''Higher Than a Kite'' is a 1943

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Del Lord Delmer "Del" Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Career Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the the ...

starring American

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy team

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

(

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He is best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

and

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

). It is the 72nd entry in the series released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot

The Stooges want to fly for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, but end up as mechanics working in an airport garage. When given the assignment of getting a mysterious squeaking sound out of the Colonel's car from his assistant Kelly (

Duke York Duke York ( Charles Everest Sinsabaugh; October 17, 1908January 24, 1952), was an American film actor and stuntman who appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952. He was also known as Duke Owl. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd ...

), they get sidetracked after Moe's head gets stuck in a pipe. After several painful attempts, they finally pull Moe's head out. Then, he angrily chases Larry and Curly around the vehicle, accidentally breaking the windshield in the process. The Stooges disassemble the entire engine trying to find the problem, and are still puzzled, as they are not exactly certain what a squeak looks like. Kelly comes back to retrieve the Colonel's car, with the Stooges still hoping to be airmen. The trio promptly evacuate the garage after Kelly realizes what they have done, only to end up hiding out in a blockbuster mistaken for a sewer pipe. The blockbuster is then dropped behind enemy lines (reflecting the recent British bombing of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in June 1942Solomon, Jon. (2002) ''The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion'', p. 230; Comedy III Productions, Inc., ). Moe and Curly quickly disguise themselves as German officers and Larry disguises himself as a woman (Moronica). General Bommel (

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...

) and Marshall Boring (

Vernon Dent Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...

) (parodies of German generals

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

and

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

) then enter, and go about flirting with "Moronica". The Stooges eventually steal enemy secrets from under the nose of the Nazi officers, knock them cold, and escape. During their escape, a photo of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

gets stuck on Curly's butt. A

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

" coat and helmet runs in and bites Curly where Hitler's photo is, and Curly runs off with the bulldog still hanging from his hindquarters.

Production notes

''Higher Than a Kite'' was filmed over five days on February 20–25, 1943. It was the only Stooge film to feature supporting actor

in a non-monster role. Footage of Moe getting his head wedged inside a pipe was reused in the 1960 compilation feature film ''

Stop! Look! and Laugh! ''Stop! Look! and Laugh!'' is a 1960 feature-length Three Stooges compilation featuring Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard. Eleven of the Stooges shorts were shown and bridged together with segments featuring Paul Winchell and his dummies ...

''.

References

External links

* *
''Higher Than a Kite'' at threestooges.net
{{The Three Stooges 1943 films The Three Stooges films American black-and-white films Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler American World War II films American aviation films Films directed by Del Lord 1943 comedy films Military humor in film World War II films made in wartime Columbia Pictures short films American comedy films 1940s English-language films