Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1946
Uncivil War Birds
Buy Uncivil War Birds now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Uncivil War Birds' is a 1946 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 90th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.
Plot
It is the American Civil War, and the Stooges enlist in the service. Moe and Larry accidentally join the Union Army, while Curly manages to correctly sign up with the Confederacy. Before the error can be corrected, several Union soldiers order Moe and Larry to lock up their "prisoner." A few moments later, a Confederate general sees Curly being released and, upon seeing Moe and Larry, thinks he has captured two Union soldiers. This mix up goes back and forth several times, until Moe and Larry finally find Confederate uniforms, only to be caught in Union army headquarters. They eventually escape by performing minstrel song-and-dance routine in blackface, with Curly playing a Mammy-type character and Larry strumming a banjo. At the end the Stooges marry their brides who after the first kiss start beating the Stooges Up!
Cast
Credited
*Moe Howard as Moe*Larry Fine as Larry
*Curly Howard as Curly
Uncredited
*Eleanor Counts as Ringa Belle*Faye Williams as Mary Belle
*Marilyn Johnson as Lulu Belle
*Maury Dexter as Southern gentleman
*Victor Travers as Justice of the Peace
'Union army'
*Theodore Lorch as Union Colonel*John Tyrrell as Union Sergeant
*Robert B. Williams as Union Lieutenant
*Blackie Whiteford as Union officer
*Al Rosen as Union officer
*Bobby Burns as Union soldier
*Joe Palma as Union soldier
*Cy Schindell as Union soldier
*Al Morino as Union soldier
*Harold Breen as Union soldier
*Jack Cooper as Union soldier
'Confederate army'
*Brian O'Hara as Confederate officer*Lew Davis as Confederate soldier with ants
*Johnny Kascier as Confederate soldier with ants
*Heinie Conklin as Confederate soldier
*Bobby Burns as Confederate soldier
Production notes
'Uncivil War Birds' was filmed on August 2428, 1945. It is a remake of the 1939 Buster Keaton short 'Mooching Through Georgia'; the stock shot of the union lieutenant on horseback with his battalion of eight was borrowed from that film. The song "Dixie" replaces the Stooges' regular opening theme of "Three Blind Mice" for this film, and continues as background music for approximately twenty seconds into the opening scene.
This short would mark the final appearances of long-time Stooge regulars Lew Davis and John Tyrrell, who died in 1948 and 1949, respectively.
Curly's illness
The film was produced after Curly Howard suffered a mild stroke. As a result, his performance was marred by slurred speech, and slower timing, though Curly was more energetic and displayed better timing than in previous shorts. In addition, Moe Howard and Larry Fine are paired together and given the lion's share of the film's dialogue.References
Buy Uncivil War Birds now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1946