Dizzy Pilots

The boys must produce a new "revolutionary" airplane, as promised, or they will be drafted into the military.

This "short" has the semi-famous Moe-as-a-big black-balloon skit in which he first floats to the top of the room and eventually out a skylight window has to be shot out of the sky by Curly.

It takes just over half the movie for the "Wrong Brothers" to get their plane, "The Buzzard," out of the hangar. Before that are bunch of verbal jokes and a lot of slapstick where the guys take turns taking a beating from something or someone. There's the old "Oh, oh, oh......oh, look" as we see the blades of saw all ruined after they were used on his head. That sort of thing.

With all three of these bozos in the small cockpit as the same time, you know their flight is going to wind up a disaster.

I was disappointed, however, to see the final three minutes is not original, a scene from a previous Stooges film called "Boobs In Arms." There is no need for that kind of cheapness from Columbia Pictures.

If you like the Three Stooges, you'll like this because it incorporates most of their sight gags and slapstick all within a 17-minute time frame, even if that last part is a "repeat," which still is inexcusable and makes me downgrade my final rating of this.

Viewing the Three Stooges today, some non-fans may fail to appreciate the talent the three actors, Moe Howard, Curly Howard and Larry Fine possessed in those days. In September 1943's "Dizzy Pilots," the three exhibit the incredible dexterity rarely demonstrated by today's actors.

Moe is the main butt of the film's jokes as he accidentally falls into a tub of molten rubber to be used to finish their airplane. They hope the plane's successful demonstration will result in a big government contract and allow them to get a deferment from the military draft during World War Two. Covered with the rubbery substance, Moe comes up with the idea of inserting hydrogen between him and the rubber so it'll separate like a balloon. Trouble is, the hydrogen makes him airborne, causing fits for Curly and Larry to get him down. As he's flying through the air, Curly uses a shotgun to puncture the balloon. He succeeds, but Moe lands inside a well.

Moe, 46, born Moses Harry Horwitz, in Brooklyn, New York, was the fourth of five sons. As an avid reader, Moe had a creative imagination, which he carried throughout his life. The future comedian's voracious reading has been credited with his uncanny memory which helped him learn his lines quickly and effortlessly. His haircut predated the early Beatles, whose members may-or may not-have copied Moe's hair style. His mother, Jennie Gorvitz, didn't want to cut his hair, letting it grow down to his shoulders. He was constantly picked on in school because he looked like a girl. Moe decided to use a bowl found inside his home's backyard shed to cut his own hair. Recalling those rough and tumble school days, Moe said, "I used to fight my way to school, in school, and back home from school." This may explain why Moe is the one who largely dishes out the punishment to his younger brother Curly and pal Larry.

The Stooges' innovative airplane is a bust in "Dizzy Pilots," forcing the three to be conscripted into the Army. The movie's ending recycles a segment from their 1940's "Boobs in Arms," which many have speculated was cost-savings move by Columbia Pictures. This was also the final Stooges film for actor Harry Semels, who plays one of two government inspectors sent to approve the advanced airplane. Appearing in over 315 movies while making his debut in 1917, Semels was in several Stooges' movies. One of his children, David, was killed in action during WW2. Semels died at 58 from a heart attack in March 1946.

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 very good Three Stooges short. Harry Semels and Al Thompson are in this one. Richard Fiske is also in the short but his scenes are from archive footage from another Three Stooges short called Boobs in Arms. This is a very good Three Stooges short with many funny parts and I recommend it!

The Wrong brothers building an airplane is a great idea, and the stooges do their classic comedy for most of this short. But when they crash their plane and the writers ran out of ideas, they had to recycle footage from Boobs in Arms to pad out the rest of the running time.

While there's nothing terribly bad about this, it's so obvious. The tone of the whole short changes. The ending--with the boys in the army--has absolutely nothing to do with what's gone before. They obviously recorded the introduction--Moe reading a draft letter--to try to make the ending somehow be related to the rest of the movie.

I only wish they had worked a little harder on an original ending--it would have made the short a true gem. But this ending is a let-down, so it's difficult to give it all the love I want to give it. I guess they just ran out of time.

This Three Stooges in this short subject play,Moe,Larry, and Curly Wrong,the Wrong Brothers and they are busy inventing an airplane that our Armed Services could use in the war. What they're inventing looks like something from the previous war, but never mind.

What was interesting about this short subject is for once Moe was getting the business. He gets blown up in an inflatable suit and it's Larry and Curly that have to bring him down. Of course he's the same old Moe when he's back on terra firma.

Their test for the army is a bust for their plane in Stooge style. And lucky us they're drafted. We still defeated Hitler in spite of that.