"No Dough Boys" is a unique Three Stooges short in that the boys are seen in Japanese costumes and makeup throughout. Of course, this is integral to the story, as they initially pose for a commercial photographer but later wind up in a den of Nazi spies and are subsequently forced to pose as actual Japanese soldiers. As a painful result, there are those who may take offense to the Stooges' Japanese language stereotypes.
This short nonetheless has a number of very good moments which I shall now recap. As the Stooges' boss (John Tyrrell) talks on the phone, the boys make fun of the manner in which he speaks; he then tells them to shut up, but the guy on the other line thinks it was meant for HIM (this gag was done earlier, with John Tyrrell again, in the Stooge short "What's the Matador?" [1942]). Curly pretends to teach Celia (Christine McIntyre) ju jitsu, but she turns the tables on him by throwing his noggin through a wall. During the Stooges' phony acrobatics, which one Stooge author claimed to be way too long, Curly and Moe have a dispute over who is going to be "top man." And during the fight in the dark (a gag also used in such Stooge films as "Nutty but Nice" [1940], "Who Done It?" [1949], and "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" [1963]), Moe accidentally grabs Larry and beats him up; Larry's facial expression and grunts of pain are very funny.
To close, "No Dough Boys" may be at least somewhat offensive regarding the Stooges' Japanese portrayals. However, the film does not neglect to evoke some laughter.
This short nonetheless has a number of very good moments which I shall now recap. As the Stooges' boss (John Tyrrell) talks on the phone, the boys make fun of the manner in which he speaks; he then tells them to shut up, but the guy on the other line thinks it was meant for HIM (this gag was done earlier, with John Tyrrell again, in the Stooge short "What's the Matador?" [1942]). Curly pretends to teach Celia (Christine McIntyre) ju jitsu, but she turns the tables on him by throwing his noggin through a wall. During the Stooges' phony acrobatics, which one Stooge author claimed to be way too long, Curly and Moe have a dispute over who is going to be "top man." And during the fight in the dark (a gag also used in such Stooge films as "Nutty but Nice" [1940], "Who Done It?" [1949], and "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" [1963]), Moe accidentally grabs Larry and beats him up; Larry's facial expression and grunts of pain are very funny.
To close, "No Dough Boys" may be at least somewhat offensive regarding the Stooges' Japanese portrayals. However, the film does not neglect to evoke some laughter.