“Punchy Cowpunchers” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Punchy Cowpunchers (1950)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Edward Bernds

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Jock Mahoney, Christine McIntyre, Kenneth MacDonald, Dick Wessel, Vernon Dent, Emil Sitka, Heinie Conklin and Blackie Whiteford. 

Tagline: You’ll salute the Stooges for their screwiest comedy ever.

The Plot…

A small town in the old west has been taken over by the Dillon Gang.  Led by, uh, Dillon (MacDonald), the crooks are making life miserable for everyone.  Elmer (Mahoney), is a heroic cowboy, but realizes he’ll need help running the Dillon Gang out of town.  So Elmer rides to the nearest US Cavalry fort to get assistance.

Meanwhile at the fort, the Sergeant is trying to turn our boys into soldiers.  You can imagine the success he’s had.  When the fort commander says that soldiers are needed for a potential suicide mission to run the Dillon Gang out of town, the Sarge volunteers Larry, Moe and Shemp.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Punchy Cowpunchers is not our usual Three Stooges short.  It features a soundtrack and gives supporting cast members ample opportunities for comedy.  This is especially true for Jock Mahoney who looks the part of a handsome cowboy star of the era, but is played dimwitted and clumsy.  Mahoney was a stuntman before becoming a star and he gets multiple gags showing his talents.

This is writer/director Edward Bernds favorite short that he did with The Three Stooges.

Punchy Cowpunchers (1950) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Boobs in Arms” (1940) starring The Tree Stooges / Z-View

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Boobs in Arms (1940)

Director:  Jules White 

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Richard Fiske, Bobby Barber, Lynton Brent, Charles Dorety and Philip Van Zandt. 

Tagline:  Mad buffoons in a barrage of laughs!

The Plot…

The boys are door to door salesmen.  When a woman invites them inside, her crazy, jealous husband returns home.  He attacks the boys who fight back.  In fear for their lives, Larry, Moe and Curly run away with the husband in pursuit.  Our guys find sanctuary in an Army recruiting office.  Before they know it, the Stooges are “in the army now.”  Imagine their shock when they learn that the drill sergeant is the jealous husband!  Let the hijinks continue!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Richard Fiske who played the jealous husband/army drill sergeant was drafted to fight in World War II.  He was killed in France in 1944.

The extended scene where the boys try to rescue their drill sergeant while high on laughing gas is a hoot.

Boobs in Arms (1940) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Dunked in the Deep” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dunked in the Deep (1949)

Director:  Jules White 

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Gene Roth

Tagline: Ahoy. Stooges!  The merriest stowaways to ever sail the briny!

The Plot…

The boys’ neighbor, Mr. Bortch (Roth) is a Russian spy.  Our guys have no clue.  So when Mr. Bortch asks Larry, Moe and Shemp to bring watermelons to the ship he is sailing on, they do.  The watermelons contain top secrets.  The boys don’t learn all this until the ship has left port and they are trapped with Bortch in the hold!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dunked in Deep would be remade by the Stooges in 1956.  It was titled Commotion on the Ocean and re-used footage from the original.

The voice on the radio at the start of the short is Moe Howard’s.

Dunked in the Deep (1949) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Vagabond Loafers” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Vagabond Loafers (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, Kenneth MacDonald, Symona Boniface, Dudley Dickerson and Herbert Evans.

Tagline: The Stooges go plumbing for leaks…and laughs!

The Plot…

A rich couple are throwing a dinner party to show off their expensive new painting.  When a leak is discovered, the butler calls Night & Day plumbing owned and operated by Larry, Moe and Shemp.  The boys go right over to fix the leak.  Little do they know (and they know very little about plumbing), they’re about to get caught up in a plot to steal the painting.  Let the hijinks begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Vagabond Loafers is a remake of the Stooges’ A Plumbing We Will Go (1940) and borrows footage as well.  It was so popular it would be remade again by our boys in 1956’s Scheming Schemers.

Not counting re-used stock footage for later shorts, this is the last Stooges’ appearance for both Symona Boniface and Dudley Dickerson.

