Gold Raiders (1951)

Overrated and overhyped

How sad is this?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Veteran western star George O'Brien teamed up with The Three Stooges in director Edward Bernds' "Gold Raiders" as an insurance agent determined to thwart a gang of trigger-happy bandits from hijacking gold shipments. The Stooges play second string to George as he tries to flush out the polecats preying on mine operators shipping their ore to Red Mesa. Not only did this 55-minute, black & white, comedy oater constitute O'Brien's last starring role, but it was the first and only time that Shemp Howard showed up for a Stooges' feature film. Primarily, Moe, Larry, and Shemp are con artists masquerading as itinerant peddlers who wind up working alongside O'Brien. Along the way, George and the Stooges get their spurs tangled up with elderly Doc Mason and his granddaughter Laura. Poor old Doc is an alcoholic sawbones who accidentally collaborates with the chief villain Taggart (Lyle Talbot) when he loses a piece of paper with O'Brien's strategy to dupe the outlaws. "Gold Raiders" amounts to a standard-issue, B-movie, horse opera, with the virtuous O'Brien battling it out with the wicked Taggart while the Stooges supply the kind of comic relief sidekicks ordinarily would in their service to the star. Fuzzy Knight makes a brief appearance as a pusillanimous town sheriff. The incomparable Clem Bevans is both believable and sympathetic as the whiskey besotted oldster. As Doc Mason, he creates chaos without realizing what he is doing until half-way through the action. If you enjoy formulaic B-movie sagebrushers with knock-down drag out fights, galloping horse chases, and shoot'em ups, this western should entertain you. The shenanigans of the Stooges and the complex Elwood Ullman and William Lively screenplay make this one tolerable enough to take.

I got this on DVD just last month, I've been waiting years to see this and I wasn't disappointed! This is a pretty good movie, it's not a straight comedy western but The Stooges provide the big laughs of course. I really enjoyed the fact they got a lot of screen time. The "magical eyeglasses" scene was hilarious and I also loved their attempt at a doctor exam on a prospective client. The acting from O'Brien and everyone else is pretty good and the plot is simple but with some neat little twists, esp concerning Doc Mason and his daughter.The only negative thing I could find was that the Stooges are absent for the last good 15 minutes of the movie before the big climactic fight with the bad guys. It dragged in a few parts when the Stooges were absent for a long time.But other than that I really enjoyed the movie. I wish they had gotten to make more full length movies with Shemp also. It's well worth it to get the DVD with this and "Meet The Baron". Its much better than most of the Curly Joe movies.If your a Three Stooges fan it's well worth your time to check it out!

GOLD RAIDERS (1951)A dull western/comedy feature with the Three Stooges (including Shemp Howard at this point, who I've always enjoyed as the "third Stooge") doing their usual schtick, and directed by the normally dependable Edward Bernds, who also did some of their funniest classic shorts -- so one has to wonder, just what went wrong this time? The most probable answer is that what worked pretty good as a 15-minute two-reeler comes up as too much for a 55-minute feature film. Unlike so many of their classic short subjects, GOLD RAIDERS is not worth revisiting.*1/2 out of ****

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!!!