Just so...so bad

Good concept, poorly executed.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Since my childhood The Three Stooges was in my Life and l grew up watching the show until now....in this episode our friends are in World War I sleeping behind the walls when the war is over,a mad Sergeant catch they and beats on them...after discharge they made a revenge...in 1935 unaware they are on Army again...you can guess who they meet again???....The Three Stooges Forever!

This kind of story happened in at least three of The Three Stooges short, and all of them are pretty funny. This wasn't as good as the others until the last five minutes when it takes a strange turn with a big cannon, and then finishes strong.The basic storyline - see if this sounds familiar - is the boys are in the army, are lazy slobs and then get picked on my a gruff sergeant. They are discharged (or the war is over), the boys immediately get revenge on the sergeant when they find out he has no power over them anymore. Later, through a mistake, they re-up into the army and now face that same sergeant, who is out to kill them, at this point.Here, it's 1918 and World War I is raging. We see real footage of soldiers on the battlefield, running and shooting. Then we see the Three Stooges snoring away in a foxhole. The sergeant gives them the business. The same day, it's announced the war is over and on their way out the door, the Stooges really do a number on the Sarge, beating the crap out of him.There are parts of this comedy, I might say, that almost shocked me in that some of it wasn't slapstick, but almost downright meanness and torture. The violence goes past the normal laughs. For example, in one scene the Sargent has the boys put their heads underwater and then fires a pistol in the water, deafening the boys. That is nasty. It reminded of a brutal scene in the film noir, "The Big Combo."Anyway, fast-forward to 1935. It's the Depression and the boys are desperate for work. (They haven't aged a bit, by the way.) Because they are kind of ignorant and never read signs, they wind up re-enlisting....and, of course, the same sergeant is there! What happens afterward is a bit of a surprise. The gag turns out to be something else besides the animosity between the Stooges and the Sarge, but the boys' misuse of a huge cannon during a supposed practice session. The Stooges wind up blowing up houses, chimneys and finally, a ship in our own Navy! Those scenes with the cannon are very funny and ends this comedic short on a high note.

Half Shot Shooters (1936) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Seventeen years after the end of WW1, the Three stooges find themselves poor and hungry so they accidentally sign up for the Army to cause more trouble. There are a few gags here that work but most of them miss. One of the best gags has Curley pulling his shoe up and another has the three firing off a canon, which hits their Admirel's boat.Now available on Columbia's 2-disc set, which features over 20 shorts, all digitally remastered and looking better than since they were originally released.

Directed by Preston Black, "Half Shot Shooters" is a very good Three Stooges short starring Moe, Larry, & Curly. When the boys accidentally enlist as soldiers in the United States Army, you can be sure that a lot of mishaps await! My favorite highlights from this short include the following (do not read on if you have not yet seen it). The sight of the Stooges sleeping through World War I while they are surrounded by explosions is quite funny indeed. Moe, Larry, & Curly go through several amusing bits as they fire the cannon and destroy buildings & ships that they're not supposed to. Sergeant MacGillicuddy (Stanley Blystone) gives the Stooges a "detonation test" by firing a pistol in a water-filled trough that the boys dunk their heads into. In his first of many appearances with the Stooges, supporting actor Vernon Dent (playing the restaurant patron) chases the boys as they steal his chicken dinner. As the Great War comes to a close, the discharged Stooges get revenge on their brutal sergeant. And the boys take a moment to harmonize "You'll Never Know Just What Tears Are" as they return with ammunition from the powder shack."Half Shot Shooters" may not be a classic Three Stooges film, but it is still pretty good. However, I am sure that at least some Stooge fans find the ending rather disturbing, as it marks the first time the Stooges get killed in their films. Unfortunately, it would not be the last time.