This is a rare gem if you get to see it. The Three Stooges were locked into a contract at Columbia for about 23 years that severely restricted their activities outside of their well known shorts. This was a rare opportunity for them to show what they could do when given the chance. They were comic relief but their part was important in this feature western. It was made by the director who directed them at Columbia and I think they enjoyed getting to stretch their wings and do a feature film. A lot of people have said they did not have the talent to carry feature films like Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers but this showed that if they had gotten the right material, they could have pulled it off. If you can find Gold Raiders, it is worth watching.

I got this on DVD just last month, I've been waiting years to see this and I wasn't disappointed! This is a pretty good movie, it's not a straight comedy western but The Stooges provide the big laughs of course. I really enjoyed the fact they got a lot of screen time. The "magical eyeglasses" scene was hilarious and I also loved their attempt at a doctor exam on a prospective client. The acting from O'Brien and everyone else is pretty good and the plot is simple but with some neat little twists, esp concerning Doc Mason and his daughter.The only negative thing I could find was that the Stooges are absent for the last good 15 minutes of the movie before the big climactic fight with the bad guys. It dragged in a few parts when the Stooges were absent for a long time.But other than that I really enjoyed the movie. I wish they had gotten to make more full length movies with Shemp also. It's well worth it to get the DVD with this and "Meet The Baron". Its much better than most of the Curly Joe movies.If your a Three Stooges fan it's well worth your time to check it out!

Mediocre little comic western has George O'Brien playing a character named... George O'Brien. That's a sign of the imagination of this oater. But the Stooges are younger and more agile, seeing as this is a 1951 film, than their later outings in the sixties when they were re-discovered. This is also the only feature film with Shemp Howard in the team. All the later films featured the lamentable Joe DeRita. This is also O'Brien's final feature role.The story is about former marshal O'Brien investigating trouble in a western town involving a gold mine. The Stooges are hustlers selling useless gadgets. O'Brien uses the Stooges wagon to carry the gold out under the noses of the villains. Who would suspect those three idiots carting gold around, right? Pretty simple stuff and it only runs 56 minutes so it doesn't wear out its welcome. Yet it isn't particularly funny either. But if you like slapping, this is the slappingest movie ever. The Stooges slap each other, other men slap each other, and even women slap each other... and with all those Stooge sound effects included. Enjoy!

The Three Stooges save the day when the gold must go through in this amusing Western that will tickle the funny bone of any Three Stooges fan. Clem Bevans is hilarious as an old man with a few problems of his own. The film would have gained more had the Stooges been given a larger role. Director Ed Bernds was given a tiny budget and about one week to knock this picture out. Nevertheless, worth the price of admission for the Stooge in you.