''Private Snuffy Smith'' (reissued as ''Snuffy Smith, Yardbird'') is a 1942 American army comedy film directed by

Edward F. Cline Edward Francis Cline (November 4, 1891 – May 22, 1961) was an American screenwriter, actor, writer and director best known for his work with comedians W.C. Fields and Buster Keaton. He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and died in Hollywood, Cal ...

and starring

Bud Duncan Bud Duncan (October 31, 1883 – November 25, 1960) was an American actor of the silent era, most known for his early work with silent film comedian Lloyd Hamilton. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1912 and 1942. Early life Duncan ...

comic-strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

character

Snuffy Smith Snuffy may refer to: People * Snuffy Browne (1890–1964), West Indian cricketer * Snuffy Jenkins (1909–1990), American banjo player * Leighton W. Smith Jr. (born 1939), retired United States Navy four-star admiral * Maynard Harrison Smith ( ...

and

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as his commanding officer. A sequel, ''

Hillbilly Blitzkrieg ''Hillbilly Blitzkrieg'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Roy Mack that was a sequel to '' Private Snuffy Smith''. The film is also known as ''Enemy Round-Up'' (American TV title). Plot Nazi spies mistake Snuffy Smith's moonshine for ...

'', was released later in 1942 and also featured Duncan and Kennedy. The comic strip's characters

Barney Google ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'', originally ''Take Barney Google, for Instance'', is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck. Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a large international readership, appeari ...

and Sparkplug the horse do not appear in the film.

Plot

Envious of the pay of $30 per month and free khaki britches and gold buttons of his friend Don Elbie, Snuffy Smith joins the U.S. Army with his dog Mr. Carson concealed by an invisibility potion. His company first sergeant is Ed Cooper, a former revenue agent who had unsuccessfully attempted to locate and destroy Snuffy's

still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...

. Don has invented a new

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to Length measurement, measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, suc ...

that he hopes may be of use to the army. General Rosewater hopes to test the rangefinder in

war game A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...

s with a rival general. A pair of

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

ists hope to steal the rangefinder but are defeated by Snuffy's wife Lowizie, his invisible dog and his

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

neighbors.

Cast

, Camp Yardbird *

as 1st Sgt. Ed Cooper *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pro ...

as Lowizie Smith * J. Farrell MacDonald as Gen. Rosewater * Doris Linden as Cindy *

Jimmie Dodd James Wesley Dodd (March 28, 1910 – November 10, 1964) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known as the master of ceremonies for the popular 1950s Walt Disney television series ''The Mickey Mouse Club,'' as well as the writer o ...

as Pvt. Don Elbie * Andria Palmer as Janie *

Patrick McVey Patrick McVey (March 17, 1910 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor who starred in three television series between 1950 and 1961: ''Big Town'', '' Boots and Saddles'', and '' Manhunt''. Early life McVey was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hi ...

as Lloyd *Frank Austin as Saul

Soundtrack

* "Time's a-Wastin" by Ole Olsen,

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 26, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his attitud Background Johnson was born of Swedish descent in Chicago to John M. and Mat ...

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...

and

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

, sung by Jimmie Dodd *"The Yard Bird" by Jimmie Dodd, sung by Jimmie Dodd *"I Don't Know What to Do Blues" by Jimmie Dodd, sung by Jimmie Dodd

External links

* * 1942 films 1942 romantic comedy films Monogram Pictures films Films directed by Edward F. Cline Films based on comic strips Live-action films based on comics Military comedy films American romantic comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language romantic comedy films {{romantic-comedy-film-stub