The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962)

I love this movie so much

Too much of everything

Fantastic!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

To be honest I can't remember a whole lot from this film, but I do remember it being replayed a few times years back in the old UHF days. Whether I'm getting burnt out on reviewing other people's productions, or this was just not that good a film, I don't really know, but one of the few distinct memories I have of this film is the stooges riding the flying submarine absconded by the film's two antagonists. Ayup, between "It's a Wonderful Life", one of the many bikini films by American International, or a Bob Hope review, the Stooges and various films from the 30s up through the mid 60s would air on television, and "The Three Stooges in Orbit" was one of them.I didn't laugh a whole lot at this thing, but I was riveted to the antics because it was something different than "Days of our Lives" or any of the other midday drivel that was passed off to many a WASPy housewife during the 70s and 80s.It's not a stellar production from the Stooges, but it's something to kill time.Watch at your own risk.

First of all, let me tell you that I'm a huge stooge fan. I consider them one of the most underrated teams in comedy history, only supported by a huge fan base but not for the critics. The stooges are much more than Moe hitting the others or flying pies. But sadly, the last years of his glorious legacy are far from the rambocious, lunatic and uproarious days with Jerome "Curly" Howard or even with Shemp. And this movie is a clear example. Slow paced humor and only a few good jokes aren't enough for sustain a 90 minutes film. The old stooges try to do their best, but even the scrip doesn't help. The martians are fun to watch, Emil Sitka was always a good companion for the boys, but the overall feel is bittersweet. I prefer them in their legendary Columbia shorts, the kind of stuff that influenced Seinfield's trio Jerry, George and Kramer, and many many others.

(Please note: "The Three Stooges in Orbit" has always been one of my favorite Stooge films since I was a teenager in the early 1990s, and it still is today. However, at the time I wrote the commentary below, I briefly began to have mixed feelings about the film. Anyhow, here is my commentary.)I have read that "The Three Stooges in Orbit," directed by the usually great Edward Bernds, is not one of the better feature films that the Stooges made. Indeed, the story is not well put-together; it might have just been an excuse to incorporate stock footage from the Stooges' unsuccessful TV pilot "The Three Stooges Scrapbook" into the first twenty or so minutes of "Orbit." Adding to the flimsiness of sixties sci-fi production values are the appearances of the Martians; they are basically human bodies with hideously over-sized heads and embarrassingly unintelligible language. And the music score of Paul Dunlap, while somewhat interesting, may not be enough to enhance the picture. However, "The Three Stooges in Orbit" is still entertaining to watch, and the boys are greatly supported by their long-time pal Emil Sitka, who has a substantial role as the eccentric Prof. Danforth.Here are some of my favorite highlights from "Orbit" (do not read on if you have not yet seen the picture). The model of the professor's tank/helicopter/submarine buzzes Curly-Joe while he takes a shower; he ends up dousing Moe, Larry, and the professor when they arrive to help him. The Stooges resemble Martians in their white costumes and makeup when the professor films them applying the latest dance craze for their faltering cartoon show. When Martians Ogg (George N. Neise) and Zogg (Rayford Barnes) hijack the professor's vehicle and traverse the sky while the Stooges hold on for dear life, Curly-Joe gets his head stuck in the ray gun that the Martians installed. While the Stooges help the professor fine-tune the vehicle before showing it to the Air Force brass, Larry accidentally squirts oil onto Curly-Joe's face; Joe, in turn, staggers onto the vehicle's controls, causing Moe to fearfully spin around on a helicopter blade. At a climactic moment, Moe figures out what the Martians are up to by reading the English subtitles off the screen; the boys then accidentally knock each other out in trying to knock out Ogg and Zogg. The Stooges make a total mess out of their demonstration of Prof. Danforth's vehicle for the Air Force. And finally, Curly-Joe proves he doesn't know how to work a hammer and chisel; Larry tries to help him, but he proves himself not much smarter.So "The Three Stooges in Orbit" may not be the best feature film that the boys tackled. But I would like to believe that every film has its good points, and this film delivers at least a few laughs for the Stooge fan.

This is one of the weaker things the later Stooges did, and you can mark that down as coming from a lifetime fan of all their two-reel shorts (be they with Curly, Shemp or Joe) as well as their feature films with Curly Joe DeRita. This movie just flat out ain't very funny. Having Moe, Larry and Curly Joe tangle with old professor Emil Sitka and cool-looking Frankensteinian martians (well, they look cool to those of us who grew up loving cheesy monster movies) should have helped make for a sure fire bullseye. Instead, this nonsense is all over the place, hopping from one unfunny bit of business to the next, trying to fill in the running time with all sorts of unrelated junk (including a meaningless relationship for the professor's daughter). This makes their Joe Besser shorts like OUTER SPACE JITTERS and SPACE SHIP SAPPY look positively first-rate. ** out of ****