With the critical acclaim of Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and the Jack Benny/Carole Lombard war comedy "To Be or Not to Be", the idea of spoofing Nazi idealism through ridicule became a fad long before Mel Brooks gave us "Springtime For Hitler". It is obvious from the opening credits and the written prologue that this film intends to make buffoons out of the evil Nazi's who were then creating havoc all over the world, and while this is slightly better than Hal Roach's "The Devil With Hitler", it is still way over the top and not on the par with the two more well known classics that at least reminded us how dangerous and evil fascism could be. Set in war time Holland, this takes the idea of Nazi occupation and turns it into a sick joke. You cannot help but laugh at Allyn Joslyn's pretentious sneering performance as a Nazi Major who obviously takes his position way too seriously, walks like he's marching for de fuhrer in a reviewing parade, and bellows each line like he's yelling at his troops. He shows up at the home of Georgia Caine to demand a room, and finds himself immediately smitten with Caine's soon to be divorced daughter-in-law (Joan Bennett) whose husband is in a mental institution. Along comes Dutch pilot Franchot Tone who in order not to be captured by the Nazi's poses as the estranged husband hoping for a reconciliation with his wife, much to Joslyn's annoyance.
Constantly interfering in any chance of a reconciliation between the really not married Bennett and Tone, Joslyn shows up at the boarding house Bennett moves into (actually a retirement home for cute old ladies) and does all he can to push Bennett through to a final divorce decree. When the real estranged husband shows up, Tone's identity is in danger of being exposed, but thanks to some quick thinking and the abundance of the overly serious but stupid Nazi soldiers who are on the lookout for the missing pilot, Tone and Bennett manage to outwit the bad guys. These Nazi's are stupid as stupid is from the very start, having celebrated the fact that while a dozen or so British pilots were captured or killed, several dozen Nazi pilots had the same fate. It's obvious that these Germans didn't study math very well, leading to some amusing jokes about the educational system that once one of the tops in the world had become marred by the onslaught of Hitler's determination to create the perfect man by eliminating anybody who didn't meet Aryan standards, and thus eliminate critical thinking through basic education as well.
It's nice to see Bennett doing some comical work for a change which shows her versatility, and Tone gives one of his better performances as the Dutch pilot who knows he is far smarter than any of the Germans that he encounters but must pacify them with making them think they are smarter so he can beat them at their own game. The always delightful Cecil Cunningham is amusing as the former Countess who now runs the old lady boarding house, filled with some funny old ladies, although I found myself looking for the cutest of old ladies (Ida Moore) who is unfortunately absent in this film. If you have a good eye for detail, look for a young Lloyd Bridges as one of the German soldiers. I was unable to spot him, but given the chance, I will re-watch this just for those scenes so I can identify him. As for the conclusion, if you think that Roach's abridged comedy "The Devil With Hitler" went out of his way to lampoon the Fuhrer, wait to see what they do here, and the line given which indicates that Germans knew their battle was a lost cause but had no choice to fight while under the thumb of this power obsessed mad man.
Constantly interfering in any chance of a reconciliation between the really not married Bennett and Tone, Joslyn shows up at the boarding house Bennett moves into (actually a retirement home for cute old ladies) and does all he can to push Bennett through to a final divorce decree. When the real estranged husband shows up, Tone's identity is in danger of being exposed, but thanks to some quick thinking and the abundance of the overly serious but stupid Nazi soldiers who are on the lookout for the missing pilot, Tone and Bennett manage to outwit the bad guys. These Nazi's are stupid as stupid is from the very start, having celebrated the fact that while a dozen or so British pilots were captured or killed, several dozen Nazi pilots had the same fate. It's obvious that these Germans didn't study math very well, leading to some amusing jokes about the educational system that once one of the tops in the world had become marred by the onslaught of Hitler's determination to create the perfect man by eliminating anybody who didn't meet Aryan standards, and thus eliminate critical thinking through basic education as well.
It's nice to see Bennett doing some comical work for a change which shows her versatility, and Tone gives one of his better performances as the Dutch pilot who knows he is far smarter than any of the Germans that he encounters but must pacify them with making them think they are smarter so he can beat them at their own game. The always delightful Cecil Cunningham is amusing as the former Countess who now runs the old lady boarding house, filled with some funny old ladies, although I found myself looking for the cutest of old ladies (Ida Moore) who is unfortunately absent in this film. If you have a good eye for detail, look for a young Lloyd Bridges as one of the German soldiers. I was unable to spot him, but given the chance, I will re-watch this just for those scenes so I can identify him. As for the conclusion, if you think that Roach's abridged comedy "The Devil With Hitler" went out of his way to lampoon the Fuhrer, wait to see what they do here, and the line given which indicates that Germans knew their battle was a lost cause but had no choice to fight while under the thumb of this power obsessed mad man.