Directed by Del Lord, "Higher Than a Kite" contains more than a generous helping of the standard Three Stooges slapstick. But the story is rather odd, and one must wonder how the Stooges made sharp transitions from one setting to another. (Don't read any further if you haven't seen this short yet.) First the boys are struggling garage mechanics for the R.A.F. in England, then they hide inside what they believe is a sewer pipe but is actually a blockbuster bomb, and before they know it, they are in Nazi Germany!
The weirdness of the plot aside, "Higher Than a Kite" still manages to get in a few laughs. Moe has an incredibly difficult time at the Stooges' garage; he repeatedly gets creamed in the face with a loose jack, and he gets his head stuck in a pipe. While disguised as Nazi soldiers, Moe and Curly spot some war plans via red and white tacks on a map, and they believe the tacks to be checkers. When Marshal Boring (Vernon Dent) and General Bommel (Dick Curtis) arrive moments later to study the war plans, Boring predictably blames Bommel for the nonsensical manner in which the tacks are displayed. Boring then throws the plans away, says, "We Germans never get stuck," and sits on the tacks! And at the end of this short, Curly has a picture of Hitler tacked to his behind. So every Nazi soldier with whom he comes into contact gives the proper salute when they spot Curly's flash.
One final interesting sidelight: I have seen a couple of publicity stills from "Higher Than a Kite" in which the Stooges are all disguised as Hitler, complete with moustaches. But the Stooges only applied these Hitler disguises for the photo session and not for the actual film. To me, this is a major disappointment, because with all three Stooges (not just Moe) imitating Hitler, the film would have been much more interesting and possibly a lot funnier.
The weirdness of the plot aside, "Higher Than a Kite" still manages to get in a few laughs. Moe has an incredibly difficult time at the Stooges' garage; he repeatedly gets creamed in the face with a loose jack, and he gets his head stuck in a pipe. While disguised as Nazi soldiers, Moe and Curly spot some war plans via red and white tacks on a map, and they believe the tacks to be checkers. When Marshal Boring (Vernon Dent) and General Bommel (Dick Curtis) arrive moments later to study the war plans, Boring predictably blames Bommel for the nonsensical manner in which the tacks are displayed. Boring then throws the plans away, says, "We Germans never get stuck," and sits on the tacks! And at the end of this short, Curly has a picture of Hitler tacked to his behind. So every Nazi soldier with whom he comes into contact gives the proper salute when they spot Curly's flash.
One final interesting sidelight: I have seen a couple of publicity stills from "Higher Than a Kite" in which the Stooges are all disguised as Hitler, complete with moustaches. But the Stooges only applied these Hitler disguises for the photo session and not for the actual film. To me, this is a major disappointment, because with all three Stooges (not just Moe) imitating Hitler, the film would have been much more interesting and possibly a lot funnier.