Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

lzf0 What wrong with this Stooge movie? Well, there's quite a bit wrong. The later day Stooges features are said to have less comic violence than the Columbia shorts. That's not exactly true in this film. The violence quotient is about the same as a typical Ed Bernds directed short. Even the dreaded Stooge eye poke is used. (Bernds wrote that he never used this move, but he's lying. He just didn't use it as often as Jules White did.) There is a problem of tone in the film. Is this a Saturday matinée item or a typical Stooge comedy? Director Rich and Writer Hayes don't seem to be able to make up their minds. Neither had worked with the Stooges before. The comedy set pieces, probably due to the suggestions of Moe and Larry, are typical Stooges, but that unicorn sends us into kiddie land. In addition, the romantic leads are unlikeable and a waste of footage. The female lead, Anna Lisa, would be better suited to play an escaped Nazi spy. She is so unlikeable that Moe must remind us that she is "a nice girl"! Bob Colbert adds absolutely nothing and is about as charismatic as a snail. Their whole subplot is unnecessary to the film. But the biggest problem with the film lies with the "third stooge". Joe DeRita is so lethargic that the sick Curly Howard of the 1946 shorts seems like a dynamo. DeRita may fleetingly resemble Howard, but he does not have Howard's skills or imagination. He tries to perform the proved gags of the Stooges, but his lack of energy sabotages the comedy. Some have tried to cover for DeRita by saying that he was past his prime when he joined the Three Stooges. Those apologists have probably not seen his shabby work in his own starring Columbia short subject series of the 1940s. He NEVER had much energy. Some say he is an improvement over Joe Besser, who really didn't fit in with the Stooges. However, Besser had a strong character and was loaded with energy. It isn't his fault that the budgets on the Stooge films fell to an all time low. On the plus side, Moe and Larry are excellent as usual, the title song is cute, and it's great to hear Columbia standards "I'll Take Romance" (Oakland-Hammerstein) and "There Goes That Song Again" (Styne-Cahn) during the party sequence. When Ed Bernds returned to direct later features, the quality improved since he knew Columbia comedy well and had lots of experience as the referee on Bowery Boys features. If you want to see how the Stooges fared in feature films, try "Time Out for Rhythm", "Swing Parade of 1946" and "Gold Raiders".

slymusic "Have Rocket--Will Travel" is my favorite Three Stooges feature film. After years and years of making two-reelers at Columbia, the boys were finally given their shot in features, even if Moe and Larry were well past middle age. With a fantastically witty music score, this picture is, for the most part, quite entertaining and lively. I must, however, agree with one particular Stooge author who wrote that the only time the picture drags is when the Stooges land on Venus, particularly when they meet the talking electrical energy device, which shrinks them and locks them in a cage. Fortunately, as this same author pointed out, the pace picks up rapidly again once the Stooges leave Venus and return to Earth.Here are some of the highlights from this excellent comedy (don't read any further until after you watch the film). While on board the rocket ship, Larry accidentally sticks his finger in an electrical socket, shocking not only himself but also Moe and Curly-Joe as they try to grab hold of him. While searching for a key that slipped down a drain, Curly-Joe performs a variation of Curly's classic maze-of-pipes bit from the short "A Plumbing We Will Go" (1940). Evil robot Stooges chase the real Stooges in a corridor with six doors. The Stooges apply shovels and picks to dig their way into the rocket in order to rescue a monkey, and while they're inside, they just cannot seem to prevent the rocket from falling over a cliff. And finally, the dance sequence at the society party is wonderful not only for Larry's losing his shoe and jostling with dancing couples to retrieve it but also for Curly-Joe's spring-on-the-trousers gag (reminiscent of the classic Stooge short "Hoi Polloi" [1935])."Have Rocket--Will Travel" was a huge moneymaker for Columbia Pictures, and no wonder. It succeeds in entertaining and providing a number of good laughs. Supporting actor Jerome Cowan, playing the head of the space center and a marvelous foil for the janitorial Stooges, manages to get a few laughs as well. It is also a nice touch to hear the boys sing, not only during the opening credits but also during the Stooges' stroll with the talking unicorn while on Venus.

John T. Ryan The Three Stooges had about the longest run of any act in the Short Subject field. As an act on their own (after Ted Healy),their career went from 1934 ("WOMAN HATERS") to 1958, when the last of the 2 reelers featuring Joe Besser as the third Stooge was released. It was just about then that COLUMBIA PICTURES decided to release their backlog to Television.After all, the Stooges were now out dated, has beens.Curly and Shemp Howard, who both gave so much energy to the act, were both now gone.Well, the shorts made it to local TV stations, and kids who had never heard of finger pokes and tearing out of tonsils rapidly became their greatest fans. Everyone was watching. All of a sudden, The Stooges were a hot item. Personal appearances,comic books, records, bubble gum cards and all sorts of other merchandising appeared on the scene.Ironically, the Stooges got no financial rewards for their old Columbia Shorts being shown on TV. But if it weren't for their timely release, none of the rest would be possible.Naturally, there would be more motion pictures, but the short subject field was really nothing by now. So, it was decided that "the boys" would go into feature films. The first, HAVE ROCKET WILL TAVEL was produced and played the neighborhood shows in 1959, in the Autumn I think.Well, when we saw the advertisements on TV, we (there were 5 of us Ryan Kids)let out a cheer. It was at our neighborhood theater, and it was Saturday. We went to the Matinée that day. Well, it was us and every other kid in the neighborhood at the Ogden Theater that day. The Stooges' comeback was in full swing now.As a Stooges'picture,it was both familiar and different. They had been in features before, but not as the starring act. They went through the sci-fi story well enough. The story did incorporate a lot of schtick from their old 2 reeler days. The 3rd Stooge was now veteran Burlesque Comic Joe DeRita (nicknamed 'Curly Joe') who bore some general resemblance to Curly Howard, who of course died in 1952. The story had a sort of romantic sub-plot between two of the professors at the space institute. (the female character called 'Dr. Ingrid', played by Anna Lisa a Scandanavian actress who looked sort of like a 'road show' Ingrid Bergman. They even had a short musical interlude, using a forgettable song.Oh well,at least it gave us a good time to slip out to the lobby and get some popcorn.When we left the show that Saturday, we were a little disappointed with Have Rocket Will Travel (the title a spoof of a popular western TV series of that day). Just about every kid thought that it could have been better.But, on the other hand, it was a new Stooges picture, and that was truly good news.Perhaps the greatest irony of this "comeback" film was that it is the first Stooges film that was made for the juvenile trade. Even though it was those kids who were responsible for the Stooges' resurgence, their previous movies were made for general audience viewing.

schmow3 Have Rocket, Will Travel is a hilarious film starring The Three Stooges,Anna-Lisa,Jerome Cowan.It is directed by David Lowell Rich. The Stooges play janitors at a space research center that get blasted off into orbit. The film is fast paced and funny, but lacks on the Stooges trademark physical comedy that was performed from the 1920's from the 1950's. The Stooges film "The Three Stooges In Orbit" is similar to this because there is a comedy plot that has to do with science fiction and aliens. A "must-see" for every fan of the Stooges.