War Mamas (1931) User Reviews

Even though the film is not that hot, these two gals could win the battle and the war.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 8 July 2019]

For some reason, in the early talkies, World War One was a Hot topic, but as America got close to World War II and beyond that, it's hardly been dealt with at all. Practically every comedian prior to World War II had some World War themed film, and only a few can be considered classics. Laurel and Hardy had several shorts and even a feature, and Hal Roach cast his two comic ladies, Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts, in this one that has some very amusing moments but isn't among their best.

It is funny for situations but not entirely for its context. Their dealings with a hard nosed head nurse (Blanche Payson) is filled with innuendo about her hard to decipher gender and fills about five minutes of time, including a cruel gag that Payson believe that she's been shot. they then end up in a game of strip poker with German officers Charles judels and Stuart Holmes that has some amusing efforts at cheating and of course and predictably. It seems at times the writers didn't go back and fix the weaknesses in their short scripts as some hold up much better than others. This falls into the latter category although it's always a delight to see Zasu and Thelma together.

More plot than you'd typically find in a Pitts/Todd short.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 13 July 2020]

"War Mamas" is a Zasu Pitts/Thelma Todd film which offers much more in the way of plot than most of their shorts. However, like too many of these films, what they do with the story is a bit of a disappointment. The overall film isn't bad...but it really isn't all that funny.

The story is set during WWI and Thelma and Zasu arrive at the front lines in France. They meet up with a couple male soldiers and head out for some fun...and somehow find themselves behind German lines. So, it's up to the girls to somehow disable a bunch of German soldiers so they can make their escape. Much of this time is spend playing Strip Poker with an idiot general and a major.

While WWI comedies could be funny (Laurel & Hardy made a couple dandy WWI films), this one failed to deliver on the laughs again and again. It was as if the writers really only had broad ideas for laughs but didn't writer them. Not a bad film exactly...but one that is strikingly unfunny given that there is more plot than usual for the pair and should have been funnier.

the girls are good, the movie not so much

[dcole-2 · 4/10 · 4 September 2004]

A short war-time comedy starring Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts. The ladies are fine comedic actresses but the material is very thin. First they're up against a tough matron; then they get lost and end up behind enemy lines, pretending to be French girls (but speaking English?)and fooling the caricatures Germans. Most of the jokes are not very funny. A long, long strip-poker scene pummels the comedy into the ground. When Zasu actually likes the attentions of one portly German, it becomes kind of uncomfortable. The ladies both deserve better -- and they got better in other projects. Worth it only if you're a completest for Thelma or Zasu. But their chemistry together is good.

War Mamas can be Hot Mamas Indeed!!!

[Eventuallyequalsalways · 8/10 · 18 October 2006]

