Uncivil War Birds

Uncivil War Birds
Directed by	Jules White
Written by	Clyde Bruckman
Produced by	Jules White
Starring	Moe Howard Larry Fine Curly Howard Eleanor Counts Marilyn Johnson Faye Williams Theodore Lorch Joe Palma Cy Schindell John Tyrrell
Cinematography	Philip Tannura
Edited by	Charles Hochberg
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	March 29, 1946
Running time	17' 16"
Country	United States
Language	English

Uncivil War Birds is the 90th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures 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 Confederate. Before the error can be corrected, several Union soldiers order Moe and Larry the 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.

They sing "Dixie" with parody lyrics, thus:

"Way down south in New York City
The cotton grows on the trees so pretty
On the trees
On the trees
Down South
South Brooklyn!"

Curly's illness

Uncivil War Birds was produced after Curly Howard suffered a mild stroke. As a result, his performance was marred by slurred speech, and slower timing. In addition, Moe Howard and Larry Fine are paired together and given the lion's share of the film's dialogue.

Notes

• The song "Dixie" replaces the Stooges regular opening theme of "Three Blind Mice" for this film.
• This marked the final appearance of long-time Stooge supporting actor John Tyrrell.

Further reading

• Moe Howard and the Three Stooges; by Moe Howard [1], (Citadel Press, 1977).
• The Three Stooges Scrapbook; by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, Greg Lenburg [2](Citadel Press, 1994).
• The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History, From Amalgamated Morons to American Icons; by Michael Fleming [3](Broadway Publishing, 2002).
• One Fine Stooge: A Frizzy Life in Pictures; by Steve Cox and Jim Terry [4], (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).