Customer Reviews

The Three Stooges in Orbit

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is some of the best stuff the Stooges ever did even though it doesn't have the great stooges like Curly and Shemp. It has Curly-Joe. I have to be honest. I didn't like Joe Besser as a Stooge at all but Curly-Joe has heart. He fits in very well with Moe and Larry. I don't want to go into detail with the movie because I don't want to ruin it. All I can say is that this is classic 3 Stooges slapstick material. If I made a video of the best Stooge moments I would be using this video quite a bit. If you're a true Stooge fan you'll enjoy this movie at the very least.

After the huge success of "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules"(1961), Columbia Pictures didn't waste time in signing Normandy Productions(Moe's son-in-law's film studio)to produce another stooge picture. Titled "The Three Stooges In Orbit"(1962), it is one of the team's funniest films and is almost on a par with their best feature "The Outlaws Is Coming."

The plot: After being thrown out of every apartment and hotel in Los Angeles, the Stooges take shelter in Professor Danforth's(Emil Sitka) spooky mansion. The boys are TV stars and they need a place to rehearse their lines for their television show, The 3 Stooges Scrapbook. Soon after their arrival, Danforth starts talking about Martians trying to steal his secret war machine. The trio thinks he's off his rocker, but it doesn't take long for them to learn the truth and the mayhem begins.

The Three Stooges Scrapbook was an actual unsold pilot for an unsold TV series in 1960. The footage of the haunted mansion and the Stooges on their TV show was derived from this show. "The Three Stooges In Orbit"(1962) was Moe, Larry, and Joe's last shining moment at the box-office. Soon their popularity would begin to slip. They had reached their peak in this terrific film. It was directed by Edward Bernds, the talented man who directed Shemp's first short, "Fright Night"(1947) and the classic "Brideless Groom"(1947) among many others. If you liked "Have Rocket, Will Travel"(1959) check out "The Three Stooges In Orbit"(1962).

Pretty much what you would expect from the crazy antics of The Three Stooges. Moe Howard and Larry Fine reprise their roles from the early Columbia short subject days. Joe DeRita takes over the third stooge part from cry baby Joe Besser, who, to put it bluntly, just plain sucked in that role.

DeRita at least *somewhat* resembles Moe's younger brother Jerry (who played "Curly" in the original short subjects from Columbia). Curly is and always will be most everyone's favorite stooge, earning the title "Super Stooge."

The Three Stooges in Orbit is entertaining but predictable. Of the full length "feature" movies Columbia released featuring the Stooges, all released in the early 1960's, only one was bad: STOP, LOOK AND LAUGH! just plain sucked.

I also have "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" and "The Three Stooges Go Around The World in a Daze." The only one I regret buying is "Stop, Look and Laugh" which featured butchered bits of the original Columbia shorts wrapped around by Paul Winchell and his two dummies. It is sickening and insult to the Stooges and their fans.

VERY FUNNY. UNLIKE MODERN COMEDIES, THIS MOVIE CAN BE ENJOYED BY THE WHOLE FAMILY. THIS IS THE FUNNIEST OF THE THREE STOOGES FEATURE FILMS. ALL STOOGES FANS UNITE AND BUY THIS VIDEO!

This was a very funny film. I was a bit sceptical at first. I've never seen any of the Stooges' feature length films, and I've never seen anything with Curly Joe. So when I saw this, I found it to be consistently funny throughout and never boring. While Curly Joe is no Curly or Shemp, he's better than Joe, and he has many fine moments spread throughout the film. The film works very well. The alien makeup is campy and very funny (deliberately so), there are some really good one liners, a great pie "fight", some funny use of stock footage, and a great moment when Moe "discovers" the Martians' plans for invading Earth. The Martians are also kind of funny in their "banter". If you like the Stooges, you'll like this movie. Even if you don't, you should be able to find something worthwhile here.

THE THREE STOOGES (five stooges total) were 40 years into their historic comedy careers by the time the 1960s rolled around. That long already! (They started in vaudeville). Never ending the zaniness, they tirelessly kept working to entertain us for the rest of their lives. Moe's son-in-law was the producer of their 1950s/60s movies, and he came up with the idea for "Three Stooges In Orbit."

