Phony Express is the 75th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The sheriff of Peaceful Gulch places a picture of the Stooges in the paper, claiming they are famous marshalls coming to rid the little town of its criminals. Despite this, the boys are almost chased out of the town after nearly poisoning the ill sheriff (Snub Pollard) who is suffering from lumbago. The sheriff finally puts them in charge of guarding the bank, which gets robbed while their backs are turned. To avoid being hanged, the Stooges search the area, with Curly in bloodhound mode. The Stooges eventually discover the stolen money, but not before almost being discovered by the main outlaw, Red (Bud Jamison).

Notes

• This was the last Three Stooges short co-written by Monte Collins
• Some of the plot and minimal stock footage from Phony Express would be recycled in Merry Mavericks.
• The title Phony Express is a parody of the "Pony Express," a fast mail service that crossed the North American continent from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California from April 1860 to October 1861.

References

Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard , (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg (Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming (Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry , (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).