Product Description

Moe, Larry, and Joe star as the Three Stooges in this science-fiction farce that has a pair of Martians trying to steal an all-powerful submarine-tank-rocket military weapon. As the Martians are flying away with it, the Stooges hang on and force it to crash-land in a television studio.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9815 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-11-25
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
The Three Stooges in Orbit has the team playing not only themselves but themselves trying to make it big on a television show. Since they keep breaking leases by cooking in their apartments, they rent a room in a spooky castle that houses not only a wacky professor (played by "the fourth Stooge," Emil Sitka, veteran of many a Stooge short) and his pretty daughter, but a pair of Martians who are waiting for him to perfect his latest invention and use it to conquer the Earth. After an old situation-device in which the craft is too large to leave the workroom, the Stooges make a trip into space that adds nothing to the plot, and finally defeat the invaders by hoisting them on their own petard. The usual chase routine is replaced here by a fairly well done sequence in which the team is outside the craft trying to thwart the two Martians locked inside the craft, while a death ray is wiping out most of California. (The use of stock footage from other monster-invasion films is unintentionally hilarious.)

The love interest, deemed so necessary in films aimed at young audiences, is brief and tinged with mild comedy. The Martian make-up is obviously based on the original Frankenstein head shape, and it is a relief to hear them speak in some babble other than English as subtitles "translate" for us. In fact, the cleverest bit in this film is Moe's reading a subtitle to learn of the proposed destruction of this planet--a gag worthy of Mel Brooks. The film reveals its age when the chief Martian bangs his boot on the table in the manner of Khrushchev and his shoe at the United Nations. But the only real weaknesses are Curly Joe's fright reactions, so much funnier when done by Curly or Shemp in the past. --Frank Behrens

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT STOOGE MOVIE!!!
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.

One of the 4 Best Three Stooges Features
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).

A loony sci-fi caper for the Stooges
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!