I'll Never Heil Again (1941)

Director:

Jules White

Writers:

Felix Adler (story)
Clyde Bruckman (story)

Release Date:

4 July 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

A follow up to "You Nazty Spy", the stooges have taken over the country of Moronica. Moe is Hailstone the Dictator...

Plot Keywords:

Conga | Hitler | Punctuation In Title | Rotisserie | Contraction In Title

Cast

Curly Howard	...	Field Marshal Herring (as Curly)
Larry Fine	...	Minister of Propaganda (as Larry)
Moe Howard	...	Hailstone (as Moe)

Runtime:

18 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Four of the five "Axel" leaders pictured were official or semi-official Axis members in real life: Germany, Japan and Italy (all of whom had signed the Pact of Steel between 1936 and 1940) and the USSR (represented by the Russian-looking character, who at the time shared a non-aggression pact with Germany). Bay of Rum was supposed to be from Rumania (Rum-Rumania). Rumania was an Axis partner from 1940 - 1944.

Quotes:

Prank caller: Have you got anything on?
Field Marshal Herring: No, not at all.
Prank caller: You'll catch cold.

Movie Connections:

Follows You Nazty Spy! (1940)

Nobody did Hitler like Moe!

This is perhaps the funniest of all Stooges shorts, with many great scenes and gags. I have seen every one of the Stooges' shorts several times, and this has long been my favorite one. I also feel that Moe was the only impressionist to grasp the full severity of the world's most nefarious despot, which, years later, reveal just how extremely well informed, as well as accurate and highly intelligent Moe was. (I have often stated to my wife that I found Moe to be the funniest of the trio.) There are several notable scenes with adult humor content. In one scene, Gilda, the daughter of the deposed king, plans to place a loaded pool ball on the Stooges' pool table and tells Mr. Umpchay that when she gets through with Hailstone, "he won't know which end his axis is standing on", coming dangerously close to limits The National Board Of Review were imposing at the time. (My feeling is, that the Board probably had some reviewers who were adamantly opposed to Hitler and let that one slide.) The pool sequence is astonishingly well produced, and there's that extremely silly RHUMBA number again, when the evil leaders are all vying for the world! This is also one of the best written Stooges shorts in that it is entirely consuming from start to finish. In a personal event that involved this short, in 1991, my wife was at the local hospital being treated for a neck injury. I was in the waiting room, that seemed to be filled with nothing but other husbands, on a winter Sunday morning. In the corner there was a TV set playing. At 11:00 AM, a local UHF station broadcast Stooges shorts for one hour on Sundays, at the time. The first one was this one. None of the other men were watching. As I started to laugh, then guffaw, the other men became curious, put down their magazines, and within 3 or 4 minutes, the entire room was exploding in laughter. I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life! One of the funniest scenes I will never forget, is when Moe has summoned Curley and Larry. As they march into the room, one of them is marching in reverse. When they stop in front of Moe, both of them have one of their legs raised, to which Moe retorts: "put 'em down!" A number of Stooges shorts will likely never be shown on TV, as they have been banned for civil, and in some cases, foreign policy reasons. Although this one is still screened occasionally, it is quite rare. Until I bought the complete collection in 2007, that screening in the hospital waiting room was the last time I had seen it. If I had to chose 10 of the stooges MUST SEE shorts, this would be at the very top of the list. In conclusion, every woman I have ever known has claimed to have disliked the Stooges. Yet, when I get them to watch one of their shorts, they always laugh! Go figure.