Year: 1951
Runtime: 16 mins
Language: English
Director: Edward Bernds
Wanted for vagrancy, the Stooges ride westward, joining cowboys in a gun‑filled town. Mistaken for lawmen, they capture a gang of crooks. Later they guard cash in a supposedly haunted house, said to be haunted by an Indian chief's ghost. The thieves return, masquerading as specters to seize the money, but Shemp, dressed as the chief, subdues them.
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Set in the Old West, the trio—Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard—find themselves wanted for vagrancy and on the run to escape custody. Moe suggests they head for a town called Peaceful Gulch to lay low and start fresh.
In the beleaguered town of Peaceful Gulch, the locals suffer under the pressure of Red Morgan and his gang, who intimidate the residents and drive out the sheriff. To restore order, the sheriff’s posse devises a plan to fool Morgan by pretending that three famed marshals have arrived. The Stooges become entangled in this scheme when they are mistaken for these legendary lawmen.
Now tasked with stopping Morgan’s plunder, the trio learns that the cash Morgan aims to steal is hidden with them in an old house believed to be haunted. An old story explains the haunting: a murdered Indian chief, decapitated by a man named Jeff Horton, is said to roam the residence in search of his missing head.
Larry and Shemp are initially scared by the ghost stories, but Moe convinces them that ghosts and specters aren’t real. The Stooges press on, while the truth behind the hauntings gradually surfaces: the apparitions are disguises worn by one of Morgan’s associates.
Seizing the moment, Shemp subdues the impostor and dons the disguise himself. Reuniting with Moe and Larry, who have fallen into Morgan’s clutches, Shemp uses his ruse to outsmart the gang and rescue his partners. With swift action and comic timing, Shemp incapacitates Morgan’s gang with a hatchet, emerging as the unlikely hero of Peaceful Gulch and restoring order to the town.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:08
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Bumbling individuals triumph over villains through chaotic accidents and pure luck.If you enjoyed watching the Three Stooges bumble to success in Merry Mavericks, you'll love these movies featuring clumsy heroes who triumph through sheer luck and chaotic energy. Discover similar comedies with silly protagonists, mistaken identities, and hilarious, low-stakes adventures.
The narrative follows a clear, straightforward path where incompetent but well-meaning characters are thrust into a situation beyond their skills. Their series of mistakes and accidents paradoxically lead them to outsmart or overcome a more competent antagonist, resulting in a happy and satisfying conclusion.
These films are grouped by their shared reliance on physical humor, a light and cheerful tone, and the central theme of the underdog winning not through skill, but through a chaotic chain of comedic events. The experience is consistently fast-paced, silly, and emotionally weightless.
Comedic stories where supposed hauntings turn out to be clever criminal schemes.Fans of the ghost hoax plot in Merry Mavericks will enjoy this selection of comedies about fake hauntings. Explore movies where characters debunk supernatural claims, revealing a criminal plot underneath the sheets, all wrapped in a lighthearted and silly adventure.
The plot typically involves characters entering a location rumored to be haunted. After a series of comically spooky encounters, they deduce that the hauntings are fake, orchestrated by villains to achieve a tangible goal like stealing treasure or scaring people away. The climax involves exposing the frauds.
These movies share a specific narrative structure centered on a fake supernatural threat. They blend mild mystery with comedy, maintaining a light tone because the scares are never real. The experience is more about solving a silly puzzle than facing genuine horror.
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Track the full timeline of Merry Mavericks with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
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