''Dizzy Pilots'' is a 1943

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; hu, Weisz Gyula; 17 September 190030 April 1985) was a Hungarian-American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges Early years White began working in mo ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

). It is the 74th entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges are a trio of aviators known as the Wrong Brothers in the "Republic of Cannabeer, P.U." who receive an army draft notice. The notice says the brothers have been granted a 30-day deferment of duty on account of their claims that the aircraft they are inventing, the “Buzzard”, will revolutionize flying. Curly proudly announces that their aircraft has put them among other "great inventors" like

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

and

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...

. The boys get to work, but a series of mishaps cause them to get sidetracked; Moe twice gets knocked into a tub of quick-drying melted rubber. The first time it happens, Larry and Curly try to get the rubber off Moe by expanding the rubber with hydrogen, turning him into a human balloon. Unfortunately, Moe floats to the top of the aircraft hangar and into the sky, and Larry and Curly take aim with a shotgun and blast him to safety, resulting in Moe falling down in his

Long Johns Long underwear, also called long johns or thermal underwear, is a style of two-piece underwear with long legs and long sleeves that is normally worn during cold weather. It is commonly worn by people under their clothes in cold countries. In t ...

into a nearby well. Later, just as the boys are ready to test the Buzzard, they realize the aircraft is too wide to move out of the hangar. This problem is solved when the Stooges saw a larger opening in the hangar. But then they have another problem trying to start the

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. Moe pushes the propeller to get it to start, but the propeller swings back at him and carries him for numerous revolutions before he is thrown off - where he lands in the same tub of rubber cement from before. They eventually begin a test flight of the aircraft for a pair of aircraft company officials from the Sky Aircraft Company, but things begin to go awry. Curly accidentally breaks the rudder cable, Moe orders him to throw out the clutch, Curly is unable to find it, so he throws out the gear shift lever instead. Moe attempts to repair the rudder cable but fails and the aircraft turns upside down and the three fall right back into the same well as before, dousing the aircraft officials with water as they splash into the well's bottom. As expected, the Stooges are drafted into the army, where they run afoul with their drill sergeant (

Richard Fiske Thomas Richard Potts (November 20, 1915 – August 10, 1944), known professionally as Richard Fiske, was an American film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1938 and 1942. Career Born Thomas Richard Potts, Fiske was born to Frank a ...

), disrupting marching and weapons handling drills. Eventually, the three of them have had enough. They knock out the drill instructor by hitting him with their guns, allowing them to escape.

Cast

Credited

as Curly Wrong (credited as Curly) *

as Larry Wrong (credited as Larry) *

as Moe Wrong (credited as Moe)

Uncredited

Harry Semels Harry Semels (November 20, 1887 – March 2, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946. Career Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictu ...

as Sky Aircraft Co. Representative *

Al Thompson Al Thompson (September 21, 1884 – March 1, 1960) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1916 and 1958. Well known in the industry for performing the more difficult stunts, he kept busy as a stunt doubl ...

as Sky Aircraft Co. Representative *

Bobby Barber Bobby Barber (December 18, 1894 – May 24, 1976) was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films. Barber is notable for his work as a foil for Abbott and Costello on and off screen. Biography Barber was born Robert S. Barbera in New York. ...

as Private (archive footage) * Charles Dorety as Private (archive footage) *

as Sergeant (archive footage) *

Judy Malcolm Judy Malcolm (December 1, 1910July 22, 1998) was an American film actress. Born Marguerite Westergren, Malcolm appeared in approximately 25 films between 1933 and 1951. Malcolm is familiar to modern viewers for her roles in several Three Stooges ...

as Girl in Hangar (scene deleted) * Sethma Williams as Girl in Hangar (scene deleted)

Production notes

''Dizzy Pilots'' was filmed on April 6–9, 1943.Pauley 2012, p. 85. The boot camp segment is

stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

from 1940's ''

Boobs in Arms ''Boobs in Arms'' is a 1940 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 52nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the co ...

'', with the exception of the ending shot where the Stooges escape from the base itself.Solomon 2002, pp. 234–235. The gag of an aircraft being too large to take out of a hangar was reused in 1972 on ''

The New Scooby-Doo Movies ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second animated television series in the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, ''Sc ...

'' episode featuring the Stooges as guest stars ("The Ghost of the Red Baron").

Reception

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

critic Stuart Galbraith IV noted that ''Dizzy Pilots'' was the "last genuinely excellent Curly short" with "a set-up similar to ''

Higher Than a Kite ''Higher Than a Kite'' is a 1943 short subject directed by Del Lord starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 72nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...

'' though executed infinitely better."Galbraith IV, Stuart
"The Three Stooges: The Ultimate Collection."
''DVD Talk'', July 7, 2012. Retrieved: September 5, 2013.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Pauley, Jim
''The Three Stooges Hollywood Filming Locations''

Solana Beach, California Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "warm wind") is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. Its population was at 12,941 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 Census. History The area was first settled by the San Dieg ...

: Santa Monica Press, 2012. }. * Solomon, Jon
''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion''
Glendale, California: Comedy III Productions, Inc., 2002. .

External links

* *
''Dizzy Pilots'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1943 films The Three Stooges films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White 1943 comedy films Military humor in film Columbia Pictures short films American slapstick comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films