http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/44http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033281/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1Man, I've been both looking forward to and dreading reviewing this one at the same time. Looking forward to it because it is culturally one of the most important Stooge films and should lead to interesting discussion. Dreading it because of the serious nature of the topic being parodied. Look, the older I get, the more I see how screwed up the world is on a collective level, though beauty can exist on the individual level. I actually look forward to reviewing these films every week as an escape from the collective garbage going around in the news and the workplace, but this short is a sober reminder that the problems of the world today existed in 1940, existed long before that, and will probably exist long after we're gone. I was hoping to write a fun little review about a slapstick film, but I can't help but be a downer on this one, even though I find great value in the film itself.
The opening scene is fantastic. Three war profiteers most of the public is probably unaware of gathering around a table trying to beat the war drums and control who is in power. Enough said. The irony is one of them was played by Richard Fiske, who in real life, ended up dying in World War II. The scene on the balcony is a bit chilling as well, though it does have its funny moments. I find the whole idea of holding up signs telling people how to react and them obeying without thought disturbing, then again, it's supposed to be. Still, Moe's mock German is classic, and Larry cracks me up. I love it when Moe rubs the perfume on Curly's head and Larry pantomimes that he would like some on his skull as well, only to have Moe bonk him. A perfectly timed bit of business there. Larry also gets a huge laugh out of me when Moe tells him to hold the pliers to his nose. Larry, of course, listens, squeezes the pliers on his own nose, makes a funny grimace, and walks off the screen, still crushing his own nose. Ah, funny stuff.
Lorna Gray as Mattie Herring is fantastic. Ickle, dickle, bickle indeed, I guess. She looks absolutely stunning in that black dress and had the talent to act with the boys as well as just looking pretty. A shame she only had one released Stooge short after this one because she was the closest to the full female package the boys had to work with at this point. Of course, Christine McIntyre would finally come a few years later and stick around for about ten years, thank God, but I wish Ms. Gray would have stuck around longer.
Oh yes, then there's the whole first comedy film to parody Hitler thing. Yeah, it was the first released film to do so. However, this was filmed in December 1939 and released one month later. If anybody else follows Stooge filming and release dates, you'll know shorts are usually released 8 - 12 months after filming, not 1 month. This short was also filmed after ROCKIN THRU THE ROCKIES but released before it. So, why the rush release? Well, I say one of two reasons. Reason one is The Three Stooges and Jules White were dying to make a political statement (bear in mind the U.S. was not in the war at this point and there was a strong America first movement from people still weary of the war twenty years earlier), or more likely, they wanted to beat Chaplin to the punch and have this released before THE GREAT DICTATOR. I say most likely the latter, as they must've heard Chaplin, who back then was a huge star, arguably the biggest, was doing his Hitler parody and they wanted their film out first. THE GREAT DICTATOR started filming in September, 1939.
Well, a crazy, sobering, and valuable film, but it feels like it belongs in a different universe than say, A PLUMBING WE WILL GO. You're bound to stumble into different feelings and moods when you shoot 190 of these things.
8/10