Vagabond Loafers (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“God is a Bullet” starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for God is a Bullet starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx.  The poster looks old-school and the trailer does it’s job.  Not only do I want to see the movie, I’ve put the book on my list for future purchase.

Inspired by true events and based on the best-selling novel GOD IS A BULLET written by Boston Teran, the film follows detective Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. Bob takes matters into his own hands and infiltrates the secretive cult to try to save his daughter. With the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), Bob and Case go down the rabbit hole with The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx) to save his daughter and find closure for Case from the cult – and its maniacal leader (Glusman) – that took so much away from her.

RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023

CAST: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe, Jamie Foxx

“Arnold” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Arnold.  The poster and trailer are here.  Looking forward to this one.

This three part documentary series chronicles never before seen footage & stories of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s journey from rural Austria to the highest echelons of the American dream. In the series, there’s unprecedented access to the most candid interviews from Schwarzenegger, his friends, foes, co-stars and observers. We see many talk about his days pumping iron to his triumphs in Hollywood, all the way to his time governing the state of California. The joys and the turbulence of his family life are unveiled in a tale that matches his larger-than-life persona.

“Fuelin’ Around” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Fuelin’ Around (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Emil Sitka, Vernon Dent, Philip Van Zandt, Hans Schumm and Jock Mahoney.

Tagline: The Stooges cook up a brand new formula… for laughs!

The Plot…

They boys are putting in new carpet for Professor Sneed (Sitka).  The Professor is working on a top secret rocket fuel that foreign agents want to steal.  Wouldn’t you know, the bad guys mistake Larry for the Professor, and think Moe and Shemp are his assistants.  They kidnap our guys and set a deadline; either Larry gives them the rocket fuel formula or they will be executed.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Emil Sitka plays Christine McIntyre’s father.  Sitka was three years younger than McIntyre.

The extended scene with the Stooges, the Professor and his daughter trying to escape the jail cell (and Jock Mahoney as the guard flirting with McIntyre) is the highlight!

Fuelin’ Around (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

Jason Copland’s FULL TILT is Live on ZOOP!

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Jason Copland’s FULL TILT is finally ready for pre-orders on ZOOP!  My order is in. Here’s a preview…

After five years of hard work, passion and sacrifice, the epic indie crime-scifi-noir comic by Jason Copland is FINALLY being collected here for the first time!

FULL TILT is a perfect book for those that love gritty noir tales, dystopian future realities and kinetic black and white art. Think Sin City meets The Godfather in the setting of Blade Runner.

This soon-to-be modern day classic is presented in a slick 320-page oversized 7.8″ x 12″ hardcover.

Here’s the synopsis…

New Manhattan, once the gleaming, state-of-the-art city of the 23rd-century, is now in the throes of social and moral decay. Its despondent citizens lose themselves in narcotics and hi-tech toys. Corrupt law enforcement agencies terrorize the populace. Bloodthirsty fans cheer as indentured gladiators fight deathmatches to gain their freedom. It’s the end of civilization… and the five crime families control it all.

Massimo Miller, the fiercely loyal consigliere of the Chessa family, narrowly survives an attack that wipes out all five of New Manhattan’s crime-syndicate bosses. As the massacre’s lone survivor, the new bosses accuse him of the assassinations and gather their armies to hunt him down.

Injured and alone, Miller must battle his way homeward through enemy territory to discover the party responsible for the death of his mentor… and make them pay.

The choice between love and loyalty brought Massimo Miller to this moment. To make it right, he’ll have to go FULL TILT.

“Heavenly Daze” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Heavenly Daze (1948)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Zion Meyers

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent, Sam McDaniel, Symona Boniface and Jules White (voice).

Tagline: The Stooges AT THEIR Howlingest Best!

The Plot…

Shemp has died and is waiting outside the pearly gates hoping to get into heaven.  It looks like he’s come up short and may be taking the down elevator.  Shemp is given one chance at heaven.  He must return to earth invisible to all and reform Moe and Larry.  It won’t be easy, because Larry and Moe are about to scam some rich business prospects.  Can Shemp save his and the other two Stooges’ souls?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

There’s a cool Easter Egg for fans of The Jack Benny Program (and I am one!).  It involves a train going from heaven to earth and one of the stops is… “Cuc…..amonga.”

