"The Goose Steps Out" is a British comedy and satire of Nazi Germany that was made and released around the middle of World War II. Will Hay stars in this Ealing Studios production as William Potts. He's a British language teacher who is arrested as a German spy. But when the look-alike Professor Rudolph Muller is hauled in, Potts takes his place - as a British spy. His German assignment at Altenburg University is to train a special class of young Nazis who speak English. They must learn the customs and behavior of the Brits so that they can blend into the population when they go to England as spies. But, Pott's British mission is to find out about the secret weapon that Professor Hoffman is developing for Germany at a nearby research facility.
All of this sets the stage for a rollicking good comedy with lots of mocking of the Nazis, and other spoofery. Hay gets into a very funny tongue-twisting segment, and has some fun with the young men over British, names and English words. His Slough - sluff, tow - tough exchange is quite amusing. The writers, through Hay's Potts, get some more funny plays on words into the script as well. And, Hay's antics, clever and silly asides mix nicely in this very good and well-written satire. This is also the debut film of Peter Ustinov who plays a young Nazi student.
As the British populace endured with their stiff upper lips during WW II, a good comedy like this was probably welcomed and enjoyed by most. This film isn't on the level of the two great satires of Nazi Germany released earlier. Both of those were independent American films distributed by United Artists. Charlie Chaplin made and starred in "The Great Dictator" of 1940; and the early 1942 film by Romaine Films, "To Be or Not To Be," starred Jack Benny and Carole Lombard.
Interestingly, none of the major or established Hollywood studios made a satire or anything that poked fun at Nazi Germany before or during the war. The big studios especially looked to Germany for their highest foreign ticket sales and thus, profits. The level of "collaboration" at least, between German censors and Hollywood during the 1930s and Hitler's rise to power, was the subject of a 2013 book by Harvard author Ben Urwand, ""The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact with Hitler." But, after the start of WW II, all of the Hollywood studios got on the anti-Nazi band wagon. The first clearly anti-Nazi film during the war was "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" in 1939 by Warner Brothers. That was followed by MGM in 1940 with "The Mortal Storm.".
"The Goose Steps Out" won't be as funny to modern audiences as it was to those of the past. But it's still a fun spoofing that many people will enjoy. Here are some favorite lines from this film.
William Potts, after Rudolph Muller reams him out in German, "Blimey! Hear what he's calling me? Said I got a face like a half-baked Wiener Schnitzel. Blimey, look at him. He's no oil painting, is he?
Nazi inspector on the train, "Born in Hamburg, 1891," Potts, as Muller, "Yah!" Nazi officer, "Oh, was your father also a Hamburger?" Potts, "No, a Frankfurter."
Rector: "You are late, Herr Muller. Berlin informed me that you were reporting for duty yesterday." Potts, as Muller, "Well, yes, I'm sorry, Herr Rector, but uh, you see, the plane, er, uh uh, the train, through Spain, stopped again and again and again."
Herr Rector, 'You will familiarize the students with British customs, habits and institutions, so that eventually they may pass unchallenged as British citizens."
Professor Hoffman, "I'm sure the British people are longing for the day when our beloved Führer will set foot in Britain to liberate them." Potts, as Prof. Muller, "Oh, yes, you bet they are." Prof Hoffman, "Yeah, they will give him a warm welcome, you think?" Potts, "Uh, the warmest he's ever had in his life." Prof. Hoffman, "Splendid, splendid!"
