Punchy Cowpunchers (1950) User Reviews

Some expendable troops

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 19 May 2019]

This 3 Stooges short subject has Moe, Larry, and Shemp joining the cavalry and when men are needed to be spared for a dangerous mission that they might not come back from then the sergeant knows exactly where to look.

The mission is to help track down the notorious Dillon gang which is headed by veteran character actor Kenneth MacDonald. In typical stooge manner they kinda sorta capture him.

This short also has Jock Mahoney just as he was getting out of being a stuntman and doing parts. He was never this funny in his later films. Here he burlesks his own image as a cowboy hero who just can't quite get it together.

One of their best from the Shemp years.

the best Stooge western

[anderman70 · 6/10 · 29 January 2005]

This is one of the funniest Stooge westerns ever. It is tightly paced, well directed, and features great characters. I'd almost say the Stooges were out staged by the fumbling Jock Mahoney and the great Christine McIntyre.

Christine outdoes her punching Shemp out scene from 'Brideless Groom', by beating up the entire gang one by one. As she claims to be a 'weak defenseless woman', she decks them with one punch, then ladylike she faints on her bed. This was also one of the few Stooge shorts that featured a music soundtrack. I always thought the Stooge shorts would benefit greatly with a music score. Maybe Columbia was just to cheap, as I've seen other comedy shorts from the studio, and they were also wanting for music.

Shemp Stooges short

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 12 March 2024]

It's 1868 Fort Scott, Kansas. Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard are bumbling US cavalry men. Sgt. Mullins gets the short end of the stick with those guys. He gets to send three men on a suicide mission to take down the Dillon gang and he knows exactly who to pick. The boys find help from singing cowboy Elmer and barmaid Nell.

There is an actual story in this Three Stooges short. The boys are doing plenty of physical comedy, but few of them are all that funny. Elmer is trying so hard sometimes. He's trying to match the Stooges and comes off looking silly. The safe is stupid, but at least, it's fun.

Christine & Jock Almost Steal The Boys' Thunder!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 24 February 2008]

Christine McIntyre and Jock Mahoney almost steal the show from The Three Stooges in this funny short. The two reprise their roles from an earlier Stooges film called "Out West." She is "Nell" and he is "Elmer." However, this big difference in this one is that they both play comedic roles. Nell is funny as the one-punch knockout gals who delivers a mean right cross. Elmer is a guitar- toting Lone Ranger-wannabe who can't get out of his own way and is a total loser, but a lovable guy and the object of Nell's affection.

The main story concerns the Stooges and an outlaw gang, who want to blow up a safe and steal gold. The Stooges are sent by the U.S. Calvary to be spies and grab the gang. Their ineptness leads to a lot of sight gags, including some familiar ones like tossing back-and-forth a stick of dynamite or having a shooting or drinking contest at the bar.

Overall, a fun adventure filled with familiar Three Stooges actors and a good mix of humor and action.

Not just the Stooges, but everybody is good in this one...

[Ericrs · 10/10 · 25 February 2002]

This is Christine McIntyre's best stooges appearance. "I'm just a poor helpless woman!" POW! And knocks her attacker out the window. This short is also good because the bad guys are real badguys. They have brains unlike some of the other bad guys that the boys went up against in the past. You actually start worrying about the stooges and wondering if they'll get out of this one alive.

Elmer's pratfalls and his "Forgot my geetar." and "I fell off my horse" lines are priceless. Oh yeah and the stooges are good too. Especially Shemp's "Your gun is empty." SMASH This one never fails to make me laugh. Definitely my favorite short.

Outstanding comedy Western

[slymusic · 9 June 2005]

"Punchy Cowpunchers" is one of my two favorite Three Stooges shorts with Shemp (my other favorite is "Pest Man Wins" [1951]), and it was director Edward Bernds' personal favorite as well. Certainly it is my favorite comedy Western, with lots of action and laughs!

Edward Bernds, who died in 2000 at age 94, is considered by many, including myself, to be the best director the Stooges ever worked with, and perhaps that is illustrated no better than in "Punchy Cowpunchers." In this short, the slapstick occurs at a brisk, lively pace, and Bernds is not afraid to give the supporting cast (e.g., Emil Sitka, Kenneth MacDonald, Dick Wessel, Christine McIntyre, and especially Jock Mahoney) a share of the spotlight and laughs. Of the six Stooge shorts in which Mahoney appeared, he steals the show in "Punchy Cowpunchers" as he constantly displays his stunt capabilities. His character, named Elmer, is a complete klutz as he trips and falls and uses his "aw shucks" catchphrase. His best stunt occurs at the end when he does a front flip after getting smashed in the head with a plate.

Some other memorable scenes in this fine comedy involve two ongoing struggles, complete with clever background music. The first is the chase between the Stooges and the Dillon Gang (MacDonald, George Chesebro, and others) amidst a storage area in the saloon. And the second involves several members of Dillon's gang who try, one by one, to corner Elmer's girlfriend Nell (McIntyre). As each outlaw tries to grab her, she shouts, "I'm just a poor, weak woman!" After which she knocks him out with a punch to the face and then finds a comfortable place to pass out.

In conclusion, "Punchy Cowpunchers" is an exceptional Three Stooges comedy with plenty of laughs for not only the Stooges but also the supporting cast.

Great Shemp short!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 19 October 2004]

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

I think Punchy Cowpunchers is one of the best Three Stooges westerns with Shemp. This one has an all-star cast which includes Jock Mahoney, Christine McIntyre, Kenneth MacDonald, Dick Wessel, Vernon Dent, Emil Sitka, Heinie Conklin, and Joe Palma! All of the actors perform well and each all has a bit of screen time. There some really funny things here and I love it when the Stooges bartenders. If you are a Three Stooges fan and western fan then I strongly recommend that you watch Punchy Cowpunchers today!

Forgettable western short starring the Stooges

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 10 April 2017]

"Punchy Cowpunchers" is a 17-minute live action short film from 1950. It is one of the uncountable works by the Three Stooges from a point in time when Shemp had already taken over for the sick Curly. War was over, so they weren't political anymore and this one here blends in nicely with the wave of American western films from the 1950s. But it is never really memorable sadly. Even the inclusion of supporting actors that showed up in many other Stooges work could not hide how forgettable this one was. Runtime is roughly the same as always with the Stooges shorts and it is in black-and-white as usual too and has sound of course. I like Shemp more than most, so I am a bit disappointed how this one did almost nothing for me. It is one of the least funny Stooges films I have seen and maybe the reason is that the western component was almost more in the center here than the comedy. Then again, it's probably one of the biggest challenges to combine these two genres into a quality movies. Writer and director Edwards Bernds (who also worked with the Stooges on other projects and became an Oscar nominee a couple years later) was not successful here. Only worth seeing for the very biggest Stooges fans. I give it a thumbs-down as the bad guys and the girl were just as forgettable as the trio themselves.

Hilarious spoof of westerns

[holme-1 · 17 July 2002]

The stooges dealing with bad guys was the greatest theme in the Shemp era and it almost always worked out successfully. This is no exception. The stooges trying to act tough in front of three of the killer Dillons was hilarious!

Grade: A