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.

Michael_Elliott Under Southern Stars (1937) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Mildly entertaining, if rather confused docu-drama about "Stonewall" Jackson (Fritz Leiber) and his final battle, which cost him his life. The film also centers on a young man in love with his daughter who must prove that he has no more feelings for the North, which is where he comes from. This is a pretty strange film because the thing is all over the map in terms of one trying to understand what it's trying to do. We start off with what appears to be a musical because we have some fancy singing at a party. Things then take a turn when the "hero" General Lee shows up and a battle is going to follow. We then learn that Stonewall has a great sense of humor. We then see the battle finally happened but Stonewall is injured. Things switch again back to the good singer who just happens to need to prove himself to the dying man. The movie never knows if it wants to focus on the war, the young man or Stonewall. On that level the movie is all over the place but the production values are high enough to keep on entertained throughout the 16-minute running time. The performances are pretty good as are the brief battle scenes. The music isn't too bad either but it's the beautiful Technicolor that steals the film.

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.

max von meyerling A really dopey and inappropriate title song crooned by a tenor and a sappy and perfunctory love story have been tacked on to this tale of the death of Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson. However it does have unexpected moments of power and sentiment very much in the D.W. Griifith tradition. Strong words indeed for what is a Warner's short subject used mainly to show off the three strip Technicolor process and train technicians in its use. There are shots of General Lee with his artillery battery with the land dropping off and rising up beyond that seems very much a Griffisonian composition and the handing of Jackson on his deathbed wallows in exactly the type of emotionalism that Griffith openly courted. The Turner Classic copy runs at only 16 1/2 minutes and there seems to be a somewhat jarring cut after Jackson dies but whether this is responsible for the short running time or it is mislisted is a subject for further research.