Back from the Front

Larry, Curly, and Moe say goodbye to their gals and board a ship in WWII. A spy on board gets their ship torpedoed and sunk. The boys sneak onboard a German ship and take it over from the Nazis. Some superheroes fought Nazis in the wartime publications while others did not. It feels a bit odd with The Stooges taking out the idiotic Nazis. I imagine it can feel disrespectful at the time although most servicemen probably loved the guys. I can't really speak to any of that. Mostly, this is The Stooges doing Stooges things. It's good.

Back from the Front (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Moe, Larry and Curly are on an American ship when they are struck by a torpedo. They end up in the waters but spot a ship far ahead. Once on the ship they realize it's a German one so they must try and destroy everyone on it.

As was the case with many of the Stooges shorts during this period, making fun of Hitler and Germany runs throughout. There are some pretty funny moments throughout this short with several highlights including Moe once again playing Hitler who sneezes at the wrong time. Another funny gag deals with a large gun and some beans. With that said, the best moment comes when Moe and Larry are taking turns knocking out bad guys and carrying them away until Larry gets the wrong one. If you're a fan of the boys this here is certainly a good one.

In May 1943, the Stooges released "Back From the Front," their fifth movie dealing with World War Two, this time with the three enlisting with the Merchant Marines. As in the four other Stooges' films, the Nazis take a drubbing from the three when they board a German ship whose crew had torpedoed their boat. The warship has the title the SS Schicklgruber, which was a joke alluding to the birth name of Adolf Hitler's father. His future Fuhrer's dad hated the name so much as an adult he changed it to his stepfather's surname Hiedler, erroneously transcribed by authorities as Hitler. Moe dresses as the Fuhrer for the third time in his career. He accidentally blows off his fake toothbrush mustache in the presence of the Nazi naval officers. Moe abruptly snatches it up, saying he just lost "my personality." In the beginning scene of "Back From the Front" the Stooges bid farewell to their girlfriends before they embark on their sea-faring adventure. The actress playing Moe's girlfriend, Sally Cairns, is spotted wiping her mouth for the longest time behind his back after she kissed him, the only one of the three to do so. This is also the Stooges' first film to have a sound effect when Moe finger pokes Curly in the eyes. Previously, only anguished cries were heard when Moe performed his trademark two-finger eye stab. The short was the 70th entry in the Stooges catalogue of 190 films they made from 1934 until 1959.

This is not only one of the all time Stooge shorts, but it also features one of Moe's best performances as the "Little Bavarian Corporal". Moe Howard probably was the best imitator of Hitler (ironic for a Jew) and he does it to great effect in this film. Just check out "You Natzi Spy", "I'll Never Heil Again" and, my personal favorite, "They Stooge to Conga".

The boys rush in the house, and we hear "Tizzy! Lizzie! Dizzy! Inky! Winky! Stinky! as they greet one another. The girls - all with those long early '40s hairdos - ask, "what's with the get-ups?

"We've signed up as sailors on a steamer," they explain. "Kiss us goodbye." The dodge that and Larry and Moe wind up kissing each other while Curly smooches the Saint Bernard. They get their real kisses, though, and announce "we're off to sea to see what we can see! See?" Yes, there are a lot of corny lines in here, as a corny dance number as they exit.

Once on the boat, Larry and Moe are seasick while Curly is fine and asks them if they'd like some of his raw liver. He laughs at them, as they run elsewhere to throw up, but then it hits him.

Longtime Stooges contributor Vernon Dent plays the Bosun "Duncan" who is really a German spy. Totally insane things happen from that point, such as the boys thinking a torpedo is a whale and trying to hammer it and, in the process, blowing up the ship. Yet, after surviving on a small raft for days eating beans, they wind up on a German ship (the S.S. Shickelgruber) with the same "Duncan" and another longtime Stooge player, Bud Jamison.

Through some ridiculous turn of events in which the Nazis are made to look like total idiots (too much so, to be fair), the eliminate every German on the ship! Don't ask....none of it makes sense, but that's the Three Stooges.