Back to the Woods 1937

In nascent American colonies, the Stooges—Moe, Larry, and Curly—enter as convicted felons banished from England, ready to stumble through a new world that tests their wits and patience. They kick off their misadventures with a lively dance alongside the governor, Vernon Dent, and his circle, only to discover a harsher mood in Plymouth: the settlers face real hunger because the local indigenous people refuse to open hunting grounds without a steep fee. The trio’s arrival marks the start of a rough, comically charged struggle to keep the colony from starvation while avoiding trouble with the locals.

With the colony’s fate weighing on them, the Stooges decide to lend a hand by venturing into the wild for a hunting trip. They improvise makeshift coonskin caps, Curly even wearing an unconventional skunk hat, and march beyond the walls of Plymouth armed with blunderbusses. A lucky shot from Curly brings down a turkey, lifting the mood and giving the group something to work with as they plot how to feed the starving settlers and outmaneuver the legal and social hoops that block a simple hunt.

Yet the day grows chaotic when they mistake a gathering of indigenous people, dressed in ceremonial attire, for a flock of turkeys. Their volley sparks a wild chase through the trees, and the Stooges scramble to improvise defenses on the fly. They lash together a tree branch catapult and fling whatever they can—rocks, branches, and other improvised projectiles—in a bid to deter their pursuers and turn the odds in their favor.

The pursuit intensifies when Larry is captured and threatened with scalping, a moment that tests the trio’s loyalty and nerve. Curly and Moe respond with bold, cheeky improvisation, using hot coals and swift physical action to rescue their friend. The escape is clumsy but effective, culminating in a makeshift canoe that carries them away from danger. Just as they think they’ve won their reprieve, their would-be captors return, only to be wildly revitalized—literally splashed back to life—by a splashing wave of water that sends the chase careening into a fresh, slapstick loop that keeps the colony’s fate unsettled but filled with laughter.