Uncivil War Birds

This short is an oddity in that it hardly has any stooge dialogue or slapstick! The verbal exchanges are limited in that they simply advance the plot; we have no wisecracks, visual jokes, or typical dumbness associated with the boys. And you can count on one hand the amount of slapstick gags.

Many talk about how Curly was in failing health in this short, but surprisingly he has a lot of energy. Outside of the fact that his voice is lower than normal, he engages in typical Curly antics which show him to be full of vim and verve. Too bad they didn't give him much to do.

This short has the most bizarre scene I think I've ever seen in all the shorts. The three are made up in blackface and are in a huddle; Larry says, "If we-all can get that map back to headquarters, we-all can win this war!" Curly responds, "Yeah, and then we-all can get married!" Moe rolls eyes and chirps, "Brothers, you just ejaculated a mouthful!" (While that verb does have the appropriate meaning--to espouse--even in 1946, the stooges surely were giggling under their makeup.)

We are back in the Civil War days and the boys, as they usually did, play Confederates and you hear the phrases like "You all," "I reckon," "shore 'nuff," etc., more than you want to hear, at least at the beginning.

The Civil War parts of this "adventure,",which make up most of the story, have an odd twist. The boys apparently lived in a border state when some joined the Union, some joined the Confederacy. We know this because two minutes after the boys enlist, Moe and Larry are in blue and Curly is in gray. (Odd that could happen in the same town, but, hey, it's a movie.) Nonetheless, the boys realize this and from then on, are all on the same page.

There are a few things in this movie you would never see or hear today, in a PC or family film of this type: 1 - the boys dress up as slaves and sing "Dixie;" 2 - Moe says to the guys, "Brother, y'all ejaculated a mouthful." I thought I had heard wrong but played it back with English subtitles and, lo and behold, that's what he said. Well, there are a lot of thing in this episode that have far different meanings today.

The Stooges' version of Dixie had a northern twist which produced a few laughs, such as "way down yonder in New York City" and stanzas about the "cotton in Brooklyn."

Mostly this one just makes a small Union army group look really stupid while the Stooges keep fooling them with different uniforms and disguises. In all, it's a fair episode, ranking about in the middle of all their comedy short films.

After Curly Howard's stroke, not all of his performances with The Three Stooges were inferior from his peak years. The comic displayed a return to his effervescent self in several Stooges post-stroke films. Most notable was March 1946's "Uncivil War Birds," directed by Jules White, which saw Curly on opposing sides to his friends Moe and Larry during the American Civil War. One possible reason for Curly's spark is the Columbia Pictures short opened with the beauty buxom Eleanor Counts, who played his fiancee while he appeared as a Southern gentlemen.

Scriptwriter Clyde Bruckman, who was famous for copying other comics' earlier movies and reworking them in the Stooges style, borrowed scenes from Buster Keaton's 1939 'Mooching Through Georgia" to create "Uncivil War Birds" on the vein of the Stooges' 1935 classic "Uncivil Warriors." In the updated Civil War comedy, the Stooges enlist in the Army upon the outbreak of the conflict. Troubles arise when Curly mistakenly volunteers for the Confederacy while Moe and Larry are wearing Union uniforms. Throughout the film the three friends try to get on the same page, only to be flustered by the continuous flow of Union and Rebel forces going back and forth. In one scene, when they do wear the same Confederate uniforms, they find themselves inside the Union Army headquarters, where they pretend to be a minstrel musical group with blackfaces to get out of their jam. Many television broadcasts have edited out the politically-incorrect skit, which was one of the highlights of "Uncivil War Birds." Al Rosen, who made his mark later on NBC-TV's 'Cheers' as 'Big Al,' is one of the Union soldiers in "Uncivil War Birds." Joe Palma, who later was the 'Fake Shemp' in four Stooges episodes when Shemp passed away, plays both a Union soldier and a Union officer. And Eleanor Counts, Curly's fiancee, lived less than five years after her appearance, dying of an overdose of sleeping pills in 1950. "Uncivil War Birds" also was one of the last skits showing Curly's trademark spins on the floor as he rotates himself several times laying on his side. The short contains 'Dixie' in the opening credits, a departure from their standard 'Three Blind Mice' musical soundtrack.

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

This is a great Three Stooges short and it has become one of My favorites! I just love it when Joe Palma talks to Cy Schindell and says about the corpse moving and Schindell says something like sure if he'd have wings he'd fly away, maybe I should ask if he is dead and Curly replies and Schindell says to Palma that see he told you himself that he was dead and then they realize what has just happened. Its hilarious! Great one from beginning to end!

This short is very controversial because many people really like it and many people hate it. I for one really like it. I liked this one because they tried something new, and there was some great visual humor and gags. Curly turned in a great performance despite illness. Moe and Larry also do a great job in this short. I also think the supporting cast did a great job too.



Grade: A-