LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Michael_Elliott You Nazty Spy! (1940) *** (out of 4) Some evil cabinet members want to overthrow the King of Moronica and replace him with idiots who would be willing to do anything they say. They find the idiots in Moe, Larry and Curly but it doesn't take long for the boys to mess up the country as well as the cabinet members plans. Both Moe and Larry had said that this was their favorite short and everyone knows it was a hit when originally released but when viewed today I'm still somewhat shocked that it went over so well with critics and fans at the time of release. This was released just nine months before Charles Chaplin's THE GREAT DICTATOR and one really wonders why that film drew so much heat when it at least had a message behind it while the Stooges' film is just pure comedy. When seen today there's certainly nothing offensive here, although there's a brief bit about a concentration camp which doesn't get any laughs. The rest of the picture has the boys doing their thing and getting some very big laughs out of it. One of the highlights in the film happens early on when Moe accidentally puts his finger in black paint and gives himself a mustache and this of course is meant to make him look like Hitler. The shocking thing is seeing how close the two look and especially when Moe messes with his hair. Another funny bit deals with a female spy reading the future while Moe and Curly are holding each others hand thinking that they're holding the woman's. YOU NAZTY SPY! is perhaps one of the most loved Stooges short but to me it's just middle ground. It's certainly worth viewing but I think the history of it is a bit more interesting than the actual picture and it certainly can't hold a candle to the Chaplin film.

slymusic "A dictator? Why, he makes love to beautiful women, drinks champagne, enjoys life, and never works. He makes speeches to the people promising them plenty, gives them nothing, then takes everything. That's a dictator." These are the exact words spoken to Moe Hailstone at the prospect of his becoming dictator of the mythical city of Moronika. Moe is quite hilarious as he plunges into his new role with gusto! Joining him in his tyranny are Larry Pebble as Minister of Propaganda and Curly Gallstone as Field Marshal. The end result is "You Nazty Spy!", the first Three Stooges comedy that valiantly attempted to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.My favorite moments from "You Nazty Spy!" include the following. (Please DO NOT read any further if you have not yet seen this film.) When Moe decides that he has to think very carefully before taking the job of dictator, he gives himself a Hitlerian moustache and parts his hair back! During the rather violent round-table conference, Curly swings a golf ball right into Larry's mouth! With a generous helping of nonsensical wordplay and mock German dialect, Moe is at his greatest during his outdoor speech to his Moronikan constituents. Speaking of wordplay, this short is absolutely loaded with it! As an example, when Larry asks Moe how they can hold a round-table conference with a square table, Moe answers, "In Moronika, nothing is on the square. We shall have to cut corners." As another example, when Larry says, "If I take Mickey Finlen, I better be Russian," Curly responds, "Then quit Stalin." "You Nazty Spy!" is quite an excellent Three Stooges spoof on Naziism. It was followed by a sequel, titled "I'll Never Heil Again" (1941), as well as several other anti-Nazi Stooge shorts, some of them again involving a Hitlerian moustache for Moe. To top everything off, "You Nazty Spy!" was Moe Howard's and director Jules White's favorite Stooge comedy, as well as a runner-up favorite for Larry Fine.

Joseph P. Ulibas You Nazty Spy! (1940) was one of the most famous of the Three Stooges shorts. It also happens to be a personal favorite of head stooge Moe Howard. This oddity was a parody about the rise of the Axis powers in Europe. Moe Howard stars as a thinly veiled send up of Adolf Hitler and Curley Howard looks an awful a lot like Benito Mussolini. Larry Fine plays one of their suck-ups/ ministry of information. How do all of these characters gel together? Is this short even funnier than the GREAT DICTATOR? Why is this Moe Howard's favorite Three Stooges short ? You'll find all of the answers you're looking for in this hilarious view of the upcoming Second World War when you watch YOU NAZTY SPY!Highly recommended.

BigSluggo While the Three Stooges did tend to recycle jokes (Curly with the spring stuck to his rear end appeared often), "You Natzy Spy" is a complete turnaround. While not abandoning the prerequisite slapstick, the fact that this was filmed during World War II (albeit before America's participation, which at this point was almost inevitable anyway) starring three Jewish actors is stunning. From the Hitler moustache that Moe wears (which he removes to shave underneath and, when it is stolen, he yells, "gimme back my personality") to the name "Moronica" to the caricatures of Mussolini and (apparently) Hirohito, to the Axis world leaders battling over the world by throwing a globe around the room, to plenty more potshots at Hitler and his allies, "You Natzy Spy" is hilarious, but it really does have that underlying knowledge that, had Hitler won, the boys would have certainly met their early deaths. The guts and patriotism shown by the boys proves that they took their work seriously to say the least, risking their lives for their craft.