Back from the Front

Back from the Front (1943)

Any resemblance between the characters in this picture and other human beings is a dirty shame.

The Stooges join the war effort by enlisting at Merchant Marines. While aboard, they have a brief run-in with (a secret German Nazi officer) Lt. Dungen (Vernon Dent), and then mistake a torpedo for a beached whale. Moe says they have to kill it, and it promptly explodes. After being lost at sea for several days, they come across the SS Schicklgruber and climb aboard. Now with fully grown beards, they come across Lt. Dungen again, who does not recognize them. After realizing they are on a German war ship they eventually overtake the crew and toss them overboard.

Date of release
1943-05-28
TMDB
7.4 / 10 (14)
Runtime
18m
Genres
Comedy, War
Director
Jules White

Casting

Interesting facts

Back from the Front is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges. It is the 70th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Production notes

Back from the Front was filmed over four days on July 24–28, 1942. This film marked an innovation for the Stooge franchise, introducing a distinctive sound effect to accompany the eye poke gag. The incorporation of a "TWANG" sound effect accompanying Moe's action of poking Lieutenant Dungen in the eyes distinguished this film from its predecessors.

Subsequent Stooge films experimented with different sound effects to enhance comedic moments. Throughout 1943 and 1944, varying degrees of success were achieved with alternative sound effects. For instance, in Higher Than a Kite, a nose honk sound effect was utilized, albeit inappropriately. Similarly, in Crash Goes the Hash, a xylophone sound effect was integrated into comedic sequences.

The film series found consistency in its use of specific sound effects post-1945. The sound of a ukulele or violin string being plucked became a staple, frequently employed to accentuate comedic moments.

Moe reprises his Adolf Hitler role from You Nazty Spy! and I'll Never Heil Again. The end was satire, with Moe telling the Nazis to use their heads and shoot out their brains, to which Stanley Blystone replies, "But mein Führer, we're Nazis. We have no brains." When the Hitler-disguised Moe sneezes and his toothbrush moustache flies off his face, he gets it back and refers to it as "my personality".

"Schicklgruber" is the surname Adolf Hitler's father, Alois Hitler carried for the first 40 years of his life, until he took the name Hitler (Hiedler) from his stepfather. While Adolf Hitler himself never carried the surname, the British made use of it for propaganda purposes since even to Germans, the name is laughable. The Stooges used it numerous times as the only name by which they would refer to Hitler.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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