The Three Stooges - political satirists?

Laugh if you will, but as demonstrated by the shorts "You Nazty Spy" and "I'll Never Heil Again" (both of which are featured on this two-disc, digitally remastered set), the boys were the first act in Hollywood to bring attention to the Nazi threat in the days prior to America's involvement in World War II.

"Nazty," which was released in 1940 (some nine months before Chaplin's The Great Dictator) and 1941's "Heil," have Moe donning the greasepaint mustache to play Moe Hailstone, a dull-witted wallpaper hanger who runs amok as the dictator of Moronica along with his sidekicks Larry (the Goebbels stand-in) and Curly (Mussolini, natch). If the hijinks aren't exactly drawing room humor, one must still marvel at the foresight of the team and director Jules White for conceiving the idea, and by the sheer ballsiness of the Howard brothers and Fine (all Jews) taking the air out of the most insidious anti-Semitic figure of the period.

One might also view 1940's "Boobs in Arms," with the boys accidentally joining the Army, as another riff on the absurdity of the slowly mounting war.

Also included in this set is "A Plumbing We Will Go," which is considered by many fans to be possibly the best comedy ever made by the Stooges.

The shorts featured here (eight of which have never been available on DVD) are presented in chronological order and pristine condition.

Release Date: 08/26/2008
Run time: 396 minutes
Black & White, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, NTSC

Disk One:

1940
You Nazty Spy!
Rockin' Thru the Rockies
A Plumbing We Will Go
Nutty But Nice
How High is Up?
From Nurse to Worse
No Census, No Feeling
Cookoo Cavaliers
Boobs in Arms

1941
So Long Mr. Chumps
Dutiful But Dumb
All the World's a Stooge
I'll Never Heil Again

Disk Two:

1941
An Ache in Every Stake
In the Sweet Pie and Pie
Some More of Samoa

1942
Loco Boy Makes Good
Cactus Makes Perfect
What's the Matador?
Matri-Phony
Three Smart Saps
Even as IOU
Sock-a-Bye Baby