''Dizzy Pilots'' is a 1943

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

directed by

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

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 as ...

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 comedy. Six total ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader and straight man of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

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

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

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

Plot

The Stooges are aviators ("the Wrong Brothers") in the Republic of Cannabeer, P.U., whose work is interrupted by an army draft notice (signed by one Joe Strubachincoscow). However, they have been deferred because of their plans for the new "Buzzard" aircraft. Their progress is stymied by a succession of mishaps. Foremost among their problems is Moe being repeatedly immersed in quick-drying melted rubber. Curly and Larry's attempts to correct this involve hydrogen and a shotgun, culminating in Moe's aerial ascent and subsequent descent into a well. Then they try to maneuver the unwieldy aircraft out of its hangar, sending Moe skyward again and back into the liquid rubber. They demonstrate the Buzzard to representatives of the Sky Aircraft Company, but are foiled by mechanical failures and errors. The Stooges lose control of the plane and fall into a well, drenching both themselves and the officials. This lands the Stooges in the army, where they tangle with a tough drill sergeant and finally flee from military service.

Cast

as Curly Wrong (credited as Curly) *

as Larry Wrong (credited as Larry) *

as Moe Wrong (credited as Moe) *

Harry Semels Harry Semels (November 20, 1887 – March 2, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 films between 1917 and 1946. Career Semels made his film debut in 1917. He appeared in several Three Stooges shorts for Columbia Picture ...

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 In footage from ''Boobs in Arms'' (1940): *

Richard Fiske Thomas Ralph Potts (November 20, 1914 – August 10, 1944) was an American film actor best known by his stage name Richard Fiske. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1938 and 1942, almost exclusively for Columbia Pictures. Biography ...

as Sergeant *

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 * Charles Dorety as Private

Production notes

''Dizzy Pilots'' was filmed 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'', 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 television series in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, '' Scooby-Doo, Wher ...

'' episode featuring the Stooges as guest stars ("The Ghost of the Red Baron"). ''Dizzy Pilots'' marks the final appearance of co-star

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 language, Spanish for "sunny side") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, on the South Coast (California), South Coast. Its population was at 12,940 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 ...

: 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
{{Authority control 1943 films The Three Stooges films American aviation films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jules White 1943 comedy films Military comedy films Columbia Pictures short films American slapstick comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films