Edgar Allan Pooh . . . if not for such widely admired Traitors to Civilization as Hitler's Nazi Field Marshal Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel, whose initial World War Two "successes" prolonged that conflict by several years, costing Humanity at least 30 million more horrible deaths, including that of Dutch teen diarist Frank. In a similar vein, a rogue element within Warner Bros. uses UNDER SOUTHERN SKIES to subvert Common Sense in an illogical attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of American Rebel Mass Murderer Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Historians concur that Jackson's "success" cost the lives of at least 100,000 Union Heroes fighting against Racist Lazy Southern Tyranny, and that American Blacks such as Kanye, Denzel, LeBron, and Oprah STILL would be toiling as Slaves in the Cotton Fields Today when they were not stripped naked and lashed to the flogging post, had not Jackson been gunned down by his own men. Demographers also agree that Designated Survivor President Andrew Johnson's decision NOT to at least hang all the Confederate Traitor Officers, coupled with Jackson's carnage against the Northern Gene Pool, allowed enough Rumpsters to infiltrate Posterity and the American Electorate of 2016 to steal a Rigged Election they LOST by 2.7 million votes through the Racist "Electoral College" Loophole. As America teeters on the brink of Constitutional Annihilation, you can bet that "Stonewall" is Whistling Dixie somewhere Down There right now.

MartinHafer This is an early Technicolor film made by Vitaphone just before the Warner Brothers (the parent studio) began making full-length color films. In other words, this short was sort of an experiment to work on technique and enabled these same folks to later make such gorgeous color classics as "The Adventures of Robin Hood".This film is set during the US Civil War and concerns the last days of General Stonewall Jackson. If you are looking for an accurate history lesson, it's a mixed bag--some quite factual and some very fanciful. But what you are much more likely to notice is the silly and VERY syrupy dialog as well as the fact that Warner/Vitaphone often portrayed the Confederacy very sympathetically during this era. It also has some unnecessary singing at the beginning and end--and it makes little sense. Overall, it makes for an odd sort of curio but nothing more. But, it does have some very pretty color.

bkoganbing This short subject film chronicles the last day in the life of General Thomas Jonathan Jackson better known as Stonewall. The fate of the southern cause may very well have died with him that day in Chancellorsville in 1863.He got the nickname of Stonewall at that first major battle of the Civil War, Bull Run. So named because the brigade he commanded stood against the charging Union army and turned it back. But his finest hour was Chancellorsville.Jackson was a man of deep religious faith who never doubted the rightness of his cause. That's usually the problem with those who think God is on their side, there were some folks like Oliver O. Howard on the Union side who prayed as much for their troops as Jackson is shown here.That he was a military genius is unmistakable. He devises the strategy with Robert E. Lee which brings victory at Chancellorsville which you will see here in Under Southern Stars. Fritz Lieber is impressive as Jackson as is Pierre Watkin as Robert E. Lee. A pair of young lovers played by Fred Lawrence and Jane Bryan get more in the way of the main story, attractive though they are.A nice thumbnail history of Chancellorsville.

martin lane This is one of the more bizarre of Warner Brothes' surprisingly lavish "Historical" two reeler's. This is part biopic (which tries to reclaim "Stonewall" Jackson as an all American hero ...and glorify General Lee as most films of this period do), part musical romance (though the theme song is totally anachronistic... and pretty bad...and the "Romance" is truncated to the point of anemia). This is, nonetheless, fascinating for the large scale production values, lavish action scenes, and interesting use of talent (why is wonderful Harry Davenport in the opening scene only? And why didn't handsome and appealing Wayne Morriss ever move from early bits like the one he has here to super-stardom like he should have?). As history lesson...weird and wacky...as curio of the Studio moving toward the Technicolor glories of "The Adventures Of Robin Hood"...invaluable.