Uncivil Warriors
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| Uncivil Warriors | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster to Uncivil Warriors (1935) |
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| Directed by | Del Lord |
| Produced by | Jules White |
| Written by | Felix Adler |
| Starring | Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Theodore Lorch Lew Davis Marvin Loback Billy Engle Ford West Si Jenks Bud Jamison Phyllis Crane Celeste Edwards Lou Archer Heinie Conklin |
| Music by | R.H. Bassett (stock music) |
| Cinematography | John Stumar |
| Editing by | Charles Hochberg |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 26, 1935 |
| Running time | 20 min. |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Pop Goes the Easel (1935) |
| Followed by | Pardon My Scotch (1935) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Uncivil Warriors is a 1935 Three Stooges short, their 8th for Columbia Studios. Known as Operators 12, 14 and 15 during production, the film has the Stooges as Northern spies behind Southern lines during the American Civil War.
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[edit] Plot
Set in the Civil War, the short begins with a Northern General assigning Larry Moe and Curly (as Operators 12, 14 and 15, respectively) to sneak behind enemy lines and obtain secrets. Disguising themselves as southern officers and taking the names Lieutenant Duck, Captain Dodge and Major Hyde they insinuate themselves into the mansion of southern officer, Colonel Butts.
During preparations for a dinner party at the mansion, Curly, more interested in the Colonel's daughter, Miss Judith Butts, manages to substitute a cake with a quilted potholder, resulting in a feather-coughing scene. The short concludes with an episode in which Larry and Curly disguise themselves as, respectively, Captain Dodge's father and wife. This leads to a controversial gag in which Colonel Butts inquires about Captain Dodge's baby. Moe runs off and brings in a swaddled infant, which is revealed to be black, thus giving away the Stooges' charade. Although the gag is quite innocent, especially in comparison with other race-based humor of the era, it was nevertheless often cut or severely edited in broadcast prints.
The three goofs run for their lives and hide in a "log"-which turns out to be a cannon-which is fired by the Confederates. The Union General wonders where these three spys are. At that moment our three "heroes" fall on the General from the sky!
[edit] Notes
This is the first short where the Stooges are going through a patch of trees. Two Stooges, usually Larry and Curly, push the tree limbs forward before letting them go. When they let go, the trailing Stooge, usually Moe, has to duck a tree branch whipping back toward him. This repeats until eventually he forgets to duck and is struck by the branch. This is a recurring joke in the Stooge shorts.
This is the first short in which the Stooges mention "Charlie". When the Stooges meet a guard, they often reference Charlie. The guard asks who Charlie is, and a Stooge replies that "everybody knows Charlie. He walks like this." The Stooges then demonstrate a silly walk until they get clear of the guard, at which point they take off running. This is a recurring joke in the Stooge shorts. In this short, they actually meet a soldier named Charlie, who asks the Stooges, "Are you all looking for me?"
When Moe swings his fist in a circle and bops Curly on the head (as he first did in the previous short, Pop Goes the Easel), Curly tries it for the first time. But Curly clearly can't get the hang of it, as he keeps swinging and bopping himself.
This is the first of several Stooge shorts in which they play enlisted soldiers. The Civil War was the setting for many of those shorts, and the Stooges fought for both sides (sometimes within the same short).
In this short, Larry salutes, elbowing Moe. Moe then salutes, elbowing Curly. Finally, Curly salutes, but since he's on the end, he doesn't hit anyone, so he grumbles to himself. This would be a recurring joke in the Stooge shorts.
For the first time in this short, after something bad happens to Moe, one of the other two Stooges asks him, "What happened?" Moe replies, "Nothin'!" before striking Larry and Curly. This would be a recurring joke in the Stooge shorts.
[edit] Quotes
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- General: "What happened to Operator 13?"
- Curly: "He swam across the river and died of Potomac poisoning."
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- Moe: "I wonder if this is the right place, Lieutenant?"
- Larry: "I reckon this is the place, Captain. What do you all say, Major?"
- Curly: "Well, since there's no other place around the place, I reckon this must be the place, I reckon."
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- Curly: "There were three men in three beds, only had two blankets. How'd they keep warm?"
- Colonel: "I don't know. How did they, Major?"
- Curly: "They turned on the heat!"
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- Moe (after Curly burned their spy note): "Do you know what that paper was?"
- Curly: "Hot?"
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- Curly: "Oh, baking, eh? Can I help ya? I used to work in a bakery as a pilot."
- Woman: "A pilot?"
- Curly: "Yeah, I used to take the bread from one corner and pile it in the other."
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- Curly: "You know, I quit my job at that bakery."
- Woman: "Why?"
- Curly: "Oh, I got sick of the dough and thought I'd go on the loaf."
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- Colonel (about Major Filbert): "He can smell a spy a mile away."
- Curly (whispering): "I'm glad he can't smell 'em any closer!"
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- Larry: "Excuse me, gentlemen, I've gotta take care of a weak back."
- Major: "Pardon me...how long have you had a weak back?"
- Larry: "Oh, about a week back."
[edit] Home video releases
As of August, 2006, Uncivil Warriors is not available on DVD.
[edit] References
- Solomon, Jon (2002). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions Inc. ISBN 0-9711868-0-4.