There’s mixed stories about a gag that went sideways.  A fountain pin flies across the room and sticks in the middle of Larry’s head.  The stunt misfired and actually did hit Larry’s head.  Some say that Moe was so made that he chased Jules White (the director) around the set.  Others say, Larry was stuck in the forehead, but Moe didn’t go after White.

Heavenly Daze (1948) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Fiddlers Three” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Fiddlers Three (1948)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Vernon Dent, Virginia Hunter, Philip Van Zandt and Al Thompson.

Tagline: Hilarity Reigns…when THE STOOGES make merry for Old King Cole!

The Plot…

Moe, Larry and Shemp are the famous “fiddlers three” for Old King Cole (Dent).  Our boys want to get married, but the King has ruled that until his daughter, Princess Alicia (Hunter) marries Prince Gallant III of Rhododendron there shall be no marriages allowed.  Working behind the scenes the diabolical magician Murgatroyd (Van Zandt) has his own plans of his own to marry the princess.  It will be up to our boys to foil Murgatroyd’s plans.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When Shemp hears that guards have kidnapped the Princess he says, “Let me at ’em, I’ll tear ’em limb from limb. Let me at ’em!”  Moe responds, “Well, what’s keeping you?”  Shemp, “Me.”

The Stooges would rework Fiddlers Three using plot elements and footage for the 1954 short Musty Musketeers.

Fiddlers Three (1948) rates 2 of 5 stars.

Five Under-Appreciated Crime Films of the 70s by Joey Portelli of The Flix Zone

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Joey Portelli at The Flix Zone came up with a list of five Under-Appreciated Crime Films of the 1970s.  Portelli’s choices are good ones.  I love crime films and haven’t seen any of his picks.  Before you click over (and if you love crime films, you should), here are my quick thoughts on each.

Darker Than Amber (1970, Robert Clouse): How have I never heard of this one?  Rod Taylor plays John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee. The very-good and under-rated William Smith plays a sadistic bodybuilder antagonist.  Robert “Enter the Dragon” Clause directs.  Wait until you read the plot.

The Last Run (1971, Richard Fleischer): George C. Scott plays an aging getaway driver for the syndicate on his last job.  Richard “Compulsion” Fleischer directs.  This one may have been ahead of its time.

Fear is the Key (1972, Michael Tuchner): Portelli describes this one as “a pure 1970s adrenaline rush” with “a terrific plot twist that completely shifts the films gears half way through”.  I’ve heard enough to know I’m in.  When you click over you’ll learn the cast and more.

The Nickel Ride (1974, Robert Mulligan): Jason Miller, hot off of his starring role in The Exorcist teamed with Robert “To Kill a Mockingbird” Mulligan for this crime drama.  Bo Hopkins and John Hillerman co-star.

Newman’s Law (1974, Richard T. Heffron): This one takes a different spin.  George Peppard plays an honest cop set up to take a fall. Richard T. Heffron (who directed the very under-rated I, the Jury starring Armand Assante) helms this one.

Thanks to Joey Portelli.  I’m going to put these five on my list of movies to be seen.

“Squareheads of the Round Table” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Squareheads of the Round Table (1948)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer: Edward Bernds

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre, Philip Van Zandt, Jock Mahoney, Vernon Dent and Joe Garcio.

Tagline:  The Stooges Start a Knight Riot in King Arthur’s Court!.

The Plot…

Our boys are troubadours for the king.  His daughter, Princess Elaine (McIntyre) and Cedric the Blacksmith (Mahoney) are in love and wish to be married.  But the evil Black Prince (Van Zandt) has plans to kill Cedric and marry the Princess!  It’s up to the Stooges to save Cedric and see that true love wins.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Christine McIntyre did her own singing for this one.

The Guard says, “The king commands your presence.”  Shemp replies, “We ain’t got any presents.”

The Stooges would rework Squareheads of the Round Table using plot elements and footage for the 1954 short Knutzy Knights.  Even though Jock Mahoney was a bigger star in 1954, he returned for pick-up shots.

Squareheads of the Round Table (1948) rates 3 of 5 stars.