"Have Rocket, Will Travel"
* 1\2 (out of ****)
The Three Stooges are lost in space in the sci-fi comedy "Have Rocket, Will Travel" (1959).
Between 1934 - 1959 Columbia Pictures released 190 Three Stooges comedy shorts, many regarded as masterpieces of physical comedy; "Men in Black" (1934), "Hoi Polloi" (1935) and "Disorder in the Court" (1936) among them. Syndicated for television in the late 50s, a new generation of children would discover the Stooges, to the disappointment of mother's everywhere.
With a resurgence of fame, the team capitalized by releasing six feature-length comedies between 1959 - 1965. The first released was "Have Rocket, Will Travel". Though borrowing its title from the popular television western, "Have Gun, Will Travel", the movie also capitalizes on the science fiction craze of the 1950s and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The movie would also introduce the newest Stooge, Curly-Joe (comedian Joe DeRita), named so because of his rotund physique, similar to Curly Howard.
After another failed rocket test (four in total) the National Space Foundation is considering closing down the laboratory of Dr. Ingrid Naarveg (Anna-Lisa), the first female scientist at the foundation. The problem is with the fuel the doctor is mixing. Meanwhile another scientist, Dr. Ted Benson (Robert Colbert) is in love with Ingrid and is disappointed she prioritizes science over love (examining this sexist undertone would have been far more interesting than anything seen on-screen).
Slightly out of step in movie like this, the Stooges aren't portrayed as the best friends of Benson and aren't interested in playing cupid, bringing Ingrid and Benson together. Instead the Stooges feel sorry for Ingrid after she is in jeopardy of being dismissed at the foundation. Being the experts that they are (they aren't) they decide to create their own fuel for the rocket. Discovered by their upset boss, Mr. Morse (Jerome Cowan), the Stooges hide in the rocket and before they know it, are on course for Venus. In another strange choice, Benson isn't that concerned about the Stooges and tells Ingrid she shouldn't be either but instead should focus on their love.
Once the Stooges land on Venus they encounter special effects worse than those seen in "One Million B.C." (1940) as a giant fire breathing tarantula chases them and they rescue a talking unicorn.
Besides these brief moments, the movie has nothing for the Stooges to do. Oddly, their first instinct after landing isn't to immediately head back for Earth. Instead they want to roam around the planet in the name of science and record their findings. For some reason this also includes the boys breaking out into song.
This leads to a meeting with an evil robot, that has destroyed the people that created it. It now rules the planet by itself but has grown lonely. The robot plans to create three more robots, in the image of the Stooges. These three evil robots are then instructed to kill the Stooges.
For a science fiction comedy there isn't much science fiction or comedy in "Have Rocket, Will Travel". There is nothing inventive about the movie. True, it is essentially a "B" movie but the lack of creativity behind it makes "Flash Gordon" (1936) and "Buck Rogers" (1939) look like "Star Wars" movies. Those movie serials also had "B" movie production values and like this movie, were meant to have a kid friendly appeal.
Ultimately the movie feels like exactly what is was; a rushed production (shooting lasted 13 days). Only being concerned with quickly releasing a Three Stooges product, the movie's writer, Raphael Hayes, couldn't concern himself with a coherent plot. The movie is an unnecessary, elongated Stooges' comedy short. Hayes spent the majority of his career writing for television shows, none of which were comedies. One of his movie screenplays was nominated for an Academy Award, "One Potato, Two Potato" (1964), a story about an interracial marriage. The comedy in the movie must have been left to the Stooges to come up with.
In an example of how little plot there is, and a lack of comedy, the last nine minutes of the movie completely changes course and turns into one of those Stooge comedies where they mix with high society. They even borrow / steal a gag directly from "Hoi Polloi", as Curly-Joe has a spring stuck to the back of his pants. This serves absolutely no purpose. It is just meant to expand the running time. Could it be it was meant to re-enforce Curly-Joe is the new Curly Howard?
With a running time of 76 minutes, the movie is probably 40 minutes too long. The Stooges accomplished just as much in their science-fiction comedy shorts; "Space Ship Sappy" (1957) and "Outer Space Jitters" (1957) both with Joe Besser as the third stooge, and neither particularly good.
With only an Ingrid character, she could solely focus on a way to rescue the Stooges. This would allow the character to prove her worth as a scientist and impress the foundation. As the movie stands now, there is no plan discussed to rescue the boys. Ingrid seems to have followed Benson's suggestion to forget about them. With friends like these, who need enemies? It makes Ingrid and Benson two unlikable characters.
At this point I should confess I am not, nor have I ever been, much of a Three Stooges fan. My mother was one those that didn't like me watching them. Because of that, I never really warmed up to their comedy. As a child I preferred the comedy of Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello (whom the Stooges would recycle gags from) and Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Even though the Stooges were on TV fairly often, I would only watch them when my mother wasn't around or with my father.
Despite that confession, I can still appreciate when the Stooges do something funny. So while I didn't have high expectations for "Have Rocket, Will Travel", the movie was actually more disappointing than I thought it would be. I have seen the other Stooge comedies from this period; "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" (1962), "Snow White and the Three Stooges" (1961) and "The Outlaws Is Coming" (1965), so I knew what to expect but this fails miserably.
Even though the Stooges are much older, and naturally have slowed down their comedy, a mishap like this is partly due to the people behind the camera. The movie was directed by David Lowell Rich, who like Hayes spent the majority of his career in television. Neither one of these people show any inkling of understanding comedy. Understandably neither worked on the other Stooges' movies. Incredibly however, Rich and Hayes collaborated again on "Hey Boy! Hey Girl!" (1959), a Louis Prima / Keely Smith vehicle.
When filming their comedy shorts, the Stooges had talented writers and directors working with them; Ray McCarey (Leo's brother), Felix Adler, Clyde Bruckman and Del Lord. That is no longer the case in these feature-length comedies. Plus, the Stooges' style of comedy seems better suited for two-reelers.
Movies like "Have Rocket, Will Travel" are curiosity pieces. These movies shouldn't serve as introductions into the comedy world of the Three Stooges. You watch stuff like this, and their cartoon series, after you've seen all of their Columbia shorts. The one thing this movie accomplishes is, it makes "Abbott & Costello Go To Mars" (1953) look good.
In the end, a movie like this leads me to say, Have Stooges, Won't Laugh!
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