Gold Raiders

Gold Raiders is a 1951 comedy Western film starring George O'Brien and the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). The film was O'Brien's final starring role and the only feature film released during Shemp Howard's 1947–1955 tenure with the Three Stooges.^[1]

Gold Raiders
Directed by	Edward Bernds
Written by	William Lively Elwood Ullman
Produced by	Bernard Glasser Jack Schwarz
Starring	George O'Brien Moe Howard Larry Fine Shemp Howard Sheila Ryan Lyle Talbot Clem Bevans Monte Blue John Merton Hugh Hooker
Cinematography	Paul Ivano
Edited by	Fred Allen
Music by	Alex Alexander June Starr
Production company	Jack Schwarz Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	September 9, 1951 (1951-09-09) (U.S.)
Running time	56 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50,000[1]

Plot

In the Old West, the Three Stooges are peddlers traversing the terrain in a covered wagon. George O'Brien, previously engaged as a federal marshal, has transitioned his occupation to the burgeoning field of property insurance. O'Brien recruits the Stooges to aid him in devising a plan to outmaneuver a notorious gang of outlaws under the leadership of saloon proprietor Taggart, whose criminal activities involve the pilfering of precious gold-mine consignments.

Cast

• George O'Brien as George O'Brien
• Moe Howard as Moe
• Larry Fine as Larry
• Shemp Howard as Shemp
• Clem Bevans as Doc Mason
• Sheila Ryan as Laura Mason
• Lyle Talbot as Taggart
• Monte Blue as John Sawyer
• Fuzzy Knight as Sheriff
• Hugh Hooker as Sandy Evans
• John Merton as Clete
• Remy Paquet as Singer
• Andre Adoree as Bartender
• Roy Canada as Slim
• Bill Ward as Henchman

Production

Gold Raiders was an attempt by independent producer Bernard Glasser to inaugurate a new Western series starring George O'Brien, an action star since John Ford's 1924 epic The Iron Horse and later a top attraction in Western and outdoor-adventure features.

The film marked the second and final feature film with Shemp Howard as part of the Three Stooges. The first had been the team's original screen appearance, Soup to Nuts (1930), featuring their original leader Ted Healy.

Director Edward Bernds, who had directed Three Stooges shorts, employed an economical approach to filmmaking. He enlisted the assistance of Elwood Ullman, a frequent collaborator in scripting Three Stooges shorts, to infuse comedic elements into William Lively's original Western narrative. Originally slated for a 12-day filming schedule, deemed feasible for a production of modest means, the project encountered financial constraints at its start. Producer Bernard Glasser's budgetary limitations necessitated two reductions in the shooting schedule, ultimately settling for a short five-day window between December 26 and 30, 1950. Despite the truncated timeline, Bernds, initially disheartened by the constraints, persevered at Glasser's behest.^[2] Reflecting on the hurried production, Bernds lamented the suboptimal conditions under which the film was made: "I should have never made that picture. It was an ultra-quickie shot in five days at a cost of $50,000 ($653,458 today), which, even then, was ridiculously low. I'm afraid the picture shows it!"^[1]

Following the film's completion, Glasser's limited resources hampered promotional efforts, resulting in sparse publicity materials such as a modest pressbook and posters printed in only two colors. The film was released by independent producer Jack Schwarz through United Artists.

Plans for a recurring O'Brien-Three Stooges series following the film were abandoned, as O'Brien and Glasser redirected their efforts toward independent production ventures in Europe.

Despite its initial reception, Gold Raiders received renewed attention when United Artists reissued the film in theaters in 1958. Television distributor Associated Artists Productions released two condensed versions of the film on 8mm home-movie reels during the 1960s.^[3]

Home media

Out of circulation for years, Gold Raiders was released on DVD in 2006 by Warner Bros.

See also

• The Three Stooges filmography