Uncivil Warriors (1935)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Del Lord

Writer:

Felix Adler (story)

Release Date:

26 April 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Set in the civil war, the stooges are spies for the north. They impersonate southern officers and infiltrate...

Plot Keywords:

Civil War | Slapstick | The Three Stooges

Cast

Moe Howard	...	Operator 14 (as Moe)
Larry Fine	...	Operator 12 (as Larry)
Curly Howard	...	Operator 15 (as Curley)

Also Known As:

Operators 12, 14 and 15 (USA) (working title)
Operators 13, 14 and 15 (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Operator 14: [eating the cake that contains an oven mitt] How's yours taste?
Operator 15: Like a mattress.
Operator 14: Want mine?
Operator 15: I'm stuffed now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Three Stooges (2000) (TV)

Uncivil Warriors (Del Lord, 1935) ***

This is certainly one of the better Stooges vehicles I've watched so far, arguably lifted by its Civil War setting: the boys are Union secret agents(!) sent on a mission behind enemy lines. While the level of invention isn't up to that seen in Buster Keaton's similar THE GENERAL (1927) – and it would be unrealistic to expect it to be – it's still a reasonably sustained comical piece.

The trio's typical slapfest routine is, together with the aid of impersonation and mimicry, utilized as a means of confusing the Confederates and retrieve the information they were assigned to procure (which is summarily destroyed by Curley when he rolls the paper – used by Moe to write it all down – to make a cigarette!). The ending sees The Stooges fired out of an enemy cannon and landing on the superior officers from their own lines!