The Goose Steps Out

Loved this -- probably one of the funniest Will Hay films I've seen. I far prefer the pictures he made with Charles Hawtrey to the 'classic' teaming with Moore/Marriott, and an excellent supporting cast here includes Peter Ustinov and Frank Pettingell (of "Gaslight" fame).

I always find Hay funnier when he is being a pompous but resourceful twit rather than simply an arrogant incompetent, and here his schoolmaster character is put up against the Nazis and manages (with assistance) to rise to the occasion... aided by the fact that his opponents half the time are even bigger buffoons than he is. A sharp script relies heavily on verbal humour, with two outstanding scenes that riff on the absurdities of the English language. The invasion plan sequence in which Hay improvises strategy wildly in a cascade of puns while attempting to pick a German general's pocket deserves to be a classic of the genre (take them from the flanks in Lancs to keep the Paras all tied up in Notts... but don't get caught with your Panzers down in the Severn Tunnel).

There is also a clever yet natural-seeming series of gags making use of an asbestos suit, some of which you can see (and enjoy) coming in advance, some of which I didn't! The final reels of the film didn't work quite so well for me, chiefly because I couldn't help but be aware that with all those antics the plane wouldn't have lasted for a minute and had some trouble suspending my disbelief in the name of comedy -- it's always funnier when it's actually physically plausible, however far-fetched. (The ingenious tactic by which Hay contrives to prevent his friend Professor Hoffmann from drinking a glass of poison by triggering his "Heil Hitler" reflex precisely at the requisite moment, for example.) Up to that point I would have rated the film at a definite 8/10; I still rate it a solid seven.

The contrast between English and American propaganda films was never more marked; see also "Night Train to Munich", "Pimpernel Smith" and even "The Lady Vanishes" for Englishmen working against the Nazis who simply don't take themselves all that seriously.

Bernie-81's review mentioned a possible 'nod' from the producers of this film to the Warner Brothers' "Casablanca" which was also released in 1942. I think it's more likely that the use of a twin-finned mock-up aircraft in "Goose's opening aerodrome scene bearing the markings "G-AFGN" was an ironic reference to the use of a real, aircraft bearing that registration by the British prime-minister to visit Germany in 1938 for negotiations with Hitler. Some in the audience would have recognised the significance of "G-AFGN" even if it wasn't relevant to the Hay picture. The prop Lockheed airliner seen in "The Goose..." may have been used in other pictures but not by the Warner studio out in California.

Will Hay sticks two fingers up at Der Fuehrer with ill-disguised glee in this patriotic wartime comedy. He's a German Language tutor and an undercover agent, teaching English to budding Nazi spies deep in enemy territory due to his uncanny likeness to a captured Nazi agent. A Goose Steps Out is at its best when poking fun at Hitler, but quickly loses its way when departing from this activity. Worth watching to catch Peter Ustinov and Charles Hawtrey - both still in their 20s - play Nazi students.

One of Hays best and what a cast, is that Barry Morse of The Fugitive fame, and even Dr Who, William Hartnell, playing a German, and Ben Williams the male equivalent of Marianne Stone, in just about every old film made.

Will Hay delivers quite well in this wartime pick-me-up of a film. He is discovered to be the spitting image for a Nazi general who happens to be in charge of a prestigious Hitler Youth establishment. As you'd expect, his character "Potts" is the least like a general you can imagine, but soon he has been dispatched as a sort of doppelgänger and is causing the predictable havoc amongst the aspirational young men of the great Arian race. Hay always had solid entertainment skills, good comedy timing and a very expressive face - he easily raises a few chuckles here. Charles Hawtrey is also quite good fun as "Max" and there's even some Peter Ustinov faffing about as "Krauss" in this amiable farce that had a pretty clear propagandist purpose which I suspect would have worked well with audiences in Britain at the time. It's maybe a little long, but it does what it set out to do and as an example of the star's ability to chivvy up the viewers, it's a fair effort.