate it to a great rock band who puts out a bad album once in a while. Or a baseball team that has 162 games to play and goes through a bad stretch. This short would be comparable to The Rolling Stones "Dirty Work" lp or the '99 Yankees losing 16-1 to the Forida Marlins....But hey, give it up for the "Headless Indian!"