A wacky old scientist is suspicious that spies from outer space are hiding in his castle/laboratory where he makes a super new weapon-vehicle: a flying sub with wheels and a laser ray. He wants to sell it to the military - any branch - it can go anywhere. His lovely daughter has faith in her father's inventiveness.

The Stooges meet him, and come to stay (after getting kicked out of their own apartment) and yikes! they soon see spooks and monsters at the scientist's place.

Are there really alien monsters lurking who want to take over the Earth? Will the Stooges accidentally take off in the contraption and reek havoc? See for yourself, nitwit numbskull !

I HIGHLY recommend this movie it was GREAT! The quality was terrific and it was reasonably priced. The only thing I was dissappointed about was that it didn't have special features. But that's not a big deal. But other than that it was awsome!

Poking fun at sci-fi movies and Martian invasions (both done sillier in their own right), the Stooges do a film-within-a-film as they play themselves as T.V. stars getting involved in some weird doings.
Winding up at the mansion of a kooky but well-intended professor (Stooge short veteran Emil Sitka), it's soon revealed that actual Martians are hiding away in the place as they await the completion of the professor's latest invention: an odd-looking helicopter-tank-submarine-rocket which the professor hopes to sell to the military. A demonstration goes predictably disastrous with the Stooges behind the wheel, as they demolish army facilities and then take a "joy ride" across the countryside---even managing to accidentally attach an atom bomb during repairs! Eventually, the boys clash with the Martians and thwart their plans to destroy Earth, while saving their jobs at the T.V. studio. The film closes with an outrageous gag: on a T.V. screen broadcasting from Mars, the Chief Martian declares in perfect English: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" Then the Martians do a wild 60's version of the Twist!
"Orbit" is utterly preposterous in idea & story construction---but who cares? After all, this is a Three Stooges movie we're talking about; it was never meant to be taken seriously, just enjoyed. Even the romantic subplot is tinged with subtle touches of humor as misunderstandings abound.
And satire abounds in this caper as the Martians are vulnerable to the Stooges' wild slapstick. It's a real hoot to hear the Martians call each other "idiots!" in their own tongue.
The film was obviously influenced by the Cold War/Cuban Missile Crisis (it was made in 1962) in its inclusion of enemy invasions, nuclear bombs and destruction.
"Orbit" may be a silly concoction, but like much of the Stooges' 60's films, is fun to watch!

Before viewing "The Three Stooges in Orbit", I watched all of the many Three Stooges movie shorts on the Three Stooges Collection, Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 6 which were produced from 1934 to 1951. When I began to watch "The Three Stooges in Orbit" it became obvious that this film was going to be a let down from their earlier films.

Barely humorous dialog. Example:
Moe: "Quite a cozy place you got here."
Professor: "Thank you. Great-grandfather built it over 100 years ago."
Curly Joe: "No! It doesn't look a day over 98!"

Physical comedy lacks finesse. Examples:
Curly Joe is hit in the forehead twice by a thrown portable electric range.
Landlady is hit in the face by an egg that magically flies out of a refrigerator.
Air Force Officers continue to stand on the tarmac as they are pelted by pies knocked into the air by helicopter blades.

Missed opportunity for comedy: After Curly Joe accidentally hits the "orbit" button, the Stooges pass-out from the acceleration. While they are unconscious, their all-purpose military vehicle makes a couple of chaotic loops around the moon (their path indicated by a dashed line) and returns to Earth. Alas, they could have had a lot of fun with this.

One funny bit: A pretty young woman is enjoying her bubble bath next door, when the professor's model vehicle flies through the window, splashes down, and flutters around in her suds. Not knowing what it is, she begins bashing it with her brush, then jumps up wrapping a towel around herself. To her horror, she suddenly becomes aware of the leering Stooges enjoying the show from their window above. The Stooges quickly feign a smiling modesty.

Picture (DVD): 3.

i saw this in the movies when it came out and it was good, wasnt the most funnest butt was great entertainment. i like the space aliens and some of the funny scenes ive always liked space aliens.