hackraytex This is a rare gem if you get to see it. The Three Stooges were locked into a contract at Columbia for about 23 years that severely restricted their activities outside of their well known shorts. This was a rare opportunity for them to show what they could do when given the chance. They were comic relief but their part was important in this feature western. It was made by the director who directed them at Columbia and I think they enjoyed getting to stretch their wings and do a feature film. A lot of people have said they did not have the talent to carry feature films like Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers but this showed that if they had gotten the right material, they could have pulled it off. If you can find Gold Raiders, it is worth watching.

vandino1 Mediocre little comic western has George O'Brien playing a character named... George O'Brien. That's a sign of the imagination of this oater. But the Stooges are younger and more agile, seeing as this is a 1951 film, than their later outings in the sixties when they were re-discovered. This is also the only feature film with Shemp Howard in the team. All the later films featured the lamentable Joe DeRita. This is also O'Brien's final feature role.The story is about former marshal O'Brien investigating trouble in a western town involving a gold mine. The Stooges are hustlers selling useless gadgets. O'Brien uses the Stooges wagon to carry the gold out under the noses of the villains. Who would suspect those three idiots carting gold around, right? Pretty simple stuff and it only runs 56 minutes so it doesn't wear out its welcome. Yet it isn't particularly funny either. But if you like slapping, this is the slappingest movie ever. The Stooges slap each other, other men slap each other, and even women slap each other... and with all those Stooge sound effects included. Enjoy!

NPG Great film suffers from not being seen often since it is very rare to find a video of it. I saw it at a film festival. Shemp and George do excellent jobs in this film which is both hilarious and very serious at the same time. An unusual work for the stooges definitely. See it if you have the chance!!!

trivia-2 The Three Stooges save the day when the gold must go through in this amusing Western that will tickle the funny bone of any Three Stooges fan. Clem Bevans is hilarious as an old man with a few problems of his own. The film would have gained more had the Stooges been given a larger role. Director Ed Bernds was given a tiny budget and about one week to knock this picture out. Nevertheless, worth the price of admission for the Stooge in you.