"War Mamas" with Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts --- This short begins with these captions: Gray dawn - A village in France, near the front lines - - Rumbling thunder - Smoldering heat - Smoke - Hot air - The Second Lieutenants are here -- Sentries are guarding airplanes, and then a dump truck arrives at Staff Hospital with a load of nurses and dumps them unceremoniously on the ground. A tough lady sergeant greets Zasu and Thelma with a reprimand. The girls are tired, but a couple of soldiers immediately try to pick them up and take them to a dance. The sergeant comes up and begins to reprimand the girls again and one of the soldiers pulls out a pistol loaded with blanks and pretends to shoot her in the stomach. She gasps and leaves the group and sinks down onto the building stairs and then she realizes she has not been hurt at all. The girls go to their room and Thelma has to help Zasu with her boots, knocking a vase out the window and crowning a soldier playing a trumpet below their window. Then the girls manage to smash another vase over the suffering lady sergeant's head. She heads for their room while the girls head for bed. Knocking on the door signals the presence of the sergeant. A stray shell from the battle field hits the building and the girls fall through the floor and into the bed of the two soldiers they encountered before. The sergeant bursts in on them and reprimands them once again. Then the movie transitions with the aid of a caption which reads: Another Night - Only one slight mistake - They drove east instead of west - - The girls are driving an incredibly old truck and the two soldiers are in the back. They are obviously lost. They stop to ask a man for help and are shocked when they find it is a German sentry. They have strayed behind enemy lines. Zasu pretends to be sick and the guard rushes away. A château is nearby, so the girls drive on to the main building and are greeted by a Countess. She takes the girls inside and tells them they can pretend to be her nieces from Normandy. The Countess arranges for the two soldiers to be hidden in the cellar. Members of the German Army arrive at the château and are greeted by the Countess, and she introduces Zasu and Thelma as her nieces. In the dining room, the General sends a lackey to pick up something from the truck. Thelma volunteers to show him the way. She cautions Zasu to pretend that she is getting drunk. Thelma takes the German into the cellar where one of the soldiers bops him over the head with a champagne bottle. Meanwhile in the dining room, another German officer is coming on to Zasu. While dining, the General wants more champagne, so again Thelma takes another German to the cellar to be bopped on the head, then she takes the wine back up to the Dining Room. Next the General wants some Napoleon Brandy. Thelma sets forth to get the brandy along with another soldier. She has to trick him into going into the cellar. But like the others, he gets bopped. Dinner ends and the Generals are chasing the two girls. Zasu is pretending to get drunk. Thelma pleads for the chastity of Zasu. They decide to play some games. Poker is selected. Better yet, they decide on strip poker. Around a table sit the two girls and the two Germans. The Germans don't know how to play poker and the girls make up the rules as they go along. Meanwhile, Zasu pretends to get drunker and drunker and the German clothes slowly come off. Finally the girls get the Germans into a closet and lock them in. Thelma and one of the soldiers dress in the Germans clothes and take Zasu out to the Germans staff car, an open convertible Mercedes, and they drive away from under the noses of the German soldiers. This 20 minute short is wildly entertaining and showcases the comedic talents of the beautiful Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts. Being by Hal Roach, you could hardly expect less.

Great Short Sample of Great Zasu Pitts in Action

[Enrique-Sanchez-56 · 9/10 · 28 August 2006]

Zasu Pitts was a phenomenon. Just look at her Biography in IMDb.com! Her talents were legendary. She was equal parts tragedienne and comedienne. Today is hardly seen or heard.

Therein lies one of the great tragedies of the silver screen whether silent or talking.

Zasu's acting can be said to be one of the most naturalistic seen on the screen. It's a nuance that has to be seen to be understood and appreciated. She makes every other actor seem as if they are doing only one thing: acting.

It has been said that she stole every scene she was in. Even in this innocent tale of two women during the Big One, Zasu's inimitable charm comes through in every scene.

If it doesn't hit you after seeing this 21-minute short, keep looking for Zasu and you'll see what I mean. After it hits you I know you will wonder why she isn't better known or revered today. I know I did.

Probably the Weakest of the Zasu/Todd Shorts

[Michael_Elliott · 23 February 2011]

War Mamas (1931)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely weak entry in the Zasu Pitts/Thelma Todd series has the girls volunteering to help during WW1 but they keep getting in trouble with the woman in charge of them. The second half of the short has the girls driving the wrong way and ending up behind German lines where they end up playing strip poker with a couple German captains. WAR MAMAS is a pretty bad film but thankfully it's so bad and so poorly directed that fans of bad movies will probably find it surreal enough to make it worth wasting 20-minutes on. There's not a single frame that's funny in this picture and the poker sequence is stretched out so long that you can't help but become annoyed with everything going on. Zasu, as you'd expect, keeps cheating at the cards but the Germans are too dumb to catch on. Now, if you were going to have a strip poker scene with Thelma Todd don't you think you'd want to show her off a little bit? That's doesn't happen here during a strip poker sequence even though every other short did manage to show her off. Director Marshall Neilan doesn't appear to know how to stage a scene as the timing is all over the place and none of the shots even appear to have been set up very well. Just check out a scene where the girls accidentally drop a glass pitcher out the window, which then hits their leader in the head. Both Pitts and Todd are obviously giving it their all but there simply isn't anything here that pays off.