The greatest movie ever made..!

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

GASBAGS is a film outing for The Crazy Gang, a bunch of middle aged men who delighted British audiences with their silly, slapstick humour during the 1940s. This one also manages to be a propaganda effort that spends the whole time having a laugh at the Nazis. The preposterous plotting involves a fish and chip van which is accidentally transported to Nazi Germany, where our heroes must attempt to escape. Unfortunately I found this very difficult to sit through, let alone enjoy. The humour is of the most juvenile ever, the actors go way over the top in the line of duty, and only the occasional decent song and bit-part actor (Wally Patch, Irene Handl) make it the least bit watchable.

I had heard of the Crazy Gang and that this movie was quite the morale booster for the British in the dark days of the war. I wanted to like this movie but just didn't. Perhaps in part it was the generally poor print quality of the tape I was watching. I have read that some disliked this movie because there is nothing funny about World War II or Hitler. For me, this wasn't the issue but rather that the plot was just too wacky, zany and frenetic. I couldn't keep track of all the characters and it all seem like a jumbled mess. A previous reviewer mentioned the Three Stooges. Each of the Stooges had a distinct personality unlike the Crazy Gang where it was hard for me to tell one from the other. As a youngster in the fifties, I grew up with the Stooges on Saturday morning television. I remember them very fondly – of course I was a kid. The Crazy Gang just didn't resonate with me. That said, I will still probably give them another look-see given how popular they were in their day.

I am deleting after 49 minutes out of 77. You should stop earlier or not watch at all. The song, Yesterday's Dream is sweet, but everything else about this movie is preposterous and not funny. I guess it cheered up some kind of Brit, but it deserves the 1 star I saw it receive. Not a woman in sight, and these guys are all over each other in the broadest hammiest slapstick that doesn't work given the gravity of the subject matter. And it is really low budget, with the air scenes silly in an almost fascinating way. So if you have an interest in British low-comedy, this is the show for you. Otherwise, hit the delete button much sooner than 49 minutes - shame on me for thinking this movie could not be as bad as that 1-star indicated. Sometimes the mainstream critics are right.

This is the second Crazy Gang movie I've seen and it is a bit funnier than THE FROZEN LIMITS. What makes this one a bit different is that it's set during WWII and it's in the public domain, so it can be watched for free.While the Crazy Gang is a pretty obscure group for those outside the UK, they were popular on stage in a short series of films. Their films are next to impossible to find here in the States, so I doubt if I'll ever see another.The film begins with the six Crazies serving with the Brits--manning a barrage balloon. However, for severely neglecting their duty, they are in very hot water. But, before they can be punished, their blimp gets away--along with them. When it finally lands, it's in Germany and the boys are sent to a prisoner of war camp. While this setting is far from funny, they soon volunteer to be doubles for Hitler. The boys think they can then escape--the Nazis think they'll soon get assassinated since they know of a plot to kill their demented leader. Will the Gang be killed or escape or will something else happen--tune in to see for yourself.Like the last film I saw of theirs, the humor is awfully broad and silly--almost like Three Stooges films, but without all the slapping. Because of this, kids might enjoy it more and anyone wanting sophisticated comedy should look a bit further! Still, the film is high energy and although some jokes fall flat, they come so quickly that there is bound to be something to make you laugh. Worth a look, but far from a great comedy and not quite as good as Abbott and Costello's wartime flicks.