Back from the Front
# Back from the Front

Back from the Front is a 1943 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). 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.

## Plot

The Stooges bid a fond farewell to their girls, Tizzy, Lizzy and Dizzy and join the war effort by enlisting in the Merchant Marines. While aboard ship, they have a brief altercation with Lt. Dungen (Vernon Dent), a Nazi spy, 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 encounter Lt. Dungen again, who does not recognize them. After realizing they are in with a nest of German sailors, they eventually overtake the crew and toss them overboard.

## Cast

### Credited

* Moe Howard as Moe
* Larry Fine as Larry
* Curly Howard as Curly

### Uncredited

* Stanley Blystone as German Captain
* Neal Burns as German Sailor
* Sally Cairns as Tizzy
* Heinie Conklin as German Sailor
* Vernon Dent as Lt. Dungen
* Hubert Diltz as German Sailor
* Lew Davis as German Sailor
* Kit Guard as Crewman
* George Gray as German Sailor
* Bud Jamison as German Petty Officer
* Johnny Kascier as German Officer
* Sam Lufkin as German Sailor
* Jack "Tiny" Lipson as Heavyset German Sailor
* Adele Mara as Dizzy
* Ruth Skinner as Lizzy
* Harry Semels as German Sentry
* Al Thompson as German Sailor

## Production notes

Back from the Front was filmed over four days on July 24–28, 1942. It was the first Stooge film to feature an accompanying sound effect for the eye poke gag. A TWANG is heard when Moe pokes Lt. Dugen (Vernon Dent) in the eyes. Different sounds were used with varying rates of success throughout 1943 and 1944 — a nose honk is inappropriately used in Higher Than a Kite, a xylophone in Crash Goes the Hash. The sound of a ukulele or violin string being plucked was used regularly after 1945. 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.

