Movie Review: The Outlaws is Coming (1965)

The movie stars Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe DeRita, Adam West, Nancy Kovack, Mort Mills and Don Lamond.

I came across this movie this past weekend and decided to record it so I could watch it while home for lunch during the week. I finally had an opportunity to finish it yesterday and, overall, I thought it was an OK film.

To tell you the truth, I did have some doubts about this movie when I first started watching it. While I don't mind the Three Stooges, I also wouldn't call myself a die-hard fan of their comedy (I personally like Abbott and Costello better). Plus, when I started watching the movie, I realized it was one of their later films, when they had Curly Joe (DeRita) and were pretty much past their prime. That being said, the movie did still prove to be surprisingly entertaining.

A bit part of the reason for this was the fact they had a strong ensemble cast supporting them. The Three Stooges were still the stars of the film and a good portion of the movie was dedicated to their slapstick comedy. But, Adam West's performance as their editor along with Nancy Kovack's starring role as Annie Oakley did help the movie keep a relatively normal plot so it didn't just turn into a series of sight gags.

The two main villains, Trigger (Mills) and Rance (Lamond) also helped this movie by giving it a spaghetti western feel. They were tough enough outlaws to give the movie some legitimacy. But, at the same time, they knew when to step back a little bit and let the stars take over so the film remained a comedy. This, admittedly, was a bit unexpected and was a big reason why I found I did actually enjoy watching this movie.

In fact, my only real complaint about this film was the fact it took place so late in the Three Stooge's career. I would have loved to have seen this film made when their comedy was still fresh and the trio was still in its prime because it could only have made it better.

As I said, I'm not a die-hard Three Stooges fan and, because of that, this isn't the type of movie I would watch on a regular basis. However, it did prove to be funnier than I was expecting it to be and, because of that, I would recommend taking the time to watch this movie at least once if you have the opportunity to do so.

My Grade: B