| Rockin' thru the Rockies | |
| Director: | Jules White |
| Starring: | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Lorna Gray Kathryn Sheldon Dorothy Appleby Linda Winters Dick Curtis Richard Fiske Cy Schindell John Tyrrell Bert Young |
| Producer: | Jules White |
| Cinematography: | Henry Freulich |
| Editing: | Art Seid |
| Distributor: | Columbia Pictures |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Rockin' thru the Rockies is a 1940 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 45th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Set in the Rocky Mountains circa late 1800s, the Stooges are guides tasked with escorting a trio known as "Nell's Belles" through mountainous terrain en route to their performance destination in San Francisco. Despite their efforts, complications arise when Curly inadvertently frightens off the horses, leaving the group stranded overnight at the behest of Native American inhabitants who advise them to vacate the area promptly.
As the night progresses, tensions escalate among the guides, leading to Curly's banishment from the shared sleeping quarters due to his disruptive nocturnal behavior. However, their predicament worsens with the arrival of snowfall, which results in the consumption of their food stores by a marauding bear. Subsequently, their attempts to procure sustenance from a nearby frozen lake prove futile.
Compounding their challenges, Nell, a constituent of the expeditionary group, exposes the abduction of the Belles by the indigenous community. Swift action ensues as the Belles manage to elude their captors, prompting a hasty departure from the Native American territory to ensure the safety and continuity of their journey.
Rockin' thru the Rockies was filmed on November 7–11, 1939.[1] The film title is often mistaken for the 1945 feature film Rockin' in the Rockies starring the Stooges.
After the snow collapses the tent-like structure from the set of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (in which the troupe performs in a traveling show), Curly falls through a curtain, lands on the girls in bed, and says, "The walls of Jericho collapsed." This is a reference to a scene in Columbia's It Happened One Night, where the flimsy barricade set up between Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable in a motor lodge was called the "walls of Jericho."
The name of the troupe, "Nell's Belles," is a play on the old expression "Hell's Bells," which of course would not have been permitted by the Production Code.
In this short Curly also briefly chants, "Give 'em the axe, give 'em the axe; right in the neck, right in the neck" which is a reference both to the Stanford Axe as well as the chant traditionally shouted by Stanford during the Big Game, which was popular in southern California during the early part of the 20th century.[2]
The conclusion of this film is reminiscent of Early American folklore as the Stooges leave Indian territory a la Windwagon Smith.[